West London based house music duo Simon Marlin and Max Reich, otherwise referred to as The Shapeshifters, are best known for the 2004 club smash Lola’s Theme. And it’s this tune that probably best sums up their philosophy when it comes to music: its 70s disco vibe and diva vocals were about as upbeat and ‘hands in the air’ as it gets, and this carries across to their music and DJing. “For us, it’s always going to be uplifting good music… The crowd doesn’t want to listen to difficult music,” they say. “I don’t understand all these DJs who want to be too cool for school. You have to see the reaction of the crowd. If the crowd is not really feeling it, well what’s the point really?”
You’ll get the chance to see for yourself when they return to Australia later this week for the Future Music Festival. Here, ITM catches up with the Swedish born Max to chat about their upcoming new album, their recent decision to part ways with their record label, as well as their overall philosophy on the good times of ‘ouse music.
You are coming out with the Future Music Festival this time around, are you bringing your seven-piece band with you?
We’re not actually. It’s just me and my partner Simon coming out this time. The distance and the expense means it’s just going to be us and our records basically.
You are two of the purest house producers/DJs going around at the moment, how did you settle on your sound and remain true to it?
I don’t know, consistently we remain true to ourselves. There’s so many people out there that jump on to the next cool thing. This year its electro, so let’s do some electro. We don’t do that. We do what we love and personally if people like what we do then great and so far we’ve pretty much stuck to our ideals. We do obviously develop our sound as we go along but we don’t want to be one of those producers to jump on the latest trend wagon. One year you’re playing one thing and the next it’s a different style. You have to remain to yourself and do what you love really.
Your music is definitely the hands-in-the-air feel good experience. Is that what’s going to be on the new album, and why the delay?
I don’t know if you know about it but EMI Records in the UK are struggling a lot. It’s pretty much like a sinking ship so quite recently we’ve decided not to release our album with them. You are probably the first ones to know in Australia. It’s a bit of shame because we have a five year relationship with them and they’ve been absolutely great but we can’t disregard how the industry is going with EMI, and we’ve decided to probably go with another label that we can’t officially announce at the moment. We can release two new singles this year and we just have to wait and see with the album and put things on hold a little bit. The vibe on this new album is similar to the last release. It’s a bit more electronic, quite a lot of vocally led songs and its quite versatile which is exactly what you want an album to be. It’s a great album and we are happy and proud about it.
Is there a release date for the album?
Well because we are going with the new label, we don’t have to start again but for us as producers its getting a bit dated so when looking back at it we think to ourselves, “I wish I could have added that etc”. It’s a natural thing. We are probably going to recycle some things from the album and release a couple of things in our spring/summer and get the hype going. We will go to Miami and promote it and get the ball rolling again.
So what are your plans to serve up for us at Future Music this time around?
Well for us it’s always going to be uplifting good music. That’s what we want to do and what everybody wants to listen to when they go out and want to have a good time. They don’t want to listen to difficult music, and we want to have a good time too. I don’t understand all these DJs who want to be too cool for school. You have to see the reaction of the crowd. If the crowd is not really feeling it, well what’s the point really? I am not saying you should sell your soul but you have to see what’s happening on the dance floor.
The Swedish mafia, i.e. Ingrosso and Axwell, all seem to have a similar party ethic. Do you think it is something ingrained in the Swedish psyche?
Well I have been in England for 10 years now so really not all that familiar with what is going on there, but we do have a lot of great producers coming out of there which is strange considering how small the dance community is. I think maybe the cold winters and long nights means that people are staying home and creating great music.
You and Simon being from two different cultures, what do you think you two have learnt from each other?
Well we’ve been in partnership for 12 years now and we are great business partners. I am quite laid back and cool, where Simon is vice versa. He comes from a more soulful background, whereas I have a more electronic background. So musically as well as emotionally, we compliment each other very well.
You’ve played a lot of times in Ibiza, specifically on the Terrace at Amnesia. How do you think the new government regulations are going to affect the clubbing experience and is Ibiza still vital to the industry?
I think it’s very vital still, and a crucial destination for many Europeans. The laws will definitely affect it. If you go there a lot you can see how it’s changed over the years. The drugs issues, people getting killed with drugs or run over by cars etc. The vibe did change last year, but I don’t think it will completely disappear. It’s so established. It’s the biggest source of income for the island. They might want to control it a bit more, but it’s the driving force of the economy. I think it will be around for many years to come.
Lola’s Theme. Has its success been a blessing or a curse?
Well, there is a bit of pressure to produce something like that again but if you put too much pressure on yourself I don’t think its going to come out naturally. Lola’s Theme was a very natural thing for us to do. I think if you don’t think about it too much things will turn out alright.
Have there been any massive artists you have turned down recently to remix?
We have just done a remix with Leona Lewis which will be released soon, but we have had to turn down Robyn, Alicia Keys and Donna Summer. Basically because we have been too busy.
And finally Max, the greatest dance song of all time?
Pump Up The Volume by Marrs
You can catch The Shapeshifters at Future Music Festival at the following dates…
Mar 1 – Future Music Festival, Brisbane
Mar 2 – Future Music Festival, Perth
Mar 8 – Future Music Festival, Sydney
Mar 9 – Future Music Festival, Melbourne
Mar 10 – Future Music Festival, Adelaide
And check out the clip for one of their most recent tunes New Day...
