What are your names?Drew, Po and Jake
What is the band’s name?
Drawing North
How did you come up with the band’s name?
It came originally from a play on words of my name – Drew Southwell Draw/Drawing from Drew, North from Southwell and we all liked it and decided that it could also represent an adventure. The North aspect kind of symbolized venturing out of our home of Australia and pursuing music in America and other parts of the world.
What is your genre of music?
Alternative pop
Give us a little bio about you individually and as a band.
I’m a songwriter/producer and I’ve been playing musical instruments since I was a child. I’ve written with a large number of other writers in America through my travels, which in turn helped us acquire our visas to live here! We started the band in in 2010 but didn’t really take it seriously until a few years ago. When we recorded and released our debut album El Dorado which peaked at #3 on iTunes through Universal Music. We’ve played over 200 shows and have showcased at festivals such as SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, Vans Warped Tour and more. Our next EP comes out this year!
You are set to release a new EP this spring, tell us more about it.
We recorded it end of last year on a beautiful beach on the central coast of Australia with a producer named Andy Mak with whom I co-produced it with. We did 5 songs and we’ll be releasing a bunch of singles before the EP drops later this year. The first is called Stay and comes out April 5!
It is a follow up to your LP El Dorado , what is different about the new EP?
The style has progressed and we’ve grown as writers and musicians. I’d say the music is current and the production elements are a bit more electronic.
Some of your previous tracks have been endorsed by Joel Madden, How did that come about?
One of our first songs we released was a song called Timepiece and we did an acoustic video for it. He somehow stumbled upon it and tweeted about it saying how much he liked it and for everyone to check it out. It was really cool as a younger band to wake up to a whole ton of comments and new fans.
You have also played so many great festivals, What are they like?
Festivals are so much fun. The biggest crowd we’ve played to was a festival in our hometown in Australia to 15000 people. One of the coolest aspects is all the other artists on the bill that we get to meet and chat to. We we’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with some acts much bigger than us and it’s always great to hear their stories and advice or even just have share some drinks!
What is your dream festival to perform?
Coachella would be amazing. Glastonbury is also up there.
What made you get into music?
We all loved performing and loved playing instruments growing up. I think everyone secretly everyone wants a career as a rockstar so as young, naïve teenagers we decided to pursue it!
Are you signed?
We signed with Universal Music Australia for distribution of our debut album last year, but we are now unsigned and doing the next EP independently.
Will you be touring this year?
Yes! We’ve been touring since the start of the year and will be continuing throughout the rest of the year.
If so, where will you be heading?
At this point, just America and Australia.
Who are your influences?
This is a hard question because there are so many new and innovative artists that inspire you to keep going and to keep creating. Songwriting-wise would be Max Martin, Ryan Tedder or Dr Luke.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Usually from personal experiences or stories that have happened to us, our friends or family. We try to be always be aware of what is happening around us and try to translate that to music.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully touring and playing bigger shows, writing with bigger artists and still growing and learning.
When your not doing music,what do you do?
I’m a graphic designer so I do a lot of art. I also love to snowboard and travel.
You are from Australia, what is the music scene like over there?
It’s a lot smaller than here in America, but there are some incredible artists back home. The festivals are also a lot of fun.
What would be your dream venue to play in your hometown?
One of the stadiums in each major city would be a pretty wild achievement!
For anyone visiting Australia, where would you recommend they go?
Anywhere on the beach. Australia is beautiful and has some incredible rainforests up north too. Sydney and Melbourne are insanely fun.
If you could collaborate with one UK Artist or Band who would it be?
Ed Sheeran or Coldplay would be a dream. The 1975 would be dope too.
If you could collaborate with one US Artist or Band who would it be?
One Republic or The Weeknd would be a lot of fun.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Aim to remain humble and believe in yourself daily.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
One quote I often think of is ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ It’s cliché but it’s very relevant to the music industry. You have to have a lot of skill but you also have to have a lot of luck and this helps me every time I doubt myself to keep building and growing.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
The melodies, the lighting, the production, the venue and the clothes the performers wear.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Instagram.com/drawingnorth
Facebook.com/drawingnorth
Twitter.com/drawingnorth
Soundcloud.com/drawingnorth
Youtube.com/drawingnorth
