With the ability to drop big club records at just the right moments, and one of the busiest touring schedules in the business, The Shapeshifters are never far away from the collective clubbing consciousness. April however marks the start of a frankly absurdly busy few months for Simon Marlin and Max Reich, with some big releases and bigger events lurking just around the corner.
“Going into 2011 we knew we had a big year ahead” explains Marlin of the groups increased activity “as all the ideas we worked on last year are starting to take shape from releases, touring, radio show, compilation albums our Nocturnal Groove label to bespoke Nocturnal parties. It all feels like there's a much more positive vibe going on, mainly due to the amazing team ourselves and Defected have put in place recently which is starting to really rock and deliver for us.”
To start with, their latest collaboration with Dutch trio Shermanology is riding high in the Beatport house chart and looks set to be a stone-cold anthem for the summer months ahead. With support from DJs as diverse as Cevin Fisher and Hector Romero, ‘Waiting for You’ is perhaps the most uplifting slice of peak-time house music of the year so far, this is the Shapes doing what they do best, with big synths, and instantly catchy vocal hook and the mother of all breakdowns.
Then on 27th of April, the boys’ long-term friend and Godfather of House Frankie Knuckles is releasing his latest record with legendary singer Jamie Principle on their Nocturnal Groove imprint. This will be followed by re-issues of two of the biggest house records of all-time; Knuckle’s ‘Your Love’ and 'Baby Wants to Ride’, two of the most seminal and genre-defining records ever produced. Both of these will come with new remixes courtesy of The Shapeshifters themselves.
Also on the remix front, The Shapeshifters are tackling another heavyweight artist in Cee Lo Green. From his productions as one half of Gnarls Barkley to his current edgily soulful solo outings, Green has become on of the most on-point artists of recent times, and to say the guys are excited about the opportunity to rework his hit ‘Bright Lights Big City’ is a serious understatement.
Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights, Big City (The Shapeshifters 'Heavy Disco' Mix - SoundCloud Edit) by TheShapeshifters
As if they hadn’t taken enough on in the studio, over the next two months The Shapeshifters will also be dropping two compilation mixes into our laps, the first being Nikki Beach In The House which hits the shelves in May. Nikki Beach now have venues all over the world in exotic locations such as Koh Samui, Marrakech and St. Tropez, but the legacy began at their South Beach, Miami location; the venue of choice for many hedonistic parties during Miami WMC and throughout the rest of the year. Then in June, The Shapeshifters are mixing the Defected In The House Pacha covermount CD, which comes free with every copy of Pacha magazine and will set the musical tone for the Ibiza season ahead. The Shapes are playing four nights for Defected at Pacha over the couse of the summer, so this will be an exclusive peek at what to expect from their legendary sets.
Pre-Ibiza, the guys are embarking on a mammoth DJ tour, taking in a host of countries and venues in just a few short weeks. So whether you live in Russia or Turkey, Singapore or Spain there’s a chance to dance your legs off to the uplifting sounds of The Shapeshifters. Add to this schedule a three-venue tour of India, kicking off at One Lounge in Pune and concluding at E-Zone in Bangalore, and you can see why the next few months really are all about The Shapeshifters.
“We're really excited to be heading to India for the first real club tour therewith the Submerge guys” enthuses Marlin. “The Nikki Beach compilation is nearly ready and feels like our best yet, and our good friend Frankie Knuckles releasing his stunning I'll Take You There' on the label...happy days!”
Waiting for You is out now on Defected - buy from D Store and Beatport
Full gig-listings:
16.04.11 Discoteque, Moscow, Russia
22.04.11 One Lounge, Pune, India
23.04.11 Blue Frog, Mumbai, India
24.04.11 E-Zone, Bangalore, India
27.04.11 Angelique, Istanbul, Turkey
28.04.11 Heads Up, Life, London
29.04.11 Beursgebouw, Eindhoven, Netherlands
30.04.11 Old Tobacco Hall, Rovinj, Croatia
01.05.11 Palace Disco, Sziofok, Hungary
28.05.11 Party in Novi Sad, Serbia
01.06.11 Carre, nr. Brussels, Belgium
18.06.11 Lakedance Festival, Eindhoven, Netherlands
08.07.11 Zouk, Singapore
16.07.11 Pacha, Ibiza, Spain
23.07.11 Tomorrowlands, Belgium
28.07.11 Papaya, Croatia
