ANDY HOWELLS chats to Jack from Cardiff -based band HOUDINI DAX

Who are Houdini Dax and how did you all come together?

We’re a three piece band from Cardiff. We met in school and rather than going to lessons we used to write songs in the asbestosfilled music rooms on pianos and guitars. That’s where we developed our craft of writing, arranging and getting on each other’s nerves.

Where did the name Houdini Dax come from?

Drummer Dave was really into this character off YouTube when we were in our teens called Dax Flame and in one of the videos he refers to himself as ‘Houdini Dax’. We thought it was different but memorable, and it just stuck. I specifically remember Dave’s mum being a fan of the name at the time.

How would you describe your style of music?

Like any band it’s a big combination of our influences. We’re huge Beatle fans, and love a lot of 60’s music. Recently we’ve been enjoying Tame Impala, Jake Bugg and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, so it’s probably a crossover of those type of artists. The thing that all those artists have in common are strong songs and that’s exactly where our priorities lie.

What has been your best live experience so far?

There are always a few that stand out for certain reasons. Our headline Cardff shows are always really fun and at the last one Charlotte Church sang with us on a song which was great. Other shows which were particularly good include supporting Charlotte at Gloucester Guildhall, playing with Paul Heaton in Cardiff and most recently supporting The Strypes.

Where can we catch you live and do you have any further releases planned?

We’re playing Diverse Music’s 25th Birthday at Le Pub, Newport on Friday, September 27 which will be great. We will be releasing some new material very soon which we’re really excited about as well as recording our second album in the near future!