Drax Project lands ANZ deal with UMPG & more New Signings

Universal Music Publishing Australia has signed multiplatinum-selling New Zealand group Drax Project for Australia and New Zealand.

Band members Shaan Singh, Matt Beachen, Ben O’Leary and Sam Thomson had a quick rise from busking on the streets of Wellington, NZ, to playing alongside Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Christina Aguilera and Lorde.

The triple-Platinum ‘Woke Up Late’, a collaboration with Hailee Steinfeld, has had 60 million global Spotify streams.

The track debuted on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart and was handpicked as Zane Lowe’s World Record and Amazon’s Song Of The Day.

It also won single of the year at the 2018 New Zealand Music Awards where the band won breakthrough artist.

Their self-titled debut album debuted at #2 on the NZ Official Top 40 Album chart and #1 on the official top 20 NZ albums.

“We’ve loved working with Universal as our label in Australasia for the last couple years and are stoked to now be part of the UMPG family too,” the band said in a statement today.

“We’ve pumped our hearts and souls into this album and we’re super excited to be teaming with UMPG to find new opportunities for the songs to be heard.”

Arwen Hunt, vice president, creative/A&R at UMPG Australia & New Zealand, said: “Drax are an astonishing smorgasbord of talent and it’s a tremendous honour to welcome them into our UMPG family.

“The well-deserved, global success of ‘Woke Up Late’ is just the tip of the iceberg for Shaan, Sam, Matt and Ben, and our teams look forward to providing many more creative opportunities in support of their blossoming career.”

Dreggs land US management after BIGSOUND showcase

Plans are for Melbourne hardcore band Dreggs to tour the US in 2020 after they secured US management.

The DIY band has built up a loyal following through an approach that creates its own world, whether it be stage antics with warpaint and masks, and songs about confronting sexual and social stereotypes.

Their current five-minute video ‘Return Of The Dreggs’, in the first minute, sees two men tongue-kissing and a bible being set on fire.

The song is about the return of dregs – those considered dropouts, losers and outcasts.

It was these elements which excited Los Angeles-based music industry veteran Jon Halperin when he saw them at a BIGSOUND showcase in September.

He signed them for management with his colleague Adam La Rue, an artist manager and music business professor.

Calling all Stumps

Sydney indie-rock band Stumps, who formed in 2017, are the latest addition to the Cooking Vinyl Australia roster.

Chosen as triple j Unearthed’s winners for 2019, the band have dropped a joyous disco-inspired new single ‘Laugh About It’.

Singer Kyle Fisher explains, “Life is convoluted, and there is only one cheesy truth.

“So just have a laugh, ‘cause is there any point in doing anything else?”

The band head out on a 10-date East Coast tour which kicks off in Newcastle on October 13 and winds up on December 30 at Lost Paradise in Glenworth.

Floodlights light up at Spunk

Melbourne four-piece garage outfit Floodlights were signed by Spunk Records

Their new single ‘Nullarbor’ is lead singer Louis Parsons’ narrative of his travels across the remote south of Australia.

Says Spunk label head Aaron Curnow, “First thing that jumped out about Floodlights was the quality of songs, and the fact that they sounded really Australian to me.

They pretty much had me the first time I heard ‘Nullarbor’, I love every element of that song… and then I heard the band all surfed and it was an instant done deal!”