Josh Pyke dominates the 2007 ARIA Awards

Sydney songwriter Josh Pyke is really making a name for himself and no one is more surprised than the man himself.

His debut album Memories & Dust is proving to be just as popular as his ARIA Award nominated EP Feeding The Wolves.

Josh received his second ARIA Award for 2007 in the category of Best Adult Contemporary award for Memories and Dust. He also shared in the Artisan Award for Producer of the Year with his co-producer Wayne Connolly.

‘I think every musician hopes that they will gain popularity — it’s pretty much that aspirational (or maybe delusional) element which keeps them plugging away at it in the first place,’ he said.

His emotionally open songs are a hit with fans and critics alike, a big feat for any artist. He has been described as a genius songwriter and a consummate balladeer, with strong ticket sales proof that the punters back the critics.

Josh’s popularity is not confined to Australia — he has toured the UK twice to resounding critical acclaim and can boast an expanding fan base.

‘I sing about pretty universal things — family, childhood, growing up — I basically sing about regular stuff that perhaps people cannot express themselves. This is probably part of the appeal.’

This raw and story-driven writing style is based on ‘everyday life experiences without any fictional material’.

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Josh loves and cites as inspiration for the way they ‘express a narrative in a nonspecific way’, allowing for their story to naturally flow.

Josh will attest that starting out is hard, especially when you want to maintain your independence and own style. Josh describes his funding grants through the Australia Council as ‘a great head start’.

‘My grants helped me a great deal especially early on when it meant I had the finances to record and release records independently.’

Now with a foothold in the fickle music industry, Josh is determined to ‘grow’ while maintaining the authenticity that has built his audience.

‘I want to keep releasing records and to try and develop my song writing. I am also keen to get involved in the production aspect of music and song writing.’

But Josh is quick to add that he only wants to work on projects he ‘is passionate about’, rather than pursuing commercial success for its own sake.

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Victoria McClelland-Fletcher
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