Originally hailing from New Zealand, drum'n'bass group Shapeshifter have recently released their second LP, Riddim Wise - their most accomplished work to date which was produced in the groups own home studio in Melbourne. Consisting of five members, Shapeshifter offer the drum'n'bass scene a notable difference - the group does it all live, whether it be performing on stage to writing and making music in the studio.

Riddim Wise had reached #1 on both NZ's independent album charts and NZ's dance album charts prompting the group to embark on a tour of Australia taking their live drum'n'bass rhythms to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Byron Bay, with an NZ tour planned for the end of August and September, but before the group set off, RA took a little time out of their schedule to chat about the album.

- First of all, please introduce the members of the group and what part each person plays.

Nick Robinson - bass/keyboards
Sam Trevethick - keyboards/guitar/percussion
Devin Abrams - synths/saxophones
Redford Grenell - drums
Paora Apera aka P Digsss - vocals

- How did you all meet up to form Shapeshifter?
We met at music school in Christchurch, New Zealand 5 years ago. We were studying jazz and different styles of music which took in plenty of formal training. We did a lot of jamming with down time tempo music.

- What musical background and history does each member have?
Redford has a background in country music. Sam has more of a classical background - his dad played in an orchestra. Nick hails from indie rock, heavy metal and reggae dub toasting and finally Diven used to play in a marching band.

- What is it about drum'n'bass that lured all of you in?
The intencity, the rhythms, the no holds barred way of making music. We found a lot of influence incorporated into the music when we started.

- What separates Shapeshifter from other drum'n'bass artists?
We do it live and we've done it for about 5 years now. There's an emphasis in our music and playing style towards the dancefloor. We also tend to play a hard drum'n'bass sound.

- Do you dabble in other sounds?
As a group we play jazz, dub, reggae, dancehall and hip hop with P Digsss who is now a full time member of the group as our vocalist.

- NZ has a big drum'n'bass scene, with names like Concord Dawn recieving international recognition in the d&b community, who else from NZ should we be watching out for?
Kapz, he produced our Realtime album and engineered it. He's one of the unsung heroes of NZ drum'n'bass - an amazing engineer who writes inventive music that's quite intricate. The whole world is sleeping on Kaps! The Upbeats crew are also doing pretty well so they're ones to watch out for as well.

- Why did you make the move to Melbourne? What does Melbourne offer that is beneficial to the group?
There's a larger population, from where we can set up a base in Australia. It's easier to get to than Christchurch, and we also love the culture and lifestyle.

- In regards to the album, how long did it take to finish?
It took about 5 to 6 months. We worked pretty hard, and worked our arses off. It was finished last year and sat on it.

- What is involved in composing a Shapeshifter track?
We have different methods, sometimes we'll start off with a break done by Redford or a sample drum break or even another sample altogether. The sound builds up on it self. We then workshop it and pull it apart until we're happy with it.

- How did you team up with the vocalists who sang on the album?
Ladisix worked had with us before, so she was keen to work with us again on the new album. She's a beautiful vocalist.
Joe Dukie is from one of my favourite groups Fat Freddy Drop (from NZ), we played a few tours with them and asked him to sing on our album. As for Paora, we had done a couple of tours with him, then we went out separate ways - he went to
Europe to travel. We bumped into him when we were in Australia and from then he started full his time involvement with the group.

- What tools do you use in the studio to record your music? Do you need to make any alterations to suit the live instruments?
We basically record it straight onto the soundcard on our PC, which is good for us because you don't need a shitload of money to make music.

- You're in the middle of an Australian tour in support of your new album, have there been any memorable experiences or stand out gigs that you can remember?
Our gig in Sydney was really good time, all the gigs have been different. In Sydney and Melbourne we got a good response. Brisbane, we don't play there much but the crowd seemed to enjoy the music. Byron bay too was good and so was the afterparty at our Melbourne gig.