Q&A: DRAAG
BRINGING IN A SLEW OF ELEMENTS - Draag welcomes influences from everywhere to shape their sound. What started as a solo project of Adrian Acosta has grown to a full band with Jessica Huang, Nick Kelley, Ray Montes and Shane Graham. With musical background ranging from mariachi to punk, Draag hones in on a plethora of elements. Their new EP, Clara Luz, centers around processing trauma and everything that comes with that. Read on to learn more about their latest project, their visuals and more.
LUNA: How has all of yours different musical backgrounds played into the sound of Draag?
JESSICA: I grew up listening to musical soundtracks on endless repeat (West Side Story, Mamma Mia), and bootleg mixtapes of 70s-90s American pop songs burned onto CDs my parents bought in China. It's contributed to my love for sad ballads and blissfully painful heartbreak songs.
RAY: Though we all come from different musical backgrounds, what makes this band work is we all dabble with different instruments, and trust each others musical ear when it comes to fine tuning a song.
NICK: There are some obvious and not so obvious influences in Draag’s music. The more interesting Draag songs, to me, are the ones where we push the musical envelope. Songs of pain and love tend to be common denominators between everyone. Long live Whitehouse! (the band)
SHANE: I choose to pursue a music degree where I studied a whole range of styles and various percussion instruments. My love for Jazz, Latin and other styles not typically found in the style of music we play, has made an interesting mix into the overall sound and style of draag’s music.
ADRIAN: My dad was a mariachi singer who was close to breaking in the Latin music world. He was on the label Altamirano Records where Zebulon is now. But my obsession with music started when I lived in this house that had a heater that projected these beautiful drones that would sometimes bleed into my dreams. I always make a conscious effort to honor that feeling I used to get as a child when I write music. My childhood heater is probably my biggest influence.
LUNA: Are there any common themes or emotions the EP touches on?
DRAAG: A lot of paradoxes. Isolation yet feeling held, hope in hopelessness, simultaneously gentle and aggressive. It feels right when we hit our signature sad happiness/happy sadness.
LUNA: Can you share a favorite memory from the creative process for Clara Luz?
DRAAG: Pulling off that trick at the end of Trauma Kit visualizer was pretty exhilarating. Everything else about the process was not as pleasurable - just hard work the way therapy is hard work.
LUNA: What track means the most to you from the project?
DRAAG: "Ghost Leak" was the most cathartic and true to the personality of this project. It essentially birthed the existence of the rest of the EP.
LUNA: If “Ghost Leak” and “Trauma Kit” are serving at just a taste of the album, how would you compare the overall tone of this EP to your previous music?
DRAAG: This EP covers a wider spectrum sonically and rhythmically, intertwining 90s house, jungle beats, ambient pop, and psych prog rock. We collaborated with Jon Nunez from sludge pop metal band Torche on a few songs, who helped us flesh out a massive sound with shoegaze and pop sensibility.
LUNA: Back in December you released a video & single “Ghost Leak” - how important is bringing in the visual aspect to your music?
DRAAG: Very important and natural to us. Creating music is like creating characters, someone you can relate to or project yourself onto. The personas in “Ghost Leak” and “Trauma Kit” were extensions of ourselves.
LUNA: What do you want people to know about this EP? Is there something you want them to takeaway from it?
DRAAG: It’s completely unpretentious.
LUNA: You’ve got a residency at The Echo coming up - congrats! After a busy winter between that and the EP, what do you hope the rest of the year with bring you?
DRAAG: Touring and hope to finish our first full length album.