DRAX PROJECT EMERGED 'CRAZY' AFTER PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN?

ONE of the most watched groups ever to come out of New Zealand, Drax Project have gone from 4-piece buskers to Pop RnB arena fillers. 

Drax Project are Shaan Singh (lead vocals, sax, keys), Matt Beachen (drums), Sam Thomson (bass, keys, BVs) and Ben O'Leary (Guitar, keys, BVs).

Beginning as jazz students busking on the streets of Wellington New Zealand, Drax Project have grown into one of the most successful groups ever to come out of the country. 

Through their own headline tours, international festival performances and opening for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Cristina Aguilera, Lorde, Brian McKnight and Camila Cabello, the band have established themselves as one of the world's emerging 'must see' live acts. 

After two early EPs established their reputation in New Zealand, their self-titled debut album, on US label 300, made ripples around the world. 

To date it has collected 400 million streams and 22 platinums internationally, with the single "Woke Up Late" ft Hailee Steinfeld recently passing the threshold for US gold. 

"Catching Feelings" ft Six60 and Phony Ppl recently peaked at #16 in the US RnB radio charts. 

They accompanied Famous Dex on the standout single “Light” from his chart-topping gold-certified 2018 debut, Dex Meet Dexter, which bowed at #12 on the Billboard Top 200 and more recently collaborated with Diamond certified New Jersey rapper Fetty Wap and Aacacia on the AUS/NZ hit "Firefly".

Highlight US performances include the i-Heart Radio Festival, Rolling Stone Magazine's Coachella party and two sold out headline club shows in New York.

To date, on Jan 21st, this New Zealand's slickest live band celebrated the release of their first single since the country emerged from lockdown. 

It’s the time to go "Crazy"! 

Unashamedly dance floor slamming, this retro-club-tinged pop-funk homage drips bravado from the get go and is truly a top dropped, TGIF anthem, guaranteed to lubricate your feet. 

"Crazy" wraps Drax’s Project’s signature jazz infused Pop RnB melodies, driving snares and foundation threatening bass, into the very shiniest of contemporary packaging. 

Teaming up with multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated artists/producers, Grey - of "The Middle" and “Starving” fame – along with Grammy-award winning mixer Tom Norris, Drax Project have created an instantly infectious good time affirmation jam!

“'Crazy' is great fun to play and even more fun to dance to. We’ve always had a ton of respect for Grey, so it was a really cool experience to work with them on this track," said Drax Project. 

“Drax were such a blast to work with! It was super easy working with them cause we all have the same attention to detail. So happy with how this one turned out, can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” Grey commented.

While the band may have been quiet on the new release front during the pandemic, they’ve also been quietly collecting Ws. Hot New York Neo-soul group Phony Ppl joined their fellow New Zealanders Six60 on a new version of Drax’s hit “Catching Feelings” - which has sat for months in the US RnB radio top 40.  

They now have more platinum records in Australia than any other band ever to come out of New Zealand. 

Singles off the self-titled debut (300/Universal) album have collected nearly 400 million streams worldwide and 20 Platinum certifications to date, with “Woke Up Late” recently hitting the 500k unit threshold for US gold. 

These impressive numbers look set to soar upon the release of their next level new EP – scheduled for March.

“It’s been a pretty weird last couple of years for everyone! From a health standpoint, we’ve been extremely lucky to be in New Zealand – especially early in the pandemic, when we got to play stadiums while the rest of the world was in lockdown – but it has meant being a long way away from a lot of our audience. Focusing more on recording than releasing has made sense. With more positive signs that the world is starting to open up again, it feels like the right time to start letting out some of the records we’ve been working on,” added Drax Project.

The single is accompanied by a video from acclaimed directors Phoebe Gittens and Arty Papageorgiou.

“We wanted a video that was not just a homage to the club funk artists of the 80s – legendary entertainers like Rick James, Cameo and Morris Day – but also a ‘homage to the homages’ to this era from some of the artists we’ve grown up with –  like Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars. Making it pushed us out of our comfort zone, which is exactly what we want going into this new era,"said Drax Project.

For more info on Drax Project, find them on their social media platform:

instagram, TikTok, facebook and spotify.

#DraxProject #Music #Crazy #Phoebe Gittens #Arty Papageorgiou #NewZealand