Photo Credit: Press

Ahead of their upcoming debut UK headline tour, we sat down with Sam Thomson of New Zealand pop quartet DRAX PROJECT to talk about their journey from busking on the streets of their native country, to performing in arenas and stadiums with huge artists across the world. The opportunities haven’t stopped there, with credits on the recent Lord of the Rings film also discussed, 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the band.

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How did Drax Project form?

Sam: Originally it was Shaan (saxophone/synth) and Matt (drums). They were living together at university and started busking, playing covers of top 40 songs. A couple months later, I ended up living with them guys, joined the band and we started playing shows in bars and clubs and even high school balls. A year later, Ben joined and that is when we started writing our own music. It has been a journey for sure, but it’s awesome.

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Busking is predominantly a solo artist’s starting point, how different is it for a band to be playing on the streets?

Sam: We had to split the money between the three of us. In Wellington, people hadn’t really seen a band busking before, it was more solo artists who were doing it. It had more of a party element to it, you have drums, you have sax, we were playing top 40 bangers outside clubs where people would go from one club to the next. We’d have crowds of up to 200 people around us, basically a club on the street. The cops would come move us on if crowds got too big or too loud, but we never got locked up for it which was good.

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What is the music scene like in New Zealand?

Sam: The larger international acts will only really play Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Occasionally they will throw in Dunedin, but it is mostly one or two of the main cities. People tend to be okay with travelling, as they are so used to it. Domestic acts will play more shows around the country, and that is how we started out whilst in New Zealand. We’d play anywhere we could. Recently, we played a show on an island where only 1000 people live, and there were 300 people there, which is a small show for us, but still a really cool experience.

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What differences have you noticed from performing in other countries?

Sam: The crowd energy really differs from country to country, and even city to city. Some are really engaged and quiet, and others are more intense. The times we have played in the UK and Europe, it is opening for other acts, if the crowd hasn’t seen us play before, you have that opportunity to win them over which is similar to the busking thing. It is cool to see the crowds turn and get into what you are doing. 

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You’ve had support slots with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Christina Aguilera during your time, how was that experience getting to share a stage with such big names?

Sam: The Ed Sheeran shows were the first big shows we had ever played. There were three shows at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, across the three nights we had played to over 130,000 people. It was really awesome to see the crowd get involved and figure out who we are and what we are about. The Christina Aguilera and Camilla Cabello shows were really awesome experiences as well.

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Going from performing on the streets to playing in a stadium is a huge jump in such a short time, is it still a pinch me moment for you?

Sam: I think there were a few moments for me personally, the Ed Sheeran shows were definitely one of them. The opportunities musically that I have experienced, it’s a really exciting time in my life. Getting to travel, experience different people and cultures, whilst playing music is amazing. 

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Members of the band have also been involved with the new Lord of the Rings animation film, which was released in December 2024. How did that opportunity come about?

Sam: Ben sang and played guitar for a song that was in the movie. We’re friends with some of the script writers, who have done a couple of our music videos. Matt did some percussion on the track too, and because he was in the studio already, he ended up doing some off screen lines which is pretty awesome.

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This May you will be touring the UK for the first time as a headline act, is there any reason why now is the time to do it?

Sam: We’re pretty lucky with visas, it is a pretty simple situation. For us, we were planning to come back in 2020, as well as the US and Europe, then the world shut down. We then began writing music, honing that skill and getting things together whilst we were in New Zealand and Australia. It is going to be nice to come back to the UK and travel around and play the shows.

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During your time as a band, has your writing process changed at all, or has it always remained the same?

Sam: We’ve always been completely collaborative, the four of us have input on all parts. Our most recent record, we were much more self-sufficient with the writing and production. We’ve just been working towards honing those skills, things are exactly how we want it to be right now. For the new stuff that we are going to be releasing, we are really trying to capture the live energy that we have, and that is one of the reasons why we put out the ‘Live at the Jazz Cafe’ album last year, was to give people the idea of the energy from our live shows.

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2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for the band, with a UK tour and new music on the horizon, what else is in the works for Drax Project?

Sam: It is good to plan ahead. We are going to be announcing some shows for Europe, some more Australia shows, and a group of songs that we are happy to put out.

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Is there anything you haven’t achieved as a band yet that you would like to still?

Sam: We’re just trying to get our music to more ears at this moment in time. We want to make music that we love, that we are super proud of, and if that means playing lots of shows, that is the main goal. It is our favourite thing to do.

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Drax Project will be performing across the UK as part of their debut headline tour this May. Tickets are on sale now.

17th May – London, Islington Assembly Hall
19th May – Manchester, YES The Pink Room
20th May – Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
23th May – Bristol, The Louisiana