CD FORMAT

The Sunday Times recently published an article about Britain’s erstwhile rave culture. It referred to Thatcher’s Britain and how it was hit by an almighty day-glo wake-up call: the birth of the Acid House party. It’s now been 20 years since the second summer of love; a summer of warbling 303 acid house sythns, dancing in fields, chemical induced hysteria and the iconic smiley faces. Some of the today’s biggest dance artists were beginning their careers at this point; acts like The Chemical Brothers, X-Press2 and Carl Cox were cutting their teeth when the scene erupted. The Shapeshifters were also present at this transitional time – youths who were mesmerised by the scene. Now 20 years later they simply had to honour that historic period with a respectful tribute. So they have brought to us their reworking of one of the seminal record records of the time – 'Chime' – with the full blessing of Orbital, as well as a mini documentary on Youtube that encapsulates the history of the Acid House era in an easy to swallow four minute dose. "It’s no secret that it has now been twenty years of Acid House this year and it was in our mind, reminiscing of the times and memories of that era. I believe that ‘Chime’ sums it all up; it’s euphoric with a great hook and was a great record to remix”. Simon Marlin Predictably, the new version has met with mixed reactions. Some wince at the thought of the record being re-worked, 'how can you mess with a classic?’. Alternatively others have told us that the mix is ‘well executed and respectful’. However the reaction from DJ’s is clear, "It’s excellent" wrote David Guetta on his enthusiastic reaction, "Really Good" from Swedish House Mafioso Axwell and even Basement Jaxx have insisted they will play this in Ibiza. What ever your standpoint it is clear that on the dancefloor the record really connects; that’s the important thing. "On the whole the reaction has been brilliant and more people are beginning to recognise it now. A few people may have felt to touch it is sacrilege but Orbital love it and that means more to us". Max Reich The Shapeshifters liked it so much they used two versions of the track to open their newest compilation – the Shapeshifters In the House. The mix begins with a rework of ‘Chime’ by the Dutch DJ du Jour Martijn Ten Velden, and then segues into their own version, culminating in a peak time dancefloor session. When they were invited to mix the next in the 'In the House' series they were thrilled but realised it would be a challenge. The compilation series has to date been one of the best selling House series’ available, now in its 26th edition with over 1 million sales worldwide. It has been previously mixed by an eclectic selection of dance artists from Jazzy Jeff, Bob Sinclar, Masters at Work and Gilles Peterson who all producing outstanding albums. This is a serious series to take on and it made them understandably anxious about what they wanted to present. “I believe the compilation sets out our stall as to where Shapeshifters are at right now, musically and the groove we are on". Simon Marlin The mixes have some excellent highlights including the inclusion of ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Axwell, Bob Sinclar and Ron Carrol – a track that is box fresh and exclusive to this compilation – as well as Dirty South ‘Let It Go’ (Chocolate Puma Dub), both well on the way to becoming future hits. Some other classics on the mix have been brought right up to date which include a 2008 rework of ATFC's 'Bad Habit', as well as a contemporary update by the Shapeshifters immense 2004 club and chart smash 'Lola's Theme', which they readily admit they are quite proud of. It’s not just the two mixes that make this album interesting, the package also contains a special third inspirations CD, which represents a chance for the artists to give us an insight into their influences over the years. Although you would think that would be a straightforward process it proved not to be as some obstacles were hurled into the way by music industry big wigs. “There were a lot of records which we couldn’t have which was disappointing. EMI won’t let us clear the original Johnny Taylor – ‘What About My Love’. Obviously that was the basis for Lola’s theme so we are very disappointed about that and I think people will see our inspirations and think where is it?” Max Reich But that has not stopped the third CD being an excellent selection. Through perseverance the end result is an eclectic window in to the Shapeshifters musical history including ‘Look What You Have Done To Me’ by Al Green; one of the they guys favourite selections. “Its sonically stunning and the soul literally jumps out at you!”. Tears for Fears ‘Head over Heals’ also gets a tip of the cap – a track that is fondly remembered from the guys school days, as well as track inclusions by Lisa Lisa and Hall and Oates. Altogether this album gives us an excellent snapshot of the personalities behind the artist and the influences that make them so successful.