XYZ: What do you love most about playing in the UK? Nick Robinson: Well, it’s where it all began musically for all of us. So much world culture has come from the UK; from the Beatles to Pink Floyd to Andy C, it’s all imbedded into us, even if we are so far away. We come to the UK and play venues that our past and present idols have played gigs at. It’s an exciting feeling, and the UK knows how to put a show on, the standards are high and the expectations are high. Its pressure, but good pressure!
Will you get a chance to enjoy the sights of Brighton when you perform here? I hope so, I’m not sure if we’re there for long, but I definitely have wanted to check it out. I was brought up in New Brighton in Christchurch, New Zealand, and I’m not sure if it’s totally like that. I know there’s a pier, and there was an old pier…so I’m picturing a seaside town, nice calm pebbled beaches, lots of seafood. Actually, yeah, I saw it on Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares… it looked beautiful!
What other music are you listening to and loving at the moment? We all listen to a lot of stuff, and there’s new music popping out amongst us all the time. Personally though, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of J Dilla, the new(ish) Jill Scott, Dwele, Cinematic Orchestra, Nina Simone, Stonesthrowers, Madlib/Quasimoto, Doom, Nextmen…Drum and bass – always Calibre, Nutone, State Of Mind.
Your music offers a strong blend of drum ‘n’ bass, soul and jazz elements. How would you describe it to new listeners? Experimental heavy soul with drum and bass, speckled with hip hop and drizzled with reggae and dub!
You’re a pretty accessible band musically. Do you think drum ‘n’ bass can ever achieve full crossover success? I guess anything can really, if it’s catchy and some major label thinks they can make some money then sure. I think it’s better to come up through the underground, so much music that’s in the Top 40 is so plastic it’s disgusting, we would rather be poor then succumb to that. Music is art, and to get into the game to make money is not our thing. But if a lot of people start to catch on and it’s because the music is good then great!
You’re renowned as a live band, was ‘Shapeshifter Live’ a conscious attempt to pin down some of that atmosphere? Yeah, but it didn’t start out with that aim. We knew they were going to be epic shows so we decided to record them properly. It was only after, when we were listening back to it that we thought hey, there’s probably some people who would be interested in this, so we released it low key, with little promotion and it went gold. I think maybe we did pin down a bit of that live emotion that only comes out in the heat of a show.
If asked to name famous New Zealand bands, most lists would start and end with Crowded House. What is the New Zealand independent music scene like? It’s really strong. There are a lot of bands in NZ who I would consider some of my favourite music. It’s hard for bands to come to Europe and the UK because we’re so far away, but there is amazing creative talent in NZ, world standard… the world will catch on soon!
Do you feel your origins allowed you to give fresh life to the musical genres that influenced you?
Yes, growing up in the South Pacific, it’s very Polynesian music based, and there’s been a strong reggae culture since the early 80s and I think that equates into a lot of music from Aotearoa. Of course the majority of the music we grew up with is from the UK or the states, so what comes out is like an infusion.
What do you dislike most about the music industry? Airports and hotels with windows that don’t open. And bad air conditioning. Apart from that, I’ve got the best job in the world!
If you were starting over again today, would you do anything differently? No. Everything happens for a reason, and I’ve loved every minute of the ride so far, good times and bad. You can’t have one without the other.
Shapeshifter’s new single ‘One’ is out 2nd June on Brand Nu Recordings.
Catch them live at Concorde2 on 14th May.
Words by Joe Owen
www.shapeshifter.co.nz
