Bumper year continues for Pryse

JEM Pryse has continued his busy 2022, playing his first album SEEK on stage for the first time earlier this month.

Pryse released the album in May, the same month he was named Triple J Unearthed artist of the week and performed at Groovin’ the Moo.

This month he’s toured Victoria and launching his album in Melbourne. On Saturday, he played Old Church on the Hill for the first time.

Pryse said he was happy with how the album sounded on stage, given he wrote most of the songs during COVID-19 lockdowns.

“It ended up working really well doing an hour solo set and an hour with the band,” he said.

“That helped me get the message across with the songs I released. Some of them are slower, more acoustic which worked well for a solo set, and some are more fun and energetic, a bit more dance type which was really fun for the band.”

The Bendigo-born musician said his songs touch on themes of family, friendships, life in lockdown and his experiences so far in the music industry.

“A lot of my songs and music is inspired by family and close friends, and I grew up in the church too so a few of the songs are inspired by God which brings a different aspect to some of my music,” he said.

After a whirlwind six months, and two more shows scheduled in July, Pryse said he will focus on quality over quantity moving forward.

“In today’s age there’s so much content and music coming out, I really want to be intention in every song I make and really capture meaning and emotion in each release and project I do,” he said.

“From there my focus is going to be that live performance, playing shows and gigs and really just connecting with the audience.”