Albany fans to rock out when Drapht brings new album tour to region

Aussie hip-hop artist Drapht will make Albany the final stop on his regional tour in November as he shares a highly anticipated new album he describes as a “purge and a reset”.

With a national tour disrupted by COVID-19, fans across regional WA will pick up the win, with 13 shows starting in Fremantle next month.

Drapht will perform in front of Albany fans at Studio 146 on November 20 in the last show of the tour.

Speaking to Inspire last Friday, Drapht said he couldn’t wait to play to the always “raucous” Albany crowd.

“I look forward to seeing everyone and I can’t wait to play again,” he said.

“I love the energy of playing rurally, full-stop.

“It’s always different to playing a big-city show, because they’re kind of expected.

“(Regional shows) are my favourite shows because the people are so keen to have a good time, with high energy and a loud crowd.”

The tour will showcase his seventh album, Shadows and Shinings, full of Drapht’s signature introspective songwriting.

Recorded in his home studio in Perth, mixed by Andy Lawson and mastered by King Willy Sound, the new album is described as a 15-track adventure through the human psyche.

“The album cover art is an illustration of my childhood home, and the title Shadows and Shinings is a metaphor that represents all of the lightest and darkest times within my life while making it, from the birth of my daughter to having another relationship breakdown,” Drapht said.

“From reflecting on the success of my career in the industry, to the struggles with my mental health that also came with it.”

Finished during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, Drapht spoke about the process behind the album.

“This album to me has been one big purge and a reset for the most part. It kind of feels like it’s meant to be slotted in just after my 2011 release, The Life of Riley,” he said.

“Some song ideas had been following me around for eight or nine years, with others only being a few months.

For the most part I owe finishing it to the isolation period in 2020.

I had a lot of time to reflect on the identity and the relationships that came with making music.

“I found a lot of peace in letting go, going back to what I knew worked and concentrating on the people who truly matter ... I worked with a heap of killer guests and friends on this project.

“There’s a lot of cathartic venting within the subject matter, but in all, it was the easiest and most enjoyable album I have made to date.

“I truly believe this is my best stuff.”

Drapht has notched up his fair share of accolades during his career, with platinum records, multi-platinum and gold singles, and two ARIA awards under his belt.

“Because of what’s happening with the COVID situation at the moment, I am more grateful than ever to be able to get out there and play some shows off the back of the album, when so many of my friends over east don’t have the same opportunities right now,” he said.