Porij

Last updated
Porij
OriginManchester, England
Years active2019–present
Labels PIAS
Members
  • Scout Moore
  • James Middleton
  • Jacob Maguire
  • Nathan Carroll
Past members

Porij are an English four-piece band formed in Manchester in 2019 after meeting at the Royal Northern College of Music. At the time, the band consisted of Tommy Villiers, Tom Donaldson, James Middleton, and Scout Moore. Villiers and Donaldson later left and were replaced by guitarist Jacob Maguire and drummer Nathan Carroll. They have released the EPs Breakfast, Baby Face, and Outlines, before supporting Coldplay for four Manchester gigs of their Music of the Spheres World Tour in mid-2023. They released their debut album, Teething, in April 2024, which was received positively by DIY, The Line of Best Fit , NME , Dork, and Clash, but not The Guardian .

Contents

Career

2019–2022: Formation, Breakfast, and Baby Face

Porij was formed in early 2019 [1] by four popular music students at the Royal Northern College of Music. [2] The band's original members were vocalist and guitarist Tommy Villiers, drummer Tom Donaldson, bassist and keyboardist James Middleton, and vocalist and keyboardist Scout Moore. [3] Moore, who uses the stage name Egg, [4] suffers from fibromyalgia, [5] grew up in Peckham, [6] and was classically trained on the trumpet, [4] before giving it up aged nineteen due to a wonky tooth. [7] The four of them had just begun making primitive beats together when, with less than a week's notice, a friend asked if they could deputise for a gig in Leeds they could not make; though Middleton was out of the country at the time, the other three played the gig. [8] The four of them formed a band shortly afterward, adopting their band name Porij [4] as a misspelling of porridge, intended to evoke the way a five year old would spell it; [9] their debut single was "I Like That". [1]

In 2020, just before the second United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown, [10] Villiers matched on Tinder with Piri; [11] a couple of weeks later, one of Porij's photographers retweeted one of their photo shoots, prompting her to find his Instagram account and ask him out. [12] : 38:07  She later moved into Porij's student house in Whalley Range, Manchester, [13] where three of the band lived. [8] The band released the singles "150" and "Dirty Love", [14] the latter in October 2020, [15] and then the EP Breakfast the following month, [8] which featured "I Like That"; [2] said releases were released on Oat Gang Records, their own label, so called because DistroKid wanted a label name. [9]

In April 2021, the band released the single "Nobody Scared", which Moore wrote after watching a documentary about Jack the Ripper and about the Reclaim the Night movement. [14] In July, the band announced their EP Baby Face and released the single "Ego", about one participant in a failed relationship having moved on faster than the other. [16] They then released "Can't Stop" in September, which Donaldson wrote about analysis paralysis, [17] and then Baby Face later that month, [18] which contained "Nobody Scared", "Ego", "Can't Stop", and two other tracks. [19] In early 2022, [20] Donaldson and Villiers left the band, the latter to concentrate on Piri & Tommy, [5] and both were replaced by friends from university; [21] Villiers was replaced by Jacob Maguire in March 2022, [5] whose first day included a live session and a gig, while Nathan Carroll was recruited hours before the group were due to play at that year's 6 Music Festival, [22] and formally replaced Donaldson after playing the gig. [5]

2022–present: Line-up changes, Outlines, and Teething

In February 2022, the band released "Figure Skating", a track about platonic intimacy, [23] and the following April, they released "Lose Our Minds", a song about an inability to not resume a toxic relationship. [24] In July, they released "Automatic", about early instances of feeling popular, and announced their EP Outlines, [25] which they released in September 2022, and which contained "Figure Skating", "Lose Our Minds", "Automatic", [26] and a title track. [27] The band then released a remix of Metronomy's "Life and Death", which appeared on the November 2022 special edition of their album Small World, [28] and in February 2023, they featured on Interplanetary Criminal's "Don't Hurt Me". [29]

