PORIJ PARTY IN CAMDEN TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF ‘TEETHING’

Porij – pronounced “porridge,” as in, oats – brought their now-signature live-band dance music to London’s Electric Ballroom last week, capping off a six-show run across England and Scotland before the release of their debut album, Teething. The four piece band hails from Manchester, UK, and has spent the last few years touring incessantly, from headlining tiny clubs to opening for Coldplay and Little Dragon, building their audience – the Oat Gang – the old fashioned way.

DJ Sam Girling (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)
DJ Sam Girling (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)
DJ Sam Girling (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)

Headlining here, Porij was preceded by DJ Sam Girling, who gave the dedicated fans something to bop along to as they waited for the room to fill up. Shortly after 9pm, Porij came on stage, one by one, to the backdrop of a spinning head made of lights projected on the back screen.

Porij is led on stage by the bouncy and charismatic Eggy Moore on vocals and keys, and rounded out by Nathan on drums, James on Bass, and Jacob on guitar. The four of them are far more than the sum of their parts – Porij is a live band, but they’ve got the smooth energy of a full recording studio. Live drums are balanced with loops, keys and synths and guitar all meld into one, and the ever-danceable basslines pulse throughout. “Live-Dance” is an incredibly apt way for Porij to describe themselves. Porij bring the never-ending energy of a DJ set with the charisma and connection of a singer-songwriter show. Porij have the stage presence of a veteran band, commanding the 1,200 capacity Electric Ballroom with the same intimacy they would a 120-person dive, but equally as vivacious as a stadium act. The never-ending touring clearly pays off. (Porij are continuing to tour with in-store gigs this week.)

Porij (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)
Porij (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)
Porij (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)
Porij (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)

Nearly half of their set came from the new album, which went over about as well as could possibly be imagined with a live audience. There was noticeable roar when Porij broke into a well-known favorite – such as the encore, You Should Know Me, which was released back in November of last year, but the newer, unknown songs like Stranger, Sweet Risk, and Marmite (despite the name, is bound to be a crowd pleaser) were welcomed warmly and with energy to match. It helps that Porij’s music is so sweetly infectious – you can’t say no to these beats. The set also included a Calvin Harris cover (Acceptable In The 80’s) and a couple of tracks that the band re-released as remixes from an earlier EP.

Porij are primed to catapult, and as Teething comes out and the Oat Army grows, it’ll be a thrill to follow this Manchester outfit graduate to larger and larger stages. One thing’s for sure – they’re going to bring the party with them.