After the emotional intensity of their debut album ‘Teething’, Porij are keeping things light and loose this summer. Enter: ‘I’m Your Lover (Only)’, a blissed-out dancefloor confession wrapped in sunshine, spontaneity and a healthy splash of pool water. With its roots in a SoundCloud demo charmingly titled ‘Beefa’, the track is classic Porij, only this time, they’ve dialled up the playfulness to near absurd levels.
“It started off as a demo that Jacob brought to the table,” Nath tells us. “I think maybe he’d just got back off holiday, was in the party mood. Then we had a little writing retreat earlier this year and brought the live band elements to it. I think we all knew it was destined to be a summer tune, so then we knuckled down to get it ready in time for the sun.”
That holiday spirit clearly stuck. The accompanying video, all 48-hours-in-Ibiza of it, is a sun-drenched fever dream of first-holiday energy and chlorine-flavoured chaos. The band cite Kevin & Perry as a not-so-accidental reference point.
“Jacob called it ‘Beefa’ on a SoundCloud demo, so for the video we thought it would be rude not to go on a spontaneous 48-hour trip to Ibiza,” they say. “We filmed in a quiet villa tucked away in the north of the island, followed by a little bit of partying in Amnesia for Bicep Boiler Room, which was slightly less quiet.”
“I think when you spend most of the day in the pool, that naturally the Kevin & Perry energy comes out,” Nath adds. “The sun went to our heads a little, and possibly drank too much chlorinated water from all our awful diving.”
Despite the mayhem, there’s something sincere at the track’s heart. “This song’s about accidentally falling in love,” Egg says. “You can’t always pick when it happens, and this is about leaning in, going with the flow and enjoying it for what it is without overthinking.”
It’s a bit of a sonic detour from ‘Teething’, a record defined by its emotional depth and genre-fluid intensity, but that’s no bad thing. “Last year was quite intense,” Egg explains. “So it feels good to be writing lighter tunes. Can’t promise we ever know what direction we’re going in, though, so don’t hold us to that.”
The shift reflects more than just a change in tempo. “It’s nice to have the pressure of the debut out of the way, and now we’re just enjoying making music again,” Egg continues. “I think we’ve got less anal, which is a good thing. Everything’s more casual and looser, which is exciting.”
“Naturally the Kevin & Perry energy comes out…”
That laid-back spirit extends to their creative process too, a band where songs like ‘Marmite’ get their titles from bus passengers and entire writing sessions are built on jokes and vibes. “We often will just send instrumentals and beats to each other with the most ridiculous names,” says Nath. “Egg wrote the lyrics based off the title, so sometimes it works out.”
Now, with ‘I’m Your Lover (Only)’ out in the world and a stacked summer underway, Porij are gearing up for a special live moment. This weekend, they’ll headline Dork’s Day Out at Signature Brew in London.
“We’re headlining the Dork event at Signature Brew brewery on the 2nd August, which we are very excited for,” they grin. “The line-up is stacked!”
So what should fans expect from the show? “I’ve packed my fake tan in the van, ready and raring to go,” Nath jokes. Will ‘Lover’ get the full Ibiza treatment on stage? Only one way to find out.
As for what’s next, it’s all gloriously up in the air. “We’ll let you know when we know,” Egg laughs. “We’ve always got something in the works…” Nath teases.
Until then, there’s sunshine, synths and spontaneous swimming pools, just another classic Porij moment. Or as they put it: “I had a bowl of porridge for breakfast this morning, guess that’s pretty on brand.”
Leave a Reply