On 31 May and 1, 3, and 4 June 2023, Porij and Chvrches supported Coldplay during the Manchester legs of their Music of the Spheres World Tour, which took place at the City of Manchester Stadium, [30] near a decrepit mill where Porij used to rehearse; Moore later used a DIY debate to note that Coldplay had sent the band "a bottle of bubbly", and described the experience as "good craic". [31] They then released a remix of Antony Szmierek's "The Words to Auld Lang Syne", [32] before releasing "You Should Know Me" in November 2023, their debut single on PIAS Recordings. [33] They announced their debut album, the David Wrench-coproduced Teething, and released a single, "My Only Love", in January 2024; [34] the album documented Villiers' and Carroll's replacement. [20] A further single, "Unpredictable", was released in March 2024, [35] and the following month, they released "Ghost". [36]

Upon release on 26 April 2024, Teething was reviewed positively by the specialist music publications DIY, [37] The Line of Best Fit, [38] NME, [21] Dork, [39] and Clash, [40] though Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian savaged its "neutered garage beats and platitudinal lyrics" and found the album's content to be "dance music so smooth and so inoffensive that [it would go] down a treat among the UK’s young, moneyed finance set". [41] The band released "Stranger" in July, which featured the Welsh musician Elkka, and collaborated with Metronomy in September for "Petit Boy". [42]

Artistry

NME writer Hannah Mylrea described Breakfast as "a genre-splicing collection that flits between nu-jazz, house, funk and art-pop", [8] while Kate Hutchinson of The Guardian described Porij's sound as a combination of "house, garage, new wave and lo-fi pop". The single "Dirty Love" she described as having "all Georgia-style electro and a rough style that roots them in the world of Micachu", in that, at the time, every member recorded their instruments in their bedroom. [2] Robin Murray of Clash noted that "Figure Skating" "leans on late 90s drum 'n' bass", [23] Alexis Petridis described Porij in April 2022 as an "indie" band "dabbling in drum'n'bass", [43] and Rolling Stone described the band in March 2024 as alt-pop "with toes dipped into rave culture, straight-up indie, pure pop, UK garage and beyond". [20] In an interview with NME in November 2020, the band cited Little Dragon, Louis Cole, and MJ Cole as influences, [8] and after being asked in a May 2021 interview with DIY which peers they were taking inspiration from, Middleton, Villiers, Moore, and Donaldson individually cited Petsematary, Coco Bryce, Paige Kennedy, and Enny as influences. [44]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metronomy</span> English electronic music group

Metronomy are an English electronic music band, formed in Totnes in 1999. Their lineup consists of founding member and leader Joseph Mount, Oscar Cash, Anna Prior, Olugbenga Adelekan, and Michael Lovett. Their music consists of vocal and instrumental electronic pop music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinds (band)</span> Spanish indie rock band

Hinds is a Spanish indie rock band from Madrid, formed in 2011. The group currently performs as a duo consisting of Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote. The original name of the band was Deers, but they changed it at the end of 2014 after a threat of legal action from the similarly named band The Dears. The group chose "Hinds", an English word of Germanic origin that means "does" or "female deers", as the new name of the band and officially implemented the name change on 7 January 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundara Karma</span> British rock band

Sundara Karma are an English rock band formed in 2011 in Reading, Berkshire. The band consists of lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Oscar Pollock, lead guitarist Ally Baty, bassist Dom Cordell and drummer Haydn Evans. The band's name is derived from Sanskrit words, meaning "Beautiful Karma".

"Unlock It" is a 2017 song by Charli XCX featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park from XCX's mixtape Pop 2. Released as the second teaser from that mixtape either side of "Out of My Head" featuring Tove Lo and Alma and "I Got It" featuring Cupcakke, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar, the track samples A. G. Cook's "Beautiful" and was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show the day of release. Reviewers praised the song, especially its lyrics. A mashup of the song with Tinashe's "Superlove" went viral on TikTok in 2021, shortly after which XCX renamed the track "Unlock It (Lock It)" to fan discontent. In 2022, Piri & Tommy released a cover that Vice rated as the 14th best song of 2022.

