Shanks' Pony

Biography

Soft-spoken, yet with a sly sense of humor (evidenced in the liner notes of one of his albums), Age Pryor is making a name for himself in Wellington, New Zealand, but is also garnering a group of devoted fans around the globe. With his contribution to the soundtrack of the film Eagle vs. Shark, he may develop an even greater reach in the near future. A gifted multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Pryor's first CD was a collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Tessa Rain. Their album, Homerec...

Soft-spoken, yet with a sly sense of humor (evidenced in the liner notes of one of his albums), Age Pryor is making a name for himself in Wellington, New Zealand, but is also garnering a group of devoted fans around the globe. With his contribution to the soundtrack of the film Eagle vs. Shark, he may develop an even greater reach in the near future.

A gifted multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Pryor's first CD was a collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Tessa Rain. Their album, Homerecordings Tess and Adrian (released in 2000), recorded live at various performances and at Tessa's home, creates an intimate folk-tinged atmosphere. The simplicity of the two voices, paired only with acoustic guitars, is belied by the intricacies of the playing and the thoughts provoked by the lyrics. The sounds of tui and crashing waves in the background of some of the songs add to the intimate nature of the album.

The two collaborated again on a few of the songs on Age Pryor's solo album, City Chorus (2003). Moving away from purely acoustic work, Pryor makes the most of his talents, playing a variety of instruments and working with other exceptionally talented musicians such as drummer Chris O'Connor, and Toby Laing (of Fat Freddy's Drop fame). The songs of this album range from almost orchestral pop to hip-shakin', foot-stompin' funk, with hints of Nick Drake along for the ride. Although hard to nail down in terms of one musical style, the result is a cohesive album that stands up to repeated listening.

Age Pryor has also been busy taking part in the Fly My Pretties (FMP) projects organized by The Black Seeds' frontman, Barnaby Weir. Pryor has taken part in both sets of concert series and has been a part of the touring version of the project, which brings together a range of musicians from Wellington. One of his songs from the first FMP series of concerts was later used in the first episode of the Showtime series, Weeds.

Pryor's second album, Shanks' Pony, was released early in 2007.

As if that's not enough, Pryor is also one of the founding members of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, which also features members of Flight of the Conchords and Twinset. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.