Band Of The Week #268 - Porij
This week’s Band of the Week is Manchester band Porij - who have just released their debut album ‘Teething’.
The new album is co-produced by the band and the legendary David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx, Young Fathers). With warm-up slots for Metronomy, Coldplay and Friendly Fires alongside their own crowd-igniting shows - Porij have been met with a landslide of attention across the country.
Porij have endured the sharp pains of self-discovery. Every raw nerve, every bloody scrape and sprain, have been necessary for that unavoidable thing we must grit our teeth and bare: growing up. Vocalist and keyboardist Scout Moore (Egg), bassist James Middleton, guitarist Jacob Maguire and drummer Nathan Carroll are armed with hard-won experience, strengthened bonds and a renewed sense of passion. Their debut album Teething is both a coming-of-age story and a bottling of the particular magic that is unmistakably – and definitively – Porij.
Rather than floating just beyond our reach on a digital cloud, Porij are a real band anchored to tangible sound. Following their success over the last 3 years , the band had awoken an appetite for something we didn’t realise we were so hungry for: a collision of between the worlds of indie-rock and dance music, weaving together the organic with the electronic to create something at once tender and transcendent.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Porij - how are you? So your album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
It’s a surreal feeling! We’ve been working on the album since late 2022 and it’s been a long time coming! It’s amazing that everyone gets to take it in and hopefully enjoy it as much as us. We’re super proud of it and represents us well at this moment in time.
It is called ‘Teething’ - what is the meaning behind that?
The record is generally about growth and the tough process of that - with us as individuals and also as a collective group. It represents us trying to navigate through life and the day-to-day struggles with that.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
We initially did most the writing remotely from different parts of the country and then we sent the demos to David Wrench and he helped co produce the record in his studio in Hackney! We were lucky enough to spend a significant amount of time in the studio - there was a point when Egg was throwing keys and miscellaneous objects in the kitchen which we recorded and added in across the record.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
This record is a coming-of-age album. It’s all about navigating your mid-twenties and coming to terms with a more fully realised version of yourself.
If the album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
I hear the album being a soundtrack for a coming of age film, feels like it takes you on lots of high and lows maybe like Liquorice Pizza / Dazed and Confused with Matthew Mcconaughey
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album - if so, which one and why?
I thought you’re not meant to have a favourite child haha.
Now the album is out there - what next?
We’ve just come off a UK tour and currently getting ready for a bunch of festivals. Hopefully start writing the next batch of songs for album 2….
