From a bed room studio to mainstream success and ARIA Awards, WA hip-hop star Drapht (aka Paul Reid) takes his stellar journey to a different stage with WA Symphony Orchestra at Perth Concert Hall subsequent month.
How the West Was Won celebrates Drapht’s 20-year success with excerpts from his again catalogue and a few new songs, all orchestrated by WASO principal trombonist Joshua Davis.
“For me, it’s a massive achievement,” Drapht stated.
“Being in the music industry for the last 20 years and being approached by WASO was a bit daunting at first, and when I accepted the arrangements, I felt like it’s once in a lifetime for me, and an opportunity that doesn’t arise every day.
“I usually play with a seven-piece band, and it’s a seated show and a 50-piece orchestra. It’s going to be a completely different setting. Worlds apart for both acts, I think.
“A lot of my stuff is based around horn arrangements, so we have that in common, plus being from WA and flying the flag for Sandgropers.”
Self-taught, Drapht admits that coping with educated professionals has been daunting but in addition rewarding.
“Josh has been an absolute godsend to deal with,” he stated.
“Super welcoming, taking my ideas on, it really has been a collaboration, so I’m excited for this.
We’ve recorded a couple of the songs and it kind of feels like a little bit of a dream.
“It’s brought a life to my music that was not quite there. It’s like another dimension to what I had in place and a lot of things we’re working on are songs from 15 years ago (my second release) and 10 years ago (my third release).”
That consists of his best hit, Jimmy Recard, from breakout album Brothers Grimm, recorded in a video efficiency below the baton of WASO assistant conductor Jen Winley.
“I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and it starts to slow down,” Drapht says. “You feel like you’re part of the rat race, then something like this happens and you’re invigorated. It’s given me a bit of a second wind to get back into the studio.”
The newest album, Shadows and Shinings will even determine, with new launch Tomorrow Today going reside for the primary time, which he says is “equal parts daunting and exciting”.
“When you bring a new track into the set you want to test it at a smaller scale show, but this time it’s going to be Perth Concert Hall and we’ll see,” he stated.
“For the orchestra, it’s dealing with something that’s more organic and based on feelings more than musical theory — a lot of my work is sample-based, with layered instrumentation, be it drum samples or horns — I don’t think they would have worked in that world before.
Watch Drapht and WASO
“The beauty with WASO is they’re open to all of this, there’s no snobbery, which I really appreciate. Twenty years ago we weren’t even seen as a genre. It wasn’t even possible for my music to be played on the radio 20 years ago and now not only is it possible, but the WA Symphony Orchestra are backing me, so it’s just amazing to see the WA Symphony Orchestra are also in those 20 years.”
He describes his common exhibits as “party-based”, designed for an evening out in a pub or membership.
“Because I do base a lot of my performances on what’s going to be most fun and bring the most energy, there’s a lot of my back catalogue that I wouldn’t necessarily play live,” Drapht stated.
“For me, even I haven’t heard what WASO is going to do with some of the songs, so it’s exciting to see how they flesh it all out.”
It’s additionally a chance for an older era to pattern what the youth is listening to.
“You know what, my mum doesn’t even come to my shows, she’s been to one and she’s like OK, the energy is not for me,” Drapht says. “My aunties and my older friends like listening to my music but wouldn’t necessarily come to a show, so there’s a great opportunity for a lot of people in that older demographic, for sure.”
