Biography
U.K. outfit Porij fuses electronic dance music with supple indie-pop textures. The Manchester quartet first drew attention through a pair of early EPs, Breakfast in 2020 and Baby Face the following year, which helped cultivate both streaming numbers and a live following. A personnel change in 2022 did nothing to slow their progress; instead, tracks such as the drum’n’bass-driven “Lose Our Minds” and joint releases with Metronomy and Antony Szmierek kept momentum high. A prominent opening slot for Coldplay in Manchester led to a deal with PIAS, and the band unveiled its first album, Teething, in April 2024.
Founding members Scout Moore on vocals and keyboards, Tommy Villiers on vocals and guitar, James Middleton on bass and keyboards, and Tom Donaldson on drums had all studied at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music. Their debut EP, Breakfast, surfaced at the end of 2020 and showcased a blend of sleek electronic pop, house rhythms, live instrumentation, and shared leads between Moore and Villiers. Streaming success arrived with the 2021 single “Nobody Scared,” which featured on the September release Baby Face. Early the next year Villiers departed to concentrate on his duo Piri & Tommy with Manchester singer Piri, while Donaldson also exited; Jacob Maguire on guitar and Nathan Carroll on drums came aboard in their place.
Now fronted solely by Moore, the group issued further singles highlighted by “Lose Our Minds,” a polished pop cut built on drum’n’bass percussion that anchored the 2022 EP Outlines on their own Oat Gang Records. November brought the Metronomy collaboration “Life and Death,” and early 2023 saw the Interplanetary Criminal partnership “Don’t Hurt Me.” The band shared bills with Chvrches for Coldplay’s Manchester shows, later remixed Antony Szmierek’s “The Words to Auld Lang Syne,” and confirmed their PIAS signing with the first Teething preview, “You Should Know Me.” Welsh producer David Wrench, known for work with FKA Twigs and Frank Ocean, helmed the sessions for the album that reached stores in April 2024.
Founding members Scout Moore on vocals and keyboards, Tommy Villiers on vocals and guitar, James Middleton on bass and keyboards, and Tom Donaldson on drums had all studied at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music. Their debut EP, Breakfast, surfaced at the end of 2020 and showcased a blend of sleek electronic pop, house rhythms, live instrumentation, and shared leads between Moore and Villiers. Streaming success arrived with the 2021 single “Nobody Scared,” which featured on the September release Baby Face. Early the next year Villiers departed to concentrate on his duo Piri & Tommy with Manchester singer Piri, while Donaldson also exited; Jacob Maguire on guitar and Nathan Carroll on drums came aboard in their place.
Now fronted solely by Moore, the group issued further singles highlighted by “Lose Our Minds,” a polished pop cut built on drum’n’bass percussion that anchored the 2022 EP Outlines on their own Oat Gang Records. November brought the Metronomy collaboration “Life and Death,” and early 2023 saw the Interplanetary Criminal partnership “Don’t Hurt Me.” The band shared bills with Chvrches for Coldplay’s Manchester shows, later remixed Antony Szmierek’s “The Words to Auld Lang Syne,” and confirmed their PIAS signing with the first Teething preview, “You Should Know Me.” Welsh producer David Wrench, known for work with FKA Twigs and Frank Ocean, helmed the sessions for the album that reached stores in April 2024.
Albums
Singles
