Shapeshifter Interview

Today’s following of Drum and Bass, not to mention the culture that accompanies it, is exponential. Shapeshifter were there from the early days in which the sound was born, and are celebrating the release of their new album, Delta, by heading out on their international tour.

It undeniably seems today that almost every kid with a flat-cap or social life claims that Drum and Bass is their music of choice. Yet this London-evolved bass culture has grown through a history that Shapeshifter in New Zealand have really been inspired by. Nick Robinson tells us where they’ve come from, and what they are heading towards; Delta is testament that the group are still going strong in representing their interpretation of Drum and Bass. Here’s what Shapeshifter’s Mr Robinson thinks, anyway.

Hello Lillie – I’m Nick, nice to meet you.

Hey there, virtual hand-shake over the phone!
Sure, sure.

I’ve never really understood handshaking- what do you think of it? When you first meet someone, do you shake their hand?
Yeah I do!

Do you not find it a bit formal?
Umm… No, no – I like it. I shake peoples’ hands…

Alright, alright – so tell me Nick, where are you right now?
I’m in Christchurch, just taking a bit of a break.

Ah, Christchurch! Tell me things, are you there for work, pleasure or life?
Nah, I live here. I’m at home.

Home?! Home is Melbourne! What do you think of Melbourne?
I love Melbourne! Melbourne is just like – well I lived there for about five years…

You know, I’ve realised – this conversation is going in the wrong direction. Your group originate from New Zealand. Would you classify Shapeshifter as anything else/ any other genre other than Drum and Bass?
I guess, if we were to be in a genre, it would be the Drum and Bass sect. We are, you know, definitely, I would say we are more Drum and Bass than anything else. I mean the history is that- most of the records have been Drum and Bass as well – so the answer would be yes we’re Drum and Bass.

Okay – so do you then feel that’s what you’ve carried through into your new album? I ask because, while the sound of Drum and Bass has certainly evolved, I am curious as to if your album has evolved with that?
Umm yeah I think so, and I think that we’ve all sort of evolved as well – we almost build a lot more kind of different genres of music clips into our sounds – and yeah, I think it’s partly taking risks. And err, yeah, but I think Drum and Bass has changed in that – you can get Drum and Bass in a 128 tempo which I like- it’s deeper. It has changed and the boundaries are sort of coming down these days in the main genres.

With that extent of evolution, and the sound arguably having changed completely – would you ever say that Drum and Bass was “old news”?
I’d say, “Hey, that’s like saying Rock’n’Roll is old news!”

Haha, fair enough! So, with this evolution of sound, how do you feel about the tone of Dubstep?
Dubstep I like. I mean, out of Dubstep, there will be some tracks I like – and some that I don’t – I wouldn’t necessarily say I’d buy that much of it…

Speaking of which,- where do you get most of your personal music from?
Mmmm, iTunes not that much – just a few cool popular albums I’ve bought off there. Mainly amazon – I can’t really remember the last thing I bought!

Same here! So tell me, being a kiwi-based band, do you feel that your understanding of the Drum and Bass scene initially started in New Zealand, or do you feel that it is a global phenomenon that originated from everywhere universally?
Well um- it would probably have originated from England.

Yeah, you think so? I’ve always felt it to be a London sound, certainly disputed it being a product of New Zealand – yet I found out that you guys (Shapeshifter) are all from NZ and so wondered what you thought.
Yeah I guess we were inspired by the English DJ’s. –

That’s really interesting!
You know, Grooverider – DJ’s like Bailey,- and like, – so many! They were all coming to New Zealand, and it was probably what inspired us in New Zealand.

Wow, that really wasn’t the answer I was expecting! So how do you feel when you go on tour to England in that case? Have you played much over there?
Yeah, yeah we do it’s awesome. I think one of the very first times we ever went over we played Fabric, and I just remember seeing the line-up of all of our idols, yeah so- that’s, well, it’s awesome. It’s like,- it’s really the sound where it all began and the music that we love…-

Sorry, did you really mean that? You played Fabric?
Yeah, yes, Fabric. You know Fabric? It’s a funny name – club in London?

Woah- of course I know Fabric, yet that’s going way back, sounds like a million years ago now! There’s a real blast from the past – have you been back since?!
No, no I haven’t actually.

Haha, don’t, trust me – you definitely played it in its peak and that’s all. After linking back to such an old sound there, I now wonder how you feel about taking the new album on tour, and will it visit the UK?
Well, really good actually yeah, it’s probably sort of the one album in which we’ve done anything that will affect the UK most, just because of what we’ve done with the production, – and a lot of the production was done within the beat that’s got a good reputation in the UK. So yeah, I’m excited, but you just have to wait and see I guess – it’s a funny game!

So tell me, where are you excited about for this upcoming tour, and where are you most looking forward to displaying this new work to?
Well, we really, really can’t wait to go back to Europe – all through Europe, and obviously UK out of all the places we’ve been playing over the years,- but yes, out of the whole tour… We’ve got out gigs that we’re playing in Melbourne and people in Sydney,- so it will be really cool playing in Melbourne,- that’s always really fun. They’re all like- ones in Australia really, and um,- well I’m looking forward to playing our hometown in Christchurch.

No place like home after all. You know, I just can’t get over that you were talking about playing Fabric and now you’re looking forward to a global tour, from Europe to Christchurch! Good luck with it all Nick, and thanks very much.

By Lillie Almond

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