NewDad are an Irish indie rock band from Galway, formed in 2018. Their music has been compared to The Cure, Beabadoobee, and Just Mustard by NME magazine. Atwood Magazine wrote of the group: "The band oozes personality with cynical but honest lyrics, colorful visual components, and poignant messages about coping with the, albeit painful, formative experiences." The group have appeared at the Green Man Festival in Wales, the Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris, and on the Irish television program Other Voices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mysterines</span> British rock band

The Mysterines are a British alternative rock band from Liverpool and the Wirral composed of Lia Metcalfe, George Favager, Callum Thompson and Paul Crilly. Their debut album Reeling was released on 11th March 2022 via Fiction Records and charted at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Ivory</i> (Omar Apollo album) 2022 studio album by Omar Apollo

Ivory is the debut studio album by American singer Omar Apollo, released on April 8, 2022, by Warner Records. The album was promoted by five singles: "Go Away", "Bad Life", "Invincible", "Killing Me" and "Tamagotchi". The album's deluxe edition, titled Ivory (Marfil), featuring five additional tracks including the singles "Archetype" and "Highlight", was released on August 12, 2022. On October 4, 2022, "Evergreen" was released as the overall album's eighth single and Apollo's first radio single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piri & Tommy</span> English musical duo

Piri & Tommy are an English drum and bass duo, formed in 2021. The group are formed of Sophie "Piri" McBurnie and Tommy Villiers. The pair charted at number 99 on the UK Singles Chart with their single "On & On". They released their debut mixtape froge.mp3 in October 2022.

Claire Chicha, is a French-Korean-American singer-songwriter, known by her stage name Spill Tab. An alternative pop musician, she has been noted by music media outlets for her lo-fi vocals and sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piri</span> English singer (born 1999)

Sophie Leigh McBurnie, known professionally as Piri, is an English musician. Born in Rochdale in Greater Manchester, she is half of the band Piri & Tommy and an original member of the female and genderqueer collective Loud LDN.

"On & On" is a liquid drum and bass song by Piri & Tommy, from their mixtape Froge.mp3. Released on 28 July 2022 on Polydor Records, the track was written after the pair attended that year's Parklife Festival. The song premiered as BBC Radio 1's "Hottest Record"song charted at No. 99 on the UK Singles Chart and received positive reception, with Time Out, The Forty Five, NME, Dancing Bears, and Billboard rating it on their year-end best of lists. A music video was released on 12 October 2022 to promote Froge.mp3.

"Soft Spot" is a liquid drum and bass song, first released independently on 4 June 2021, where it was credited to Piri. After she paid six TikTok creators to promote the song, the song was used in a video of a creator making a Japanese bench, which caused the song to go viral on that platform. Around this time, the track went viral on Spotify after featuring on the platform's "Fresh Finds" playlist. For this, EMI signed her and her producer Tommy Villiers and re-released the track under the name Piri & Tommy Villiers. The song appeared on the pair's 2022 mixtape Froge.mp3.

"Beachin" is a jungle track by Piri & Tommy. Originally intended for late October 2021, the track was eventually released on 28 January 2022 through EMI as their second single from Froge.mp3. The track describes a trip the pair had taken to Formby beach and ends with a spoken word section discussing the creation of sand sculptures. The track received positive reception from Matthew Perpetua and from reviewers from Clash and The Sunday Times. Skream later released an abstract remix of the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Updown</span> 2023 single by Piri & Tommy Villiers

"Updown" is a hyperpop song single by Piri & Tommy Villiers. Released on 17 February 2023 on Polydor Records, the song was written about cowgirl sex and was performed during live sets prior to release. Upon release, the song received airplay from BBC Radio 1 and Capital Dance and was reviewed by reviewers from LeftLion, Impact, Dancing Bears, and Clash. A music video was released on 2 March.

