Start Listening To: Pem

Exploring the inspiration behind Pem’s music and the profound emotions that drive their storytelling.

Pem, a musician, singer-songwriter, and gardener, hails from the quaint corners of Hampshire but has found inspiration in the landscapes of various locales. Their latest single, "awe," stands as a poignant testament to personal exploration in the face of grief, offering listeners a raw glimpse into the complexities of loss and longing. Building upon the themes of memory, connection, and disassociation established in their debut EP Songs About Hands Pem's music is a reflective narrative woven with symbolism and introspection. Through their songs, Pem invites listeners to navigate the labyrinth of emotions, finding solace and resonance in shared experiences.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

I’m Pem, I’m a musician / singer songwriter and gardener! I grew up in a small town in Hampshire but have moved around a lot. I make soulful, ethereal, almost-folk kind of music.

First of all, congratulations on your new single awe described as a deeply personal exploration of loss and grief. Can you share with us the inspiration behind the song and how it came to be?

I wrote ‘awe’ in a friend’s bedroom a few weeks after my Dad died. I rushed my grieving and threw myself into a new city to build a new life. Everything felt surreal and unfamiliar, I struggled to relate to my new relationships. I was yearning for closeness but was so terrified of more loss that I felt stuck on loop, like I was moving constantly but never getting closer. That’s why the chords are so simple and repetitive. I was trying to stay still but I just couldn’t sit with it all.

You previously released the EP Songs About Hands which explores themes of memory, connection, and disassociation. How does awe build upon the themes and storytelling established in your earlier work?

‘awe’ also builds upon the theme of connection. It talks about a yearning for connection that is so bound inside an aversion to loss that it becomes immobilising. 

In addition to your upcoming live dates, are there any future projects or collaborations on the horizon that you’re excited about?

I’m writing some new material at the moment and I’m collaborating with a friend from a band that I love but I can’t tell you who yet x

Your debut EP, Songs About Hands; was written during your intensive psychotherapy training. How has this experience informed your approach to songwriting and storytelling?

We had to do a lot of soul-searching and self reflection during my therapy training. I learned a lot about my patterns and my programming which informed the emotional, diary-like nature of ‘Songs About Hands’. It was kind of like an in-the-moment out pouring of all the constant self analysis at the time. Pretty intense and messy. These days I’m really into symbolism, stories, tarot, astrology, dream analysis, anything I can ascribe meaning to haha, so my latest writing is more focused on the metaphors and symbols.

As an artist who delves into vulnerability and honest storytelling, what do you hope listeners take away from your music, particularly from awe and your upcoming EP?

Writing these songs helped me find beauty and meaning in an intensely challenging chapter in my life and work through the grief of losing my dad. All I can hope is that my listeners, especially those grieving, feel some kind of comfort or resonance with these songs. I can’t explain how special it is when I see someone crying after listening, it feels like I’ve given away a little piece of me and they’ve caught it and wrapped it up in cotton wool and sent it back with a little piece of them.

What do you love right now?

Listening to Robbie and Mona!

What do you hate right now?

Gardening outside all day in the rain (wettest February on record)

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

It’s not an album but I remember hearing “Forget About’ by Sybille Baier when I was 14 years old and was completely mesmerised by it. It’s from her Colour Green E.P that was released decades after she wrote it. I still play it all the time, especially in the bath. I think it’s the most beautiful song. I play it whenever I need a good cry. The lyrics are so tender and simple.

What does the future hold for Pem? 

A lot more writing, so much has happened recently I feel full of new songs.