Beneath the name 'Shapeshifter' lies an unexpected puzzle.
Did the band called themselves 'Shapeshifter' because they're unable to keep still, or does their style keep changing because their name is 'Shapeshifter'? In reality it's a stupid question and one I'm glad I didn't put to P Digsss when chatting to him on the phone.
Given that drum & bass is their craft, the New Zealand outfit can't help but feel the changes that have swept over the audio landscape since their 1999 inception. After mentioning Shapeshifter to a friend of mine the response was, "You can do Drum & Bass live? That's amazing!"
It's really not, although the gentlemen from Shapeshifter certainly are. Poised to drop their latest LP 'Delta' on ear-shaped orifices across the globe, the band still seem surprisingly nonchalant about what they do. Maybe that's the Berlin Effect coming to fruition.
"We decided to live in Berlin for the summer ‘cause it's winter over here but it's still warm over there, you know? It's a really beautiful place. Everywhere there's really amazing art, music, I think it started to impact on us. I mean, I don't know if there was a direct impact on the album. We always approach every album a little differently. It's about trying to make something different, and we always try to do that. But, you know, we also try to find a little bit of inspiration from our surroundings as well."
About half of 'Delta' was ultimately recorded in Berlin, and it will be up to the audience to decide if the European endeavour has left a lasting impact on the final product. Perhaps the release's three lead singles contain a clue — 'Monarch', 'Diamond Trade' and 'Gravity' each showcase Shapeshifter coming from a different angle, as if the band shattered apart before reinventing itself each time. The result is as startling as it is satisfying. I suggest to Digsss that that's why Shapeshifter chose the tracks as singles, and he laughs for quite a while.
"Why pick any song! Well, cause they're three songs on the album, you know? Seriously though, I guess we wanted to show the different sides to ('Delta')... you take those songs, particularly ‘Diamond Trade’, I think, and you can really see the sort of different approaches that we've taken on this LP, you know? Plus we've got some killer videos for those tracks in the works."
The jovialness of Digsss is disarming; it's very hard not to be put at ease by the constant laughter that echoes down the phone line. Not everyone feels that way, though. After opening for Tool, Shapeshifter were left feeling a little bemused, if not bewildered. Few things seem to phase the band, and while they certainly don't view the experience in a negative light, Tool perhaps aren't remembered for the best reasons. Never has a frontman been so aptly described by his band name.
"When we opened for Tool, we never saw Maynard. It was funny, dude. And apparently before he would go anywhere his people would tell everyone not to look at him, like not to make direct eye contact with him. No one was supposed to look at him. But actually we met up with the guys from his band, they came up to us after a show and started chatting to us and asking us stuff... they were some of the nicest guys I've met."
‘Delta’ is out now. Shapeshifter play The Hi-Fi on Saturday August 10.
