By Rafe Llewellyn, Second Year History
I'm searching for possible technology faults as my screen flashes quickly from an old photo of the band to the two members of Drax Project I've been given the opportunity to chat to ahead of their highly anticipated tour. Sam Thompson, who plays bass, sits back in his chair and gives a gentle wave as we exchange pleasantries. He's sat on a spinning chair with Ben O'Leary to his left peering curiously at the screen.
The two adjust their seating positions before settling into conversation. Sam tells me that it is 8:30pm in Sydney where they are calling me from, although Ben assures me that it could be worse, 'It would be 10:30 in New Zealand'.
We begin by discussing the group's transformation from their student days, where they began by busking alongside music degrees. It's clear that humility remains central to them as they describe their journey from 'playing majority covers' and being filmed for YouTube by passers-by.
Ben reminisces over simple days when it was 'not a serious thing', telling me that this is where the name 'Drax' came from. Passers-by who admired the young musicians wanted something to title their videos for YouTube, so the group simply merged the names of the instruments they played at the time, 'drums' and 'sax'.
Still playing covers despite their songwriting success, a favourite they still include in their sets is, from their biggest idol, Justin Timberlake, 'Cry Me a River'.
Continuing on, Ben and Sam both display an enthusiasm for performance that washes through the screen. They proudly state that the show often continues after the concert. They love to find the 'dingiest, grimy shit cupboard' they can find after a sellout show to play an afterparty at, just to play for an hour or so with no set list and no breaks.
Although neither of the pair have ever been to Bristol, a glint appears in both of their eyes as I reveal to them that Bristol holds all of the perfect venues for such an event and in fact, it's what we do best.
It seems also that the Drum and Bass culture so renowned in Bristol also holds the same resonance all the way on the other side of the world - 'it's HUGE in New Zealand'.
Drax Project look forward to being in the UK again, as they recorded their most recent project live at the Jazz Café in London, citing that although they were aware of the iconic venue, the album was actually an afterthought.
'We knew that it was iconic but it took us a while to click', they admit. Inspired by their discovery that D'Angelo had done similar, they discovered quickly that 'heaps of our idols have done it'- including the likes of Amy Winehouse.
The pair laugh as I pose the question of how it feels to be reaching the same milestones that these idols have reached but the sentiment of my question is real. Whilst comparisons to the success of the likes of Olivia Dean and Jamiroquai who have performed in the same venues before them may seem farfetched, Drax project are building up quite the discography, recently reaching over half a billion streams across platforms and collaborating with the likes of Fetty Wap and Hailee Steinfeld.
Despite this, the pair remain clearly grounded. We discuss the numbers as I ask if the feeling is any different with each added nought to their streaming numbers. Sam and Ben both candidly articulate that with the nature of the streaming game now, 'you just kinda put the music out there and do what you can to get it to people'.
Their focus drifts back to performing live as Ben insists that it is more the people in the room that count, their love of performance stemming back to busking in Wellington, where they began the journey - 'we started as performers and that's still our favourite part'.
Their glittering reviews is what Ben pins down to this fact. He adds that when you busk, 'If you're shit, you're not gonna get any money'. I agree wholeheartedly before following my curiosity, perhaps cheekily tabling the question of who brought in the most cash while busking.
The pair's beaming warmth for their fellow bandmates emanates through the screen as they sing the praises of Shaan, the band's vocalist and Saxophonist, before adding that even he would be nothing without Matt the drummer.
If anyone has seen the 2024 The Lord of the Rings film, The War of the Rohirrim, the keener film lovers may have picked out the voice of Luke Pasqualino, who plays Freddy in the Bristol staple, Skins.
Sam tells me that he met Luke at the premier where they performed at Hobbiton in New Zealand. Not only this, but Matt played for the soundtrack of the film. Whilst Andy Serkis was also famously a fan of the group that night, I'm delighted to hear that the pair know about everyone's favourite Bristol-based show. According to the two, the show is popular in New Zealand and was a regular watch for Sam when he was younger.
Limited by Zoom's only student-friendly subscription (the free version) the guys sign out with a grin that says they're already picturing the dingiest Bristol cupboard they can muster up.
The group will be headlining The Louisiana right before Love Saves The Day on May 23rd - a perfect appetiser for your festival weekend!
Featured Image: ChuffmediaWhat's your favourite cover a band brings to their live show?
