Meet The Band: Houdini Dax

How did Houdini Dax 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 asbestos-filled 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 you get your name 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 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 Sly and The Family Stone, 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.

How do you go about writing your songs, do you find it easy to work together and inspire each other?

We started writing songs as a band when we were about fifteen and the process hasn’t really changed since then. Usually, Jack and Dave will meet up and glue together some melodic ideas that complement each other. That’s how a lot of the songs are made, others are written solely by one or the other. We’re lucky that we find it easy to bounce ideas off each other and seem to be on the same wavelength most of the time. There’s an element of competition involved as well which is really healthy and means we’re constantly improving.

Owen has some cool riffs and chord progressions too, and we incorporate them into songs. We’re in a fortunate position where we can all write so it gives us a nice selection of ideas to choose from.

What's been your best live experience so far?

We’ve had some really amazing gigs so far but the ones that have stood out for us recently have been Gwyl Gwydir and Dim Swn.

Gwyl Gwydir is a festival in North Wales. We didn’t think anybody would know who we were but when we started playing the tent filled up really quickly and people started singing our lyrics back to us – it was a great feeling. Dim Swn was equally electric! We headlined the Horizons stage in our hometown of Cardiff and the place was packed before we started playing. The crowd were great and the set couldn’t have gone any better for us.

Are you working on any material at the moment? (feel free to mention any new releases you might have)

Yeah, we’re constantly working on new material (it’s how we stay sane). Our next album is recorded and we can’t wait to get that out there. On top of that, we have a new bunch of songs that we’re preparing in the studio which we’re really excited about. They definitely have a different sound to the album and feel like a progression.

Where can we see you live?

We’re just about to tour India so we’ll be playing Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore through November which we’re really excited about! When we get back, we’re doing a session at Maida Vale for the BBC and playing The Monarch in Camden on Friday 28th November.

Where can we find out more about the band?

www.facebook.com/houdinidax

www.youtube.com/houdinidax

www.twitter.com/houdinidax

www.instagram.com/houdinidax

www.houdinidax.com

www.soundcloud.com/houdini-dax

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