Rik Priem (Rik Priem's Prime)

Interview by Woody

Hi Rik, the lead singer on your debut album is Carsten ‘Lizard’ Schultz who is a very popular singer in the current melodic rock scene, how did you end up working with him? And what’s it like working with someone who is really busy in the music biz?

I met Carsten during the recording sessions for the 2nd album of Frozen Rain ‘Ahead Of Time’ and when we shot the video clip for ‘Believe It Or Not’.  Carsten is a very professional guy, very driven and it’s an honour to work with him.  He has so much experience and taught me a lot, especially how the music business works. During the recording session I had a lot of conversations with Carsten and told him about my plans for my own solo album. After he had heard some demos, he agreed to do the vocals on the debut album of Rik Priem’s Prime.

Has this album turned out as you hoped it would and as you originally envisioned?

How the album sounds now is really what I had in mind and wished to sound like that.  I’m very happy with the final result. I want to thank all people involved in recording and producing this album. We all did an amazing job.

Can you talk to us about a few of the songs and any stories or meanings behind them that fans would like to hear?

Every song has its own story, for example Babylon Rising is all about the people addicted to their own luxury and smartphones while they forget the real meaning of life. It’s up to the listeners to discover the story behind each song, because each one will experience our songs in a different way. I’ve written a lot of my own riffs during the last few years, riffs of which I hoped I could use or combine them in songs for my own project.

‘The Future Is Now’ is the first song I’ve written for this album, and it had more a kind of AOR style, which turned out a bit different when we recorded it for this album.

‘Chameleon’ is a song I’ve written as a personal exposure, but it’s changed during the recording sessions because the musicians who were involved in this album, give it a completely different touch and I’m very proud of the final result.

‘Sunset Over Agartha’: I’ve asked Geert if he could write an intro song with a lot of atmosphere to open this album.  The song suits the album as an opener, and it sounds really like I wanted. Agartha is a mythical city of which people believe it’s situated in the centre of the earth. I gave Geert full freedom to write this intro song, and he has done a great job, that’s for sure.  When I received the intro song it was fun to step in this mythical world and to play the parts that translated my own feelings.

‘Bloodrush’ and ‘Child Of Anger’ are a bit more aggressive although they remain very melodic songs.

Is Prime a one-off project for you or can we expect more from Prime in the future and will Carsten always be Prime’s lead singer or do you plan to work with other vocalists in the future?

First of all, I can tell you this is not a one-off project and I’m sure there will be more of this.  With all the ideas and music, I have, I’m sure there will come a 2nd album. Carsten did an amazing job on this album; I have a lot of respect for this amazing singer.  Carsten’s voice fits the music perfectly and there’s no need to look for another singer.

I believe you have just filmed a music video for the song ‘Babylon Rising’ what was that experience like? And do you view music videos as important in the internet era when promoting your music?

I had already experience with the shooting of the Frozen Rain video clip.  ‘Babylon Rising’ was more special since it was a clip of one of my favourite songs I’ve written for this album.  All people involved did a great job, the idea of the clip was to do a recording of a live gig. It was really fun to do so, and we had an amazing time together. It’s always important for a band to do a video clip, people can see AND hear the artists involved on an album.  Nowadays the internet is the most important medium to gain new fans and reach a lot of people.  When people like your clip/music they will share it with their own friends, it’s like a snowball effect.

Do you have any live shows planned especially here in the UK, you can tell us about?

We are currently working very hard with the band, doing rehearsals and we will hit the stages this year.   There are no UK gigs planned yet, but this can change very quick, so stay tuned on our facebook page where you can get all latest news about the band.

Thanks for your time, Rik, is there anything else you’d like to add or say?

I hope the people buying our album will be very satisfied and as happy as I am with the final result.

Thank you Woody, it was my pleasure! Cheers!