When a rock man met a folk man and they were still talking to each other after 20 years they thought they’d maybe use their differences to create something really unique. And it worked – Porvari: guitarist, singer and songwriter Sam Whimpenny and multi instrumentalist Simon Meader.
Strangely although each took a keen and supportive role in the other’s bands, it was not until 2003 that they decided to make the same music at the same time. They bought a tiny 8 track digital portastudio, and an entirely fictitious band, Porvari!, was created. As the weeks progressed, without leaving Sam’s lounge, the fictitious band produced a spurious live album, 1st XI, which was well received by those who had the chance to hear it. Although long deleted, due to popular demand a number of songs from this album are available to download from their website www.porvari.co.uk
It was around this time Sam made the outrageous suggestion that they could actually play these songs live, albeit in unplugged mode. The exclamation mark was dropped and the current incarnation of Porvari was born.
Getting together a two hour set of original acoustic music is not a trivial task and it has been a gradual birth for Porvari, but the duo are now regular performers on the East Sussex music scene, and staunch supporters of Eastbourne’s annual Lammas Festival. The hard work put into the project has paid off with their live performances the talking point of all those who have seen them - running from heart tugging high intensity emotion to farcical audience participation commonly from one minute to the next.
Summer 2007 saw Porvari go into the studio to record their official debut “Play Something We All Knowâ€: eleven original songs lyrically rich and melodically diverse recorded almost entirely live.
Porvari would love to know what you think.
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