Drax Project Biography
Drax Project is a New Zealand band from Wellington formed in 2013/14. Recording a mix of jazz, R&B and pop music, the band came to prominence in 2017 with the single "Woke Up Late", which was certified triple platinum by RIANZ while the 2019 version featuring Hailee Steinfeld was certified triple platinum in Australia. They began as buskers in Wellington in 2013; Shaan Singh on saxophone and Matt Beachen on drums (the origin of Drax being a portmanteau of 'drums' and 'sax'). Double bassist Sam Thomson joined shortly after, and guitarist Ben O'Leary joined the band a year after, when the band made the switch to creating original material. All members were jazz students at the New Zealand School of Music, except for O'Leary who studied music at Whitireia New Zealand. In August 2014, the band released their first extended play to Bandcamp. In 2016, the group released their second extended play, T/W/OO, through Universal. In November 2017, the band released the song "Woke Up Late". It gained popularity over the next few months and was widely played on New Zealand radio stations. In January 2019, a new version of "Woke Up Late" was released, featuring American singer Hailee Steinfeld. In June 2019, they released the single "All This Time". Their debut, self-titled studio album was released on 27 September 2019.
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