<i>Froge.mp3</i> 2022 mixtape by Piri & Tommy

Froge.mp3 is the debut mixtape by Piri & Tommy. Released on 21 October 2022 and on vinyl on 22 April 2023 on Polydor Records, the mixtape contains "Sunlight", previous singles "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "Words", and "On & On", focus track "Say It", and six additional tracks. The album was promoted by both Froge.tour, a nine-date tour, and Froge.tv, a twelve-episode YouTube Shorts series. Critical reception was broadly positive, with Gigwise describing the album as the 45th best album of 2022, NME rating it amongst the twenty best mixtapes and EPs of 2022, and Ellie Dixon rating it as her favourite album of the year. Additionally, the mixtape charted at No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nice 2 Me</span> 2023 single by Piri & Tommy Villiers

"Nice 2 Me", sometimes referred to as "Nice to Me", is a 2023 single by Piri and Tommy Villiers. Released 24 May 2023 on Polydor Records, the song is about wanting to be treated nicely in a relationship, and received positive critical reception. It featured on Spotify's "Planet Rave" playlist and on the soundtrack for EA Sports FC 24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Froge.tour</span> 2022 concert tour by Piri & Tommy

Froge.tour is a nine-date tour by the English band Piri & Tommy. Released to promote their mixtape Froge.mp3, the tour began on 2 November 2022 at Belgrave Music Hall and ended on 19 November 2022 at The Warehouse Project. Sets included most of Froge.mp3, several future singles, and cover versions of Chic's "Everybody Dance" and Crystal Waters's "Gypsy Woman". Their Brighton gig was opened by Coupdekat, while their London gig was opened by Maisi and contained pole dancing and Parthenope. These three gigs were between them reviewed by Alexis Petridis and reviewers from LeftLion, Brighton & Hove News, and Gigwise, who gave what they saw a mixed reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feel It (MJ Cole song)</span> 2023 single by MJ Cole featuring Piri & Tommy Villiers

"Feel It" is a 2023 single by MJ Cole featuring Piri & Tommy Villiers. Released on 20 January 2023 on 892 Recordings, the song was Piri & Tommy's first since splitting up and contained a guitar solo from Villiers. The song received positive reception, with many reviewers highlighting Piri's vocals for praise, and the track received airplay by BBC Radio 1 and Capital Dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Villiers</span> Musical artist

Thomas George Villiers is an English musician from Saffron Walden. After being introduced to dance music via his brother, he began producing drum and bass tracks and uploading them to SoundCloud. While at the Royal Northern College of Music, he joined See Thru Hands and cofounded Porij, with whom he released one and two EPs respectively. In mid-2020, he formed Piri & Tommy with Piri, with whom he released the mixtape Froge.mp3, which they promoted with Froge.tour, and several singles including "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "On & On", "Feel It", "Updown", and "Nice 2 Me". He also played Scotty in the music video for Wet Leg's "Ur Mum" and has released several singles including a remix of LF System's "Afraid to Feel".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fat Dog (band)</span> English band

Fat Dog are an English band, consisting of Joe Love, Chris Hughes, Morgan Wallace, Jacqui Wheeler and Johnny ‘Doghead’ Hutch. The band formed in 2020 in South East London.

References

  1. 1 2 Sue, David (2020-03-05). "Made in Manchester - Porij". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Hutchinson, Kate (2020-11-28). "One to watch: Porij". The Guardian . Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ↑
  4. 1 2 3 "Granada Introducing: 'Baby Face' band Porij". ITV News Granada . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Sophie (2022-09-12). "Porij: dynamic Manchester gang with festival season's most fun live show". NME . Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  6. ↑ "Talking Change with Porij". The Rodeo Magazine. 2022-09-16. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  7. ↑ Gokcemen, Yazzi (2024-02-23). "Porij is on the up, but Staying True to Their Oat Gang". Notion. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Mylrea, Hannah (2020-11-10). "Porij: genre-splicing art-pop ready made for the dancefloor". NME. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  9. 1 2 "Porij: "Make big, dirty tunes, have a blast, and hopefully you'll be alright"". DIY. 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  10. ↑ J, Trixie (4 April 2023). "Piri and Tommy Rose from Viral Rookies to UK Dance's Next Big Ace". Nexus Radio. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Helm, Jake (6 November 2022). "Piri and Tommy: Meet the Rising Stars of Pop". The Times . Archived from the original on 8 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Daisy Adams Show w/ Piri and Tommy Villiers 27th October 2021". Reform Radio. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  13. ↑
  14. 1 2 Newton, Felicity (2021-04-21). "Porij take inspiration from Reclaim the Night for new single, 'Nobody Scared'". Dork. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  15. ↑ Murray, Robin (2020-10-07). "Porij Share Curious New Single 'Dirty Love'". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  16. ↑ Ackroyd, Stephen (2021-07-01). "Porij have dropped a brand new track, 'Ego'". Dork. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  17. ↑ "Porij share new single 'Can't Stop'". DIY. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  18. ↑ "Baby Face is another step forward for Manchester's Porij". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  19. ↑ "Porij - Baby Face". DIY. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  20. 1 2 3 Reilly, Nick; Richards, Will (2024-03-22). "Rolling Stone UK's Future Of Music: see the full list". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  21. 1 2 Mylrea, Hannah (2024-04-24). "Porij – 'Teething' review: an entrancing siren call to the dancefloor". NME. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  22. ↑ Picker, Ciaran (2024-04-25). "Porij: "We can go from being super serious to wonderfully silly"". Dork. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  23. 1 2 Murray, Robin (2022-02-22). "Porij Glide Back Into Our Lives With 'Figure Skating'". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  24. ↑ "Porij uplift the sound of a situationship in "Lose Our Minds" | Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  25. ↑ Ackroyd, Stephen (2022-07-21). "Porij have shared a brand new single, 'Automatic'". Dork. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  26. ↑ "Porij - Outlines". DIY. 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  27. ↑ Murray, Robin (2022-09-07). "Porij Share New EP 'outlines' | News". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  28. ↑ "Metronomy release 'reimagined' edition of album Small World". 909originals. 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  29. ↑ "Interplanetary Criminal enlists Porij on rave-infused 'Don't Hurt Me', announces new compilation album". dmy.co. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  30. ↑ Richards, Will (2023-04-06). "Coldplay announce support acts for 2023 European tour". NME. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  31. ↑ "The Great DIY Debate 2023". DIY. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  32. ↑ "Next Wave #1133: Antony Szmierek | Next Wave". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  33. ↑ "Porij return with new track 'You Should Know Me'". DIY. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  34. ↑ "Porij Announce New Album 'Teething,' Share "My Only Love"". Stereogum. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  35. ↑ Taylor, Sam (2024-03-05). "Porij have released a new debut album teaser single, 'Unpredictable'". Dork. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  36. ↑ "Porij share latest album preview 'Ghost'". DIY. 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  37. ↑ "Porij - Teething". DIY. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  38. ↑ "Porij: Teething Review - unsettled fluidity | Indie". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  39. ↑ Picker, Ciaran (2024-04-25). "Porij – Teething". Dork. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  40. ↑ "Porij - Teething | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  41. ↑ D'Souza, Shaad (2024-04-26). "Porij: Teething review – dance music without drama or daring". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  42. ↑ "Metronomy and Porij link up on "Petit Boy"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  43. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (2022-04-22). "'It's just good energy!' How TikTok and Covid made drum'n'bass hot again". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  44. ↑ "Get To Know… Porij". DIY. 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.