Meet Irish DJ And Producer Jay Pryor
Hailing from Dublin, Ireland Jay Pryor has been making incredible moves within the electronic music genre and beyond.
Pryor first found success on the track Just Hold On’, a 2016 collaboration with the legendary producer Steve Aoki and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction. After the record amassed 500 million streams worldwide and entered the Billboard Hot 100 he continued his upward trajectory. Pryor partnered up with Niall Horan on the ‘Slow Hands’ remix and with ZAYN on the ‘Cruel’ remix. With several successful collaborations under his belt this early on in his career, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for the DJ and producer.
We got a chance to chat with Jay Pryor about everything from his new EP ‘Finding Our Way‘, upcoming performances and more..
How did you get your start in the music industry?
It would have definitely been my contribution to ‘Just Hold On’ by Louis Tomlinson and Steve Aoki. That definitely gave my career a kickstart! I helped them produce that record, it was such an honour to be a part of and I’m forever grateful for both Louis, Steve and everyone else involved for allowing me to give my input and be a part of their vision for that song.
What inspires you most when you are making new music?
Recently traveling has inspired me a lot. The past two summers I’ve gone out to Ibiza and every time I go there I feel full of inspiration. One day I want to just bring a load of writers and friends there and work on music
What is your creative process in the studio?
It depends on what I’m working on. If I’m working on original music it will normally come out of the blue, an idea in the shower, or I’ll hear a tone on the street. Then I’ll make a voice note of that idea, whether it be a lyric or melody or concept. I also have a notepad that I take down what I like to call ‘song starters’ which are just words or phrases that I feel are powerful to me and resonate with me and my life at that moment. Recently one of those phrases was ‘everything’s golden’, which is something we say a lot in Ireland when everything is going well. So there’s an exclusive for ya! Maybe you’ll hear that in a song soon!!
What was it like seeing “Just Hold On” debut at number 2 in the UK Charts and amass over 500 million streams world-wide?
For a very long time none of it felt real and I just kind of had to ride the wave for a bit. I remember getting calls from my management being like ‘congratulations Jay you’re now a platinum selling music producer’, ‘congratulations Jay your production is #1 in the charts in this country or that country.’ Every time my response would be ‘wow, that’s insane!!’ But if I’m being honest I didn’t really know what it meant and it didn’t feel real, I would just presume it was some chart that isn’t that big of a deal or that it was platinum in a very small country or something. Even to this day I feel like I need to pat myself on the back a bit more. My visions are really big and I feel like these things were inevitable. In the least cocky way possible of course. I’m insanely grateful.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would you want to work with and why?
If I had to pick one person it would be Calvin Harris. This guy inspired and continues to inspire me every single day. He impacted my life with his music more than any other artist and is the reason I’m creating music today. I do think one day we’ll make music together, in some way, shape or form. I also have a list on my phone of all of the singers/songwriters/producers I would love to collaborate with one day.
You have a new EP called “Finding Our Way” coming out soon, what can listeners expect from this record?
This record is about finding my way in music and as a person. I made a really big transition two years ago, from taking €80 a week on government benefits whilst making music in my bedroom to being signed to a major label as an artist and moving to London. “Finding Our Way” is one of the first records I wrote with my buddy Ollie Green when I moved over. Since then I’ve really been trying to get the record sounding 100% and been working a few other tracks around it for the EP. I’m so excited that it’s finally ready for peoples ears and I can’t wait to see if people resonate with it!
Which track off the new EP was your favourite to create?
It would have to be the title track, “Finding Our Way“, this track just continues to resonate with me every day, which to me I feel is a good sign that it will resonate with other people (hopefully), and that’s the reason I make music. I also love working with my buddy Ollie Green, he’s insanely talented and he helped me build my confidence with song writing a lot. I’ve also enlisted one of my best friends in music to produce the record with. I’m not sure if I can say who yet, but it makes the record that much more special!
Are you going to be touring this summer? If so, where will you be performing?
Yes I’ve been touring this summer and I’ve got a couple more shows! I just played one of my biggest shows yet at a festival in Hungary called ‘Balaton Sound’. This festival has always been a huge part of my visions and it was nothing short of everything I expected. Another one I can’t wait for is Belfast Vital in August! It’ll be my last summer gig back in Ireland, so I can’t wait to bring some friends back for that!
Which three up and coming artists should we be looking out for, and why?
I don’t think he’s even up and coming anymore but my sister introduced me to Dermot Kennedy’s music about 2 years ago, and he’s one of my favourite artists now. I’ve seen him 4 times this year. He’s going to be one of the biggest artists in the world. He really harnesses that almost storytelling, poetic style that a lot of Irish song writing possesses, which I love.
My friend Eyelar is also going to be a major success. I met her about a year ago at a party and she just had such a cool energy. She’s only recently started releasing her own music but you should definitely check it out, It’s incredible, she’s so talented.
By the way it’s so hard to pick just three. But lastly I should probably mention a dance music artist. My friend Redfield is creating some stupidly good music right now. That dude is gonna be heard in clubs all over soon! He’s been in heavy rotation in my sets all summer. Ridiculous talent.
Make sure to check out Jay Pryor’s latest track So What below!
