Photos by: Jacklyn Lipscomb, Words by: Mari Washburn
The Drake presents: Portair April 23rd, 2023, in Amherst, MA
Australian born Los Angeles based indie synth artist and producer Portair set the stage for headliner trio City of The Sun at the Drake in Amherst, Massachusetts on April 23rd, 2023. Before filling the room with his soundscapes, a banner stitched with the moniker PORTAIR hung from the keyboard on the stage awaiting all of those willing to listen. Opening his set with an aesthetic, sonically pleasing swell of beats, crowd members unknown to his music were undoubtedly yet surprisingly pleased with what they heard. While the majority of his music consisted of bass weighted sounds under his stand out electric guitar melodies, no matter the song, his trademark ethereal synths filled the room with ease.
Pausing to address the audience after the first few songs, Portair mentioned how this has been his first ever tour across North America and how unique of an experience it has been visiting places he had "never known of before.” He also spoke of his liking of the quaint town of Amherst and how warm the people had been to him.
Off of his recent EP "Learning How To Die" Portair easily was able to sell to the audience just how talented he was with tracks like "Afterglow" and "Disbelief". Noting his recent time in the desert as being an influence to these songs, you couldn't help but hear how worldly his soul is and how such experiences can truly shape every part of a person. Highlighted tracks included "Places", his 2018 release inspired by the infamous Dr. Seuss book Oh the Places You'll Go- giving the opening line to the track "you are not the street that you're born to" and that "no matter where you were born you have the power to change that and how it can define you". About mid set, for a change in pace, Portair pulled on some millennial heartstrings with his version of the 1975's iconic track "Somebody Else", proving that he has what it takes to command the room and appeal to everyone’s musical interests.
The title track of the EP "Learning How to Die" kept his final moments on stage a little ironic. "It's a Happy Death song though" he chuckled before he sang his profound lyrics. Inspired by a quote from philosopher Montaigne, the thought process behind it all is that the moment you learn and accept that we're all going to die (the only thing we are certain of in life) is when we can truly begin to live. Finding comfort in the fact that you must live now because no matter what you believe, you don't know for certain if you're going to get a second shot at it. He expressed how it is imperative that he be able to look back at his life on his deathbed and really know he lived the best life he could.
"I did the best with what I had, without a reason why. But in the end I know I've lived a life that taught me how to die" ~ "Learning How to Die"
If you enjoy insightful, contemplative, forward thinking lyrics, Portair’s music is right for you. These words are amplified by transcendent immersive audial landscapes that do not compare to anyone else in the music industry today.
Give Portair's newest EP a full listen here:
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