Words by JW
Not so long ago NZsnow did a wee piece on New Zealand’s own super talent Shapeshifter, two members of which (P.Diggs and Sam Trevethick) are super keen shredders. Knowing the crew had been gigging around the Southern Iakes this winter we thought it would be cool to catch up and see what riding they’d been getting in and to find out a little about their latest music project SSXUB. I talked to Sam while the band was on tour in sunny Rarotonga, playing at Rehab with Downtown Brown, Tiki and the Upbeats, working on new ideas and catching and eating delicious yellow-fin tuna.
Not so long before this P.Diggs and Sam had been in Wanaka playing as the Peacekeepers at a gig for the Carona Airstream Tour. The gig not surprisingly went off and it conveniently coincided with a wicked powder day at Cardrona.
“We got a classic NZ commercial ski-field powder day, there wasn’t that much base but we got fresh lines all day, riding with Guy Alty who new where the lines were at! It was our first day of the season and it was friken awesome!”
P.Diggs at the helm during the Carona Airstream tour P. Martin Cedes / ON Wanaka
As well as getting in a couple of days during this NZ winter, P.Diggs and Sam have been back to Japan a couple of times since we last caught up too, filming the video for Endless playing gigs and of course riding a whole heap of bottomless pow!
“yeah we were there in January, its become like an annual trip, I’m still always looking at the footy, daydreaming and stuff, we’re planning to go back this season too work permitting”
This year they spent 4 weeks in Nihon, starting off in Niseko where they stayed with kiwi OG Burton Rider Ashley Nichols at Holiday Niseko, riding Hanozono, Moiwa and Hirafu in perfect conditions and even getting a day in with Mt Hutt loc Trev Ponting. Then it was south to Nozawa and Minakami where they absolutely scored it!
“Minakmi really turned it on, we got to ride spots we couldn’t before due to avalanche danger in previous years, it was sooo sick, was wicked. It was a proper bluebird day, I think actually two days, perfect conditions, a week day, not many people, pinch yourself dream come true stuff !”
And here’s the vid, P.Dggs and Sam smashing pow to Bloodstream, siiick!
Another bit of riding that Sam and P.diggs got in was in April at Whistler, BC a destination Sam had dreamed of going to for a long time.
“ We actually played in Whistler in the middle of the square, it was about 4 in the afternoon, sunny and beautiful. It was a full like daytime family public gig with lots of people and heaps of energy. It was my favourite show of the tour and that tour was Europe, UK and North America, it was so sick! Luckily e had friends with gear and hooked up some passes and finally we were riding this legendary mountain, it was the end of the season and all of the riders were riding sick. We were hangin out with Crispin (Lipscomb) and Katie Tsuyuki who were in the Olympic team, hangin’ out at the pipe in a tee shirt, watching these guys busting tricks, it was so amazing!”
Back to now and Shapeshifter have just dropped their latest musical offering SSXUB EP a collab EP with another world-renowned kiwi act the Upbeats. For those unfamiliar the Upbeats are for the most part a DJ and production duo rather than a live act like Shapeshifter. They have for the last decade or so made a massive and lasting impact on the world of drum n bass, often collaborating with giants in the scene like Noisia and releasing music on definitive labels such as Virus and Hospital Records. They have also remixed some of Shapeshifter’s work in the past and had a hand in the production of Shapeshifter’s album Delta.
SSXUB came about in part when the two crews worked on Delta and both thought at the time how good it would be to create something that was not one group or the other but a sound that was something new altogether.
“We had always been playing shows together and stuff and we knew they (The Upbeats) would just be open to whatever suggestions we had and likewise they would be able to take our music to places we hadn’t expected”.
The EP is a shift from the live, heavy soul sound we usually associate with Shapeshifter and moves instead deep into to the realms of production driven, up front Drum n Bass. As you will soon hear the album is killer! Asked about personal favourites on the EP Sam pointed to Little By Little.
“The master on this came out great, it was done by Stewart Hawkes from Metropolis in London and he nailed it. I liked this one from the beginning it came together really quick, its one of those ones that’s just pure vibe, you know it has a real feeling to it, its kind of brooding and dark and mellow but has a lot of energy to it as well”.
Like its first single Bloodstream the album is a wicked tapestry of Shapeshifter soul and hard hitting Upbeats drum funk and is a must have for fans of either group. On the d.floor or blasting on the pod on a pow day, its got to be got!
