Track By Track: Draper on his Luminous EP

Want You More

This track was a mountain to climb, but worth it for where we ended up with it! Sam Sure and I created a ton of different vocal versions of this track and it wasn’t quite gelling together. In a text he suggested moving the chorus to what is now the pre-chorus, which was the catalyst to finish the track in its entirety. It’s about a feeling that a lot of people will be familiar with, which is wanting a love interest more than they want you - looking for a deeper connection than just a physical one.

Jealous

BB Diamond came through massively on this track! Fire vocals on all counts. I’m a big fan of hers and to finally collaborate was awesome. It started off as a short 16-bar idea, then working with BB the track took shape so quickly. Whilst the subject matter was forming it was clear we needed a big chorus to convey the powerful frustration of being jealous. What we came up with was this sampled "Jealous" melody which we knew straight away was going to be killer! 10/10 - would work with BB again.

I.O.U

This was the first track that was written for this EP. I’d worked with KYKO before and had really enjoyed it, so in another session we wrote something slightly outside his comfort zone - what we came up with was brilliant. The track is about how a relationship can get confusing and messy, but when you spend time to really get to know someone’s mind you realise that it’s worth starting over and remembering why you’re with them.

Reaction

This is the only track on the EP for which I still haven’t met the singer! This track was done entirely remotely, with Milck in LA and myself in London. When I was introduced to Milck over e-mail I sent over the instrumental, and what she sent back was so great. I instantly loved where she’d taken it. She sent me the acapella and I got to work mixing and sculpting it to its final point. It’s about letting loose and unravelling: “Don’t hold yourself back now I’m trying to let you out.”

Heartbeat Close

This one was super fun. The vocal sample in the chorus was taken from another track that wasn’t working, so I wrote a new track around it. The vocals were then created by a hugely talented writer called Seren who has yet to release anything - making this her debut feature release! It’s about trying to reach out and connect with someone who’s thick skinned as a consequence from being let down in their past. I love the power delivered in the words “close to mine” in the chorus.

Who Are You

The closing track on the EP is also my debut singing release! I’ve never been confident in my singing skills but this I was very happy with the end result. It’s about the desire to get to know someone you don’t know at all, but you know would be exciting and interesting. Julia Sykes helped me write this one and I’m so grateful for her support in the process!