Callum MacHattie
Experienced music journalist usually spotted running around gigs and festivals with a mic in hand. Also trying to prove to my dad’s mates that music is as good as it used to be, one interview at a time.
With their debut album ‘Teething’ out today, we chatted with Porij vocalist Egg on their unique approach to dance music
It’s hard to tell which comes with more joy: Porij’s live set to an adoring crowd lapping up their textural and euphoric dance melodies, or the self-described “fizzy” quartet’s ever-widening grins, which can only be worn by a band on the eve of their debut album release.
Since their 2020 debut EP ‘Breakfast’, they’ve quickly gained devoted fans for their genreless approach to rhapsodic dance music. ‘150’ and ‘Nobody Scared’ introduced us to a band who seamlessly paired indie staccato melodies with beloved garage sub-bass parts to create a beautiful mutt of post-modern British music.
“I think what’s really exciting about the U.K. right now is that we’re really good at blurring genres. What is exciting about U.K. dance particularly, you have Nia Archives, who is a big time junglist but she writes with great pop sensibilities too” frontperson Egg tells me, when I ask about the freedom of approaching creativity in such an open way.
But despite their genreless contemporaries enjoying similar success, their single releases ahead of their upcoming debut album ‘Teething’ prove that the sonic landscape they have forged for themselves is a uniquely Porij space. Speaking of the album, Egg confirms “It’s everything Porij. Everything that OG Porij fans will love, but with a little bit of new stuff”.
The band’s humanisation of traditional dance sounds is what has won them devoted fans so quickly. It’s a point of discussion that brings out Egg’s identifiable love for the world they have created with Porij: “It’s about having the imperfections back in dance music, which you inherently get when you have humans playing the music and I think that’s what makes it special”.
It’s a traditional approach to euphoria packaged in an unashamedly modern output, “I think what’s really fun about clubbing is escapism and letting go, and I think that’s what we’re about; letting go of your inhibitions. That’s demonstrated best when humans play it instead of computers”.
This mission statement resonates with me fully during their show later that evening. Live shows should never sound as fully polished as the recording, there always needs to be space for the unpredictability of what takes place in that moment. But Porij’s live show remarkably captured the textural depth and faultlessness of a mastered record, but with an ineffable distinction. What stayed consistent was the feeling; the contrast between joy and desolation heard in the records. But what differed was its capacity to be uniquely shared right there in the moment.
“What’s quite funny is that feelings of melancholy and feelings of euphoria are so closely intertwined, so I’m really interested in how those two emotions play off each other” Egg ponders as I ask what it takes to translate a Porij record to the stage.
“Take ‘Ghost‘ for example, it’s quite a sad little song but then you have that moment of release which is what our music is all about. It’s that tension and release, which is nice to explore more generally throughout the show which you have the chance to do on a headline tour.”
With a headline tour comes the opportunity to play a wider range of your discography, which, for artists, can be a confronting experience. Songs that were once exclusive to the studio come to the stage and, consequently, relationships with them can change.
“There’s a song on the record called ‘Stranger‘ which I hated for a long time… actually hate is a strong word. I disliked it. But only because it’s the most vulnerable I think I am on the album and that made me really uncomfortable, especially knowing people would be listening to it. But then we did this run of shows in January where we were basically like road-testing the album. When we played that song and saw people connect with it in real time, it just like totally flipped it for me.”
‘Stranger‘ sees Egg focus on their trans identity but within an album that is “an acceptance of self”. And, in true Porij style, their honest approach to self-exploration built deep connections with their audience, transforming the experience of their live music on both sides of the stage.
“We did a show in Nottingham and this woman came up to me afterwards – she’s a teacher at a school and works with a lot of kids who identify as non-binary – and she said thank you so much for being a voice and using your platform, and that was such an ‘oh my god’ moment”.
Talking about the deeper intentions of Porij’s music, it became apparent that ‘’Teething‘’ feels like a record appropriate for right now: joyful, honest and, at its very heart, communal. As we sat in the sun outside the Trinity Centre, neither of us could help but transport ourselves to a muddy field somewhere in the country and think about how this record might be received there.
“There’s nothing like…” they think for a while, at how to succinctly express their excitement “I’m really looking forward to playing songs like ‘Ghost‘ or ‘My Only Love‘ in a field, with the sun shining. Do you know what? I don’t even care if it’s pissing down with rain! Just having that moment of collective togetherness with everyone… I’m so buzzing, I cannot wait!”.
If this year’s festival season bring showers, it feels as though there will be a momentary lapse for the crowd when this band take the stage. Present moment escapism, despondently joyful and imperfectly polished; their paradoxical style creates songs that are a soundtrack to modern life and a blueprint for the future of genre-bending U.K. music.
Listen to ‘Teething’ here: