Drahla – in session for Marc Riley – BBC 6 Music – May 1, 2023 – BBC 6 Music –
Drahla to start the week. Recorded live in session for Marc Riley at BBC 6 Music only hours ago.
Drahla first made ripples in 2016 with a string of auspicious early singles. That led to a deal with the mighty Captured Tracks, support slots with genre stalwarts Ought and Metz, and even a much revered invitation to play at Robert Smith’s Meltdown festival.
Despite those disconnected circumstances it’s experimentation – the kind that feels like it’s had time to gestate – that’s the driving force behind this first effort. There’s plenty of it. Like the two minutes dominated by serrated free jazz saxophone on ‘React/Revolt’, before the songs ignites to become a barbed damnation of today’s socio-political environment. Saying that, the experimentalism is still paired with the kind of post-punk they’ve become know for. ‘Twelve Divisions of the Day’ and ‘Stimulus for Living’ see singer Brown break away from her spoken-word observational commentary and convert into a more cutting delivery of piercing utterances, backed up by a sustained barrage of guitar and drums.
Drahla began when bassist Luciel Brown and guitarist Rob Riggs hit a dead end of making music in their bedroom in South London’s Crystal Palace and moved back up north to reconnect with old friend Mike Ainsley (drums) and create a new base in Leeds and Wakefield.
It’s not just the band’s musical arrangement that’s particularly striking – Luciel’s vivid lyricism draws from poetry and her own creative writing, with captivating results. Its snappy delivery builds yet more momentum, while the lyrics themselves nod to politically-mindful themes. Rob echoes that truth-telling sentiment: “if you’re not being authentic, there’s no point in doing it at all.”
So to get an idea what they’ve been doing, as of a few hours ago – sit back and press play.
