Draag began when Adrian Acosta (songwriter, vocalist, guitarist) revived songs he recorded on his karaoke tape deck when he was 10 years old. Growing up in the northeast San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, there was nothing for kids to do. Adrian was deeply involved in the DIY punk scene there as a preteen; Backyard shows happened every weekend by word of mouth and through flyers at school, with some shows ending in drive-by shootings from rival gangs. As a kid, Acosta purposely used warped tapes and dissonant sounds without understanding what he loved about it, but upon discovering artists such as My Bloody Valentine, Boards of Canada, and Throbbing Gristle, he realized he wasn’t the only one.
After meeting Ray Montes (guitar), Nick Kelley (bass), and Eric Fabbro (drums), through many years in LA’s music community, Draag began to coalesce as the full realization of what Acosta had always dreamt of creating, connecting with like minded artists who were also deeply involved in the local scene. Jessica Huang (synth, vocals) joined the band after replying to an ad they’d posted on Craigslist, and the lineup was complete. She had a different musical upbringing, classically trained in piano and played the alto sax in marching band, and was on tumblr instead of at backyard shows.
Following two EPs, 2018’s Nontoxic Process and 2020’s Clara Luz, and their first full length LP, 2023’s Dark Fire Heresy, Actually, the quiet is nice explores the liminal space between albums, and the far reaching corners of Draag’s sound. Inspired by TikTok slides of anonymous Flickr uploads of someone’s friends, neighborhood on a summer day, their bedroom, etc. it struck an obsession with that particular feeling in childhood, while knowing you could go back, but no one would be home. Growing up with immigrant parents in the suburbs during the 90s is the landscape of the EP.
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