\u201cBy the time I came in, it was 11am, and I missed all the interviews. I was like oh my god. So, my sincerest apologies.\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t blame him. Make hay while the sun shines, I say. And in essence, sun, surf, soul – and even crayfish – is exactly what\u2019s fuelled Apera and his record-breaking band Shapeshifter for almost three decades.<\/p>\n
Shapeshifter is hitting the road, and still learning while they do it.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an alluring, ageless appeal to the electronic band\u2019s music. Be it a summer roadie, festival or cookout with the family, everyone seems to have their favourite Shapeshifter memory.<\/p>\n
The band, which was formed 27 years ago, emerged from the Christchurch jazz scene with their acclaimed debut LP Real Time in 2001. Apera joined in 2003. <\/p>\n
Today, the line-up consists of Apera, Sam Trevethick (keyboard, guitar and percussion), Nick Robinson (bass and keyboard), Dan McGruer (synths) and Darren Mathiassen (drums). <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is pretty generational now, and that\u2019s an honour. Nothing\u2019s really changed other than us playing the music we love, and thankfully, that transcends into connecting people with our music,\u201d Apera says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re kind of stepping into the Sir Dave Dobbyn arena.\u201c <\/p>\n
He laughs, but there\u2019s no joking about the band\u2019s history as a chart – and festival – mainstay for so long. <\/p>\n
\u201dI\u2019m just being silly, but it\u2019s pretty amazing, and we\u2019re honoured to have next generation ages still come and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shapeshifter have continued to dominate festival circuits and stages around the globe.<\/p>\n
Apera joined the band in his 20s. Raised in Flaxmere by a family of musicians, he was destined for the stage and studio.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic\u2019s all I really wanted to do, other than skateboard, snowboard and surf every day. I put everything into it, so I knew I was going to be doing music for a long time for the rest of my life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
These days, he\u2019s still an adventurous spirit. <\/p>\n
Apera is mainly based in W\u0101naka and you can often see him on social media streaming his antics on mountain bike trails and ski slope runs in between his solo gigs and work with the band.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beauty of Shapeshifter is that it has allowed us to be multiple artists, and to put our fingers in multiple projects and help inspire each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the band that is the focus for the next few months, though. <\/p>\n
Shapeshifter are hitting the road to celebrate 20 years of their two times platinum-selling album Soulstice, a project the singer says was built on friendship, fun and kaimoana.<\/p>\n
\u201c[When we recorded the album] we decided to find a place and set up a studio in a house. And we stayed there for about half of the year, in Kaik\u014dura. We went fishing, swimming and diving, and ate lots,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a hard case landlord who\u2019d bring us food because he\u2019s a fisherman. So he\u2019d bring over crayfish and all sorts of goodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Away from home, early, bare bones, tours of Europe taught them the best – and worst – things about taking their music on the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were so green, excuse the pun. But that stuff really shaped who we were as Shapeshifter. I remember when [then drummer] Redford Grenell pretty much spent all his money and all per diems on records straight away and was happy to just eat noodles.\u201d<\/p>\n
P Digsss at a Shapeshifter gig in London, circa 2008.<\/p>\n
From crowded pubs and bars to mega-festival stages (which he describes as being like driving a Ferrari), the band continues to leave everything they have on stage. <\/p>\n
While things might look seamless, Apera says each show is about rediscovery and growth. By giving their all to every crowd, it means things don\u2019t get stale for a band who have performed more times than they could count.<\/p>\n
The same rules apply when making new music together as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything goes in cycles and we\u2019re still learning how to make music together,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be quite nerve-wracking and exciting in so many ways when you\u2019re making music. After you write with each other for quite a few years, things get pretty comfy, a lot of ego comes and goes, and it\u2019s just down to being honest and making the best stuff we can. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still experimenting, still trying different things, and still learning how to record ourselves as best as we can.”<\/p>\n
Mixing and recording with Shapeshