Dawn Drake

Genre defying New York based bassist/singer/composer/bandleader/dancer Dawn Drake to release single as memoriam to those lost in the pandemic

Dawn Drake’s new single “Thinking about you” (October 28, 2022) is an electro-acoustic and melancholy tune that was written in memoriam of those who have been lost to the global pandemic and other circumstances. It is a memorial to all of those who have transitioned before we were ready for them to go. The soundscape of the tune fits right in with current zouk and reggaeton rhythms from the Caribbean, with some unexpected additions of ukulele, conga, Nirvana-esque guitars and electro effects that are fresh and bring to mind Vampire Weekend and MGMT. Produced by Noah Dreiblatt (Karikatura, Scynthian), this new sound and collaboration promises that more will follow.

Originally from the mountains of Virginia, Dawn chose to travel at an early age, leaving Virginia in a 1977 Ford Pickup truck to attend college at UC Berkeley on a scholarship and a Pell Grant. She went on from there to study abroad in Ghana, West Africa. Looking for something beyond the depressive environment of her small home town that had led the way of the American opioid epidemic, she found joy in education and learning about other cultures.

From her travels, New York City became her next destination and her home, where after she found a job cocktail waitressing on Bleecker street, she quickly began to pursue music again and landed herself in a scene based on her study of the rhythms and grooves of the African diaspora and beyond. She continues to play bass and percussion with artists from around the globe.

It is from this experience that she began to sing and write music and assembled the band ZapOte. The band has said to “break down cultural barriers by incorporating everything from Afro-Cuban timba to hip-hop to samba from Brazil into a soul- shaking mix”. (Brooklyn Academy of Music).

Dawn is a member of the current music scene in New York that is genre-defying and also connects to social justice themes and activism as well as women’s and youth empowerment through music. Her band ZapOte has appeared at Frauenstimmen Festival in Switzerland, the Belize International Jazz Festival, Arts Envoy in Belize, The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Arts Council and
Brooklyn Music School.

Dawn Drake’s three full-length albums and many singles are available on all platforms under the artist name Dawn Drake as well as ZapOte.