Australian producer/DJ GEM addresses the need for positivity following more than a year of uncertainty.
On her new single “No Ordinary Days”, penned in lockdown in Sydney’s Surry Hills, GEM tips her hat to her country-grown roots and glows with joyous pop optimism. Lyrically, it’s a clever confessional. Just take the poetic line “Wild heart, shooting stars, adventures from the back of your car”, a dizzying visual over an easy pop melody.
“We can all turn magic from the mundane, it’s a choice we can each make. To be truly present and get to a place where you can feel grateful and alive,” says GEM.
GEM is one of just six producer participants selected for the coveted Grammy NEXT program. Mentored under Grammy-nominated producer, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman (a songwriting collaborator for H.E.R.), she is the first female Australian to ever be offered this opportunity.
Following May 28’s release of “No Ordinary Days”, GEM is set to release two more songs from her upcoming EP.
“For me as an introvert with a very laid back personality, it was important to make a record that was relaxed, downtempo and not in your face in anyway – it had to feel like me. So I could introduce myself to listeners as I truly am,” says GEM. “No pretense, or falsehoods just my real stories made by me in the style that I love so much”.
GEM’s tracks have garnered millions of streams – with three tracks (“Rich Girl”, “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Miss You”) earning over 2.3 million streams on Spotify alone. She’s also a Spotify playlist favourite, with a nine-month hold on the Just Chill and Soft Glow official playlists.
GEM is also growing her collaboration and producer credits. In February she landed a cut with ABC and Universal Music via Murray Cook’s (The Wiggles) band, The Soul Movers, producing the official remix for “Hot Sauce”. GEM transformed the band’s lead single into a disco-house anthem.
