Draftday Misspent Interview

Driving Drumline, Dangerously Addictive Riffs and an Unfaltering Baseline

Darwin pop-punk band Draftday has released Misspent. 

The genre-bending five-piece have already found success on triple j with singles "Soap" and "En Soi". Now, showcasing a more aggressive approach than the band has touched on previously, "Misspent" finds a sonic home somewhere between Trophy Eyes and Ceres.

With a driving drumline, dangerously addictive riffs and an unfaltering baseline, "Misspent" is DRAFTDAY's most unrestrained track yet. Evoking both sadness and anger, the song is an honest representation of what goes through your head after being hurt.

Interview with Arran Barker

Question: How would you describe your music?

Arran Barker: A burst of Catharsis, moving between soaring choruses and downtempo reflections.


Question: Can you tell us about Misspent?

Arran Barker: Misspent is the second single from our upcoming EP 'When I Went Away', it's the punchiest track on the EP and was a definite turning point in our writing process. I think it's kind of a blend of each member's influence, there's a big influence of heavy music and post-punk.


Question: What inspired Misspent?

Arran Barker: We only had the instrumental for quite a while, which was inspired in part by 'Song 2' (Blur).

The way that track just constantly hits with such a driving riff was something we wanted to mess with. It was a cool idea as a base! But we wanted to expand on that, so we figured out ways to kind of derail that constant movement (changing rhythms and glitches).

Lyrically the track was inspired by tapping into the more childish and self centred thoughts that we go through in loss. It felt necessary to address in the narrative of the EP, as a way to be completely transparent with our listeners. There has to be some degree of addressing the negative alongside the positive, making an example of approaching this sort of thought in a way that doesn't glorify it, instead making it human. A thought but not a method of acting.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Arran Barker: It would certainly differ from person to person, which is important. I think there should always be a degree of distance in a message within writing; it lets listeners connect to what you write in their own way.

For this EP though, the broad message is to approach change, heartbreak or loss as a method of growth.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Arran Barker: At the moment probably recording, we're in a space as a group where we want to continue to grow our sound and are feeling pretty inspired to get back into that process.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Arran Barker: The closing track on our EP titled 'White Fences' is definitely our favourite, we won't give too much away but it's an emotional ride for us to perform. By far the most honest piece of music we've written.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Arran Barker: Oh this is hard, and coming up with one answer as a group was tricky! We've decided to go with Stone Cold Steve Austin. That's the dream.


Question: What is the story behind the band name?

Arran Barker: Our guitarist Tom came up with the name from a hat that he had found with the word 'Draftday' printed on the front; it sounded like a solid band name! So we checked to make sure the name hadn't been taken and rolled with it. There's no bigger meaning to the name really.


Question: How did the band come together?

Arran Barker: I moved back to Darwin from Sydney in 2018, Tom and Lucas had been talking about starting to write and we all crossed paths at a local show. For a while we all just hung out in the same friendship group and would occasionally talk about shows and music we listened to, eventually we got together in a room and started writing. There was a great vibe and chemistry in our different styles and influences.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Arran Barker: The process, without a doubt, being in a room where you have absolute freedom to express your ideas alongside people who are working towards a common goal.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Arran Barker: Slowly Slowly, Loathe, DIIV, LANY and Bjork.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?
Arran Barker: It's different for all of us, for me, music was always a huge part of my family. Growing up alongside musicians (primarily my dad) meant it was always a constant in my life.

I think an aspect of it that ties us all together would be the art form, the ability to express and create a distillation of your yourself in something so succinct. It's very special.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Arran Barker: Probably someone like Thom Yorke, he's a real experimental creative force that would be able to open new avenues of our writing process.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Arran Barker: Self-doubt is a big one, and a constant struggle; battling with your own head over what you're doing can be so detrimental to your process.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Arran Barker: A typical day when we're all together is usually getting together in our studio and talking for hours before actually working. Currently we're back on the writing grind so we'll spend a day/night bouncing ideas around, and often go to a local bar and spend time together as mates.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Arran Barker: It's probably also the writing process, alongside meeting seriously inspiring and amazing people within the scene.


Question: What's next, for you?

Arran Barker: Releasing our debut EP within the next month or so! And then continuing to write more, this year is in a sort of limbo at the moment. So we aren't sure on what else may come forward!


Question: Can you share your socials?

Arran Barker: @draftdayaus
https://www.facebook.com/draftdayaus/

 

Interview by Brooke Hunter