The shape of things to come

By REBECCA BARRY

Shapeshifter's Nick Robinson wraps himself in a thick duvet to ward off the chilly New Zealand spring.

Last night the band played the first of a six-date national tour, a late night that means he's now trying to catch up with his cerebral cortex, the shock of leaving humid Melbourne and the reason he's back home in the South Island.

"That's a good question - why are we touring New Zealand when the album isn't out yet?" he muses on the line from Queenstown.

While the first single Been Missing reached number one on the Independent Airplay Charts, the release of second album Riddim Wise has been delayed until February next year as they work out the finer details of a record deal.

Not that anyone has seemed to mind getting to know their new material live. Fans of their throbbing live shows that merge turntables, saxophone and keyboards with ambient jazz and hard, scientific beats last night kept the 450-capacity Queenstown club Subculture packed until 6.30am.

Robinson and bandmates Redford Grenell, Sam Trevethick and Devin Abrams are getting used to sell-outs. They headed to Melbourne last year so they could straddle the New Zealand and Australian markets, forcing them to take day-jobs in cafes. That said, snorts Robinson, Trevethick and Abrams have lost theirs because they were on tour too much.

Yet, unlike pop-rock band and fellow service industry workers Fur Patrol who live in upmarket Fitzroy, Shapeshifter are perplexed as to how they became popular so quickly. While the Furs started out playing half-filled dives around the Northern Territory, Shapeshifter sold out their first show in the heart of their hip new city.

"I was pretty surprised," says Robinson. "I don't quite know why so many people knew about us. I think it's because we're not your typical band - we could draw from the dance crowd and the band crowd."

It could also have something to do with extensive touring alongside the already established Salmonella Dub. Or having a rather important British producer on side.

After slipping a CD of their tracks to touring British producer Bailey, whose Timeless label is one of the most revered in drum'n'bass circles, he played a Shapeshifter track on his BBC radio show. Shapeshifter have since cropped up on dnb sites as far flung as Estonia, a small eastern European country as well known for its ice skaters as its rabid dance music fans.

Robinson reckons their success is more likely the result of their New Zealand fanbase bleeding into other corners of the globe.

Their first album Real Time released two years ago on Concord Dawn's label Low Profile, won a b.Net Award for Best Electronic Release.

Now, with Abrams' Pacific Heights side-project providing an outlet for his mellow material, Robinson says the new album will more accurately capture the raw energy of their live act.

They've also now a fifth member, P Digsss, a smooth-voiced singer who had MC'ed with the band in the past. After spending a year in Austria pursuing a professional snow and skateboarding career, hooking up on his return was as natural as the reunion with Real Time collaborator Ladi 6 and Dallas of Fat Freddy's Drop.

Shapeshifter are also ready to move on from Low Profile. Robinson can't disclose the details of their new arrangement yet but says they are still good friends with Concord Dawn and that this year's separation of Kog Transmissions' various sub-labels influenced the decision.

A publishing deal with Festival Mushroom in Australia will remain intact. In the meantime, they'll be touring the album as much as possible until it is released.

"Melbourne's a place where there's so much happening and everything sells out. Everybody wants to go out and see things. You can charge a decent amount of money and get a really good crowd."

Just hope they get a similar response here, before the Aussies claim them as their own.

Performance

Who: Shapeshifter

Where: Regent St James supported by Pacific Heights

When: Tonight