Also known as Simon Marlin and Max Reich, The Shapeshifters burst onto the global house music scene in 2004 with their massive track ‘Lola’s Theme’ — a string laden uplifting funky house track that reached number 1 in the charts in several countries and was signed to no less than 5 labels worldwide. It was one of the biggest house tracks for years, and the success of the track brought them gigs as DJs all over the world. Said DJ sets have pleasantly surprised even those who aren’t fans of their productions, and with a whole host of excellent remixes of their own tracks, their appeal spreads much further than the commercial dance music scene.
Their productions display a vast musical understanding and a wide appreciation for all the styles of music that helped to create the house music sound — disco strings, soulful basslines and elements of funk all go into the mix to create an organic and vibrant sound. With their debut artist album on the way, it will be interesting to see if they can make that leap from occasional providers of big dancefloor tracks to something with more longevity. In the meantime, you can check out their DJing abilities this Saturday at UP^^ at Turnmills... be careful though, it’s Simon’s birthday and it sounds like things could get a little messy!
What are The Shapeshifters all about then?
Moving ya body and mind!
How did you meet each other?
In Max’s home town Gothenburg, Sweden, through a mutual friend 10 years ago.
What were your ambitions when you started making beats together as The Shapeshifters? Did you have a view to making commercially accessible music?
No we just wanted to start our label Nocturnal Groove and would have been happy selling a few thousands copies to get it off the ground. Luckily though that wasn’t what happened and we are now very lucky to be making a living from our music and DJing all over the world with our label now established.
Were you pleased with your debut artist album? How did you find the whole process of making the LP?
Yes we are very happy with it and had some great times working on it with our musicians and singers. It took about a year in total but it was well worth the wait.
The first that most people will have heard of you was when your massive ‘Lola’s Theme’ burst onto the world’s dance floors and charts. How long had you been involved with music before that point? Did you have any other comparable successes?
We have both been involved in dance music in varying different ways for 15 years and we’ve had our highs and lows the same as everyone else.
Worldwide fame must have come pretty quickly after the massive success of that track. Did it feel a bit surreal?
It still does, I don’t think you can ever take that for granted and the attention is something you have to deal with if you want to continue having success, and let’s face it there are worse things in life than a little intrusion.
Where has your fame taken you? Which exotic places have you had the pleasure of DJing in?
Yes we have been very lucky to visit most of the world, Australia, China, and America, South Africa etc. etc.
Would you ever consider trying to do a full on live show, as opposed to a live PA?
We don’t do any PAs at all now, we’re concentrating on a big live setup instead because of the debut album we’ve just finished. We will let the album be released and then get the gig’s going…
There’s been some great remixes of your tracks, my personal favourite being Steve Lawler and Eric Prydz’s reworks. Which do you hold in particularly high esteem?
Frankie Knuckles, Quinten Harris, Martin Solveig and Sandy Rivera.
So what material have you got coming up? We’ve had a fair bit of remix work from you guys but not much original material recently…
We’ve just finished our debut artist album ‘Sound Advice’ that has been under production for just over one year now, together with the new single ‘Incredible’ that will be released on the 6th of March and then the album will follow two weeks later…
Are you sticking with Postiva Records for your main releases then? What’s it like working with this legendary imprint?
Yes we will, we have a great relationship with them and they have shown a lot of belief in us and have allowed us to develop naturally through our own label Nocturnal Groove.
March 4th sees you down at Turnmills to rock the main room at UP^^. Have you had the pleasure of playing the main room there before? If so, how did you find the experience?
This will be the first time we play at Turnmills and we’re really looking forward to a great night, we heard that the DJ box is a bit small though so might be a bit of a squeeze!
Will you be hanging around to soak up the vibes after your set? Anyone you’ll be catching up with or grooving to?
Yes definitely, it’s Simon’s Birthday so we will all be hanging around and getting up to some mischief no doubt! We will definitely be checking out our good friends Full Intention and The Trophys.
What can we expect to hear from you on the night? How do you structure your sets generally speaking?
We never pre plan our sets so you’ll have to wait and see, I can tell you that it will be fierce and funky!
And finally, what’s The Shapeshifters poison? Just so we know…
Sambucca… a bottle please!
Photos courtesy of Nocturnal Groove. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Ticketweb: 08700 600 100
For further details and £12 concessionary admission and guest list queuing contact Amanda on 07949 618035 / amanda@franticuk.com or
Matthew on 07957 112723 / matthew@seditiondjs.com
Following a series of spectacular parties, UP^^ present their first event of 2006 and we’ll be stepping up to the plate and taking over Turnmills, London’s finest house establishment, on Saturday, March 4th with our infectious brand of fiercely funky house that all’s about big basslines, driving dirty house grooves and those special hands-in-the-air moments. Last year saw UP^^ take the Baby Box at the Ministry of Sound by storm with four packed nights that had this intimate space rockin’ well past it’s usual bed time. There was also a cheeky smash-and-grab at Turnmills back along the way when we showed the City Loud crowd just what UP^^ is all about. These parties also established the UP^^ residents Ben Dela-Peña and Brad 212 Finlay as two of the hottest properties on London’s house scene.
A new year and UP^^ will be forging full steam ahead and we can’t wait to take over the whole of Turnmills for a party of epic proportions. An all-star line-up has been assembled for this auspicious occasion with the chart-topping Shapeshifters headlining. These guys are on fire right now with a new single, ‘Incredible’, taken from their forthcoming debut album, ‘Sound Advice’ – expect to hear a few sneak previews on the night.
Joining them will be rising stars the Trophy Twins who’ve really come into their own in the last 12 months and are winning new friends and influencing people wherever they play. With Ben Dela-Peña and Brad 212 Finlay rounding the night off and Shane Watcha from BBL getting the party started right, this promises to be a superb night of musical entertainment and house music at its very finest.
There’s also something pretty special over in T2 with special guests Full Intention at the helm. The highly acclaimed DJ, production and remix duo of Michael Gray and Jon Pearn will be playing a special set featuring the best of their productions and remixes based on their ‘Connected 2: 10 Years of Full Intention’ mix album on Defected. They’ll also be previewing their new single, ‘I Believe In You’, on Eye Industries, while support comes from Mooch!n, one of London’s hottest party crews, featuring Lee Jarvis, Mr Kimble and Luke Ashworth along with gentleman-about-town Richard Launch of Groove Factory fame.
UP^^ is all about the finest new house talent London has to offer too and Kurruption and TiC will be joining forces to host the third space. Expect the best in upfront and chunky house grooves with Phill Noda, Tom Allan, Vandal and CD representing Kurruption, while the Tongue in Cheek boys Cooley, Billy Gonzalez and Oliver James will be playing a special back-to-back session. Finally, the Top Floor lounge will feature the FunkyTwisterDisco with all manner of fun and musical mayhem from Sophisticated Dance and friends alongside Twister hosted by Nikki Wildchild. You have been warned!
All in all, this promises to be a night to remember as UP^^ and Turnmills join forces for a night of freshest, sexiest and downright fiercest funky house around. There’s no finer place to party than Turnmills, of course, so put Saturday, March 4th in your diary, dress up to get down and slip on your dancing shoes. The only way is UP^^, baby… Dress to flirt!
From: Vandalon 28th Feb 2006 12:30.04 this should be good i know a few girlies that cant wait to listen to them play lola's theme.... i wonder if they will?!
From: cdon 28th Feb 2006 17:02.55 this is gonna be a storming nite out! Cant wait
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