It took five years and opening a restaurant for Aussie hip hop mainstay Drapht (aka Paul Reid) to rediscover his passion for writing and performing.
Last year Drapht released his fifth studio album 'Seven Mirrors', which served as the artist's reintroduction to the world after a five-year hiatus spent running his own restaurant, Soloman's Cafe, in Perth. “I took five years off between records and it was a much-needed five years because I didn’t enjoy the process anymore,” Paul says.
“I didn't enjoy touring, I didn't enjoy writing, I didn't know if I was going to release another record. Then I opened my restaurant in Perth and that was going to be my next ten-year cycle, so I just concentrated on that.”
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Received with a healthy heaping of praise from fans and critics alike, 'Seven Mirrors' saw Paul reclaim his spot in the top echelon of Aussie hip hop artists with incredible style and ease, as if he'd never left. “I was super surprised coming back from those five years and still getting that support, not only from my fan base but also the radio and I was extremely fortunate because of that.
"Karnivool live are one of the best bands in Australia, full stop. Those dudes are just animals."
“A lot of people can’t step away for five years, come back and then get their tunes on the radio, then do a national tour off the back off it.
“'Seven Mirrors' for me was a bit of a stepping stone it seems,” Paul says. “It reignited the flame and now I'm stoked to be back writing music again and music that I'm really passionate about and enjoying the process at the same time.”
Drapht will be performing alongside the cream of Western Australia's fruitful musical crop at State Of The Art Festival, a live celebration of the state's superb musical talent on WA Day featuring headline shows from Karnivool, Gyroscope and Bob Evans.
Despite being considered a party-starting legend in his own right, Paul says he is eagerly looking forward to playing alongside rock acts that he spent his formative years listening to and admiring as well as the honour of celebrating the best in WA music.
“Especially playing with bands like Gyroscope and Karnivool who in themselves have been bands I looked up to as a kid and coming up within that WA music scene. So to play on the same stage as those guys is an honour to me. Also I get to celebrate WA music so I can’t wait for that, it’s going to be mad.”
It's Karnivool for who Paul saves his highest praise. “Karnivool live is one of the best bands in Australia, full stop,” he says.
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“Those dudes are just animals when it comes to a live stage and in terms of studio recording as well. I respect them so much for the music they make and how much of themselves they put into the process. They’re playing after me, so I’ll have a little fanboy moment when I get off stage and take in some of their music, which is going to be sick.”
For his own set at SOTA, Paul says audiences will get a taste of 'Seven Mirrors' as well as a selection of old favourites from previous albums. “It’s a bit of old stuff, a bit of new stuff,” he says.
“Probably half the set is going to be a bunch of 'Seven Mirrors' stuff and then I'll do some of the old favourites like 'Jimmy Recard', 'Rapunzel' and 'Falling'. I wouldn’t go too far in terms of back catalogue and wouldn’t touch on stuff before 'Brothers Grimm', so probably three or four albums worth of back catalogue.”
Paul is currently in LA, where he's been living temporarily for the past three months as he continues work on new material for his next album, which he plans to record around September. Having been confined to Perth for so long, he says it was imperative he find new surroundings in order to elicit his best work.
“Removing myself from Perth, I felt so stagnant over there and I felt like everyone was writing with the same formula in terms of radio releases and I wanted to remove myself from that for a little while and be inspired by another way of life.”
With renewed vigour, a refreshed approach to his songwriting and an overall encouraging response to his first record in five years, Paul says he's feeling more confident than ever about returning to production and live performance. “I still feel like there’s a lot of progression there, from having that break to releasing 'Seven Mirrors', and that was a nice reintroduction but in terms of the process, I'm nearly finished another album and plan to release something next year. I feel like I'm on a bit of a roll."
Drapht Shows
Mon 5 Jun - SOTA Festival (Perth)Fri 1 Sep - Snowtunes (Jindabyne)
Thu 28 Sep - Entrance Leagues Club (Central Coast)
Fri 29 Sep - C.EX (Coffs Harbour)
Sat 30 Sep - Surfers Paradise Beer Garden (Gold Coast)
Sun 1 Oct - Caloundra Music Festival (Sunshine Coast)
