Meet Drakeford - A husband and wife singer-songwriter duo based in Chattanooga, TN. Made up of a Brit and an American, the world-traveling duo's music is folksy at heart with hints of pop throughout, with the finger-picking style being as clear and crisp as the vocal articulation. They manage to repeatedly deliver quality both in musical ingenuity and lyrical depth. Their first full album, Anchors Aweigh, has received outstanding reviews and taken them on tour all over the United States and Europe, performing at festivals, Universities, house shows, coffee shops and everything in between.
Get to know our latest Center Stage duo, what inspires them, and what they're cooking up for the new year in our newest artist Q&A:
Can you describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence?
We are a husband and wife Folk duo with hints of Pop and Americana, with Lucy-Jayne's British roots adding some flair to the sound as well!
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process.
What was the highlight for you in 2017? Either personally or for your music career?
What have you been working on recently? Can you give us a hint for whats to come in 2018?
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over?
Any embarrassing on stage moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.
What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
What do you like the most about Radio Airplay?
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
For me (Drake), I remember my Grandad giving me a classical guitar when I was 6. I would just lay on the couch, strum it openly and make up songs about whatever my little attention span could grasp! My earliest memory (Lucy-Jayne) is being given a karaoke machine. i would come home from school everyday and sing into it for hours!
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
I think we'd have to say Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface. Mainly because it's so different from our style, but we love their music so it'd be fun to put our own spin on it.
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process.
Yes we write all our own songs. Every song is a little bit different, but typically music comes first and then a vocal melody followed by lyrics. Once I've found a melody I like, I tend to just sing out random things that don't make sense until something resonates, and I build around that. I normally start the ideas, but Lucy-Jayne is always a fundamental part of solidifying the final draft.
What was the highlight for you in 2017? Either personally or for your music career?
We had a few different highlights, but probably playing at our first ever festival in May, and also releasing a Christmas EP and touring it with friends. It was a great year!
What have you been working on recently? Can you give us a hint for whats to come in 2018?
Yes! We've actually been working hard in the studio the last year in Nashville on our second full length album! We're almost done with it, and hope to release it before the summer!
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
Drake prefers live and Lucy prefers studio! So a good balance I guess!
What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over?
We're big into the band NEEDTOBREATHE. We've been listening to Gabrielle Aplin's new EP on repeat since it came out as well!
Any embarrassing on stage moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.
Haha oh goodness. Probably too many to count! One time, we were performing at a Festival in the UK but I (Drake) completely lost my voice due to a bad cold. So, 30 minutes before going on stage I told Lucy-Jayne that she'd need to sing all my parts which she'd never done before. So we changed all the keys to suit her range. We only realized half way through the first song how obvious it is that the words were written by a man....leaving Lucy to sing about wanting a wife!! It was embarrassing until we explained afterwards, and the audience thought it was hilarious!
What's one thing people should know about you? Lucy-Jayne and I actually met in the small country of Kyrgyzstan and started dating while living in Istanbul, Turkey! It was there that we started doing music together...which eventually led to us doing it full time back in the States!
What's one thing people should know about you? Lucy-Jayne and I actually met in the small country of Kyrgyzstan and started dating while living in Istanbul, Turkey! It was there that we started doing music together...which eventually led to us doing it full time back in the States!
What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
I (Drakeford) love woodturning ie making rings, bowls, shakers, basically anything out of wood!! ...and I (Lucy-Jayne) love dancing! I used to be a full time choreographer and still love dancing on the side. I would say both those things definitely rejuvenate us!
What do you like the most about Radio Airplay?
We love that Radio Airplay gives Independent Artists a platform for their songs to be heard on the radio! We've had thousands of people all over the world hear our songs and become fans because of Radio Airplay. We're very grateful.