The British composer and performer William D. Drake has written songs for his bands and projects as well as releases as a solo artist. [1] [2] Classically trained at piano until he was 18, [3] [2] Drake joined the punk and progressive rock-influenced cult band Cardiacs in 1983, where his virtuoso piano and melodic skills accompanied the textures of band leader Tim Smith to create multi-layered sound that attracted a devoted following. [4] Several of Cardiacs' most "lovingly layered, emotionally potent and poetic" songs emerged during Drake's time in the band. [2] "I Hold My Love In My Arms" featured music which Drake had written when he was 15, and he wrote the opening bars of "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" after having spent eleven years at boarding-school. [2]
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In the early 1980s, Drake and Smith both wrote extraneous music which did not go on Cardiacs records. [3] They worked with Smith's then-wife Sarah on the side-project Mr and Mrs Smith and Mr Drake, [2] where Drake for the first time displayed his "weird music hall folk dirges, recalling ancient May Day celebrations and summer equinoxes, employing piano and synthetic keys to unfold his tales". [5] Later using the name the Sea Nymphs, the trio showcased a gentler side to Drake and Smith's songwriting, in contrast with Cardiacs. [3] [2] The albums contain "many of Drake's most endearingly odd and sepia-tinted songs", which include "The Collar", "Dog Eat Spine", "Summer Is-a-Coming In" and "To My Piano from Mr Drake". Smith and Drake were described by Louder Than War as "arguably the most creative songwriting team of a generation", and the legacy of their music has been compared to the partnership of Lennon and McCartney from the Beatles. [2] Drake amicably left Cardiacs in 1990, with the band's "playfully anarchic spirit" featuring in his subsequent solo work. [4]
The short-lived band Lake of Puppies was an outlet for Drake's solo work after leaving Cardiacs, with the band's Lake of Puppies EP released in 2024. [6] Drake's 2007 album Briny Hooves was an eclectic release with a nod to the High Llamas, the Associates and the Beatles, while Yew's Paw, a simultaneously released collection of piano miniatures with a "light classical" veneer, showcased Drake's pastoral roots. [1] The 2023 EP Write to Be features Drake's song "Where Do You Go", produced by Mieko Shimizu. [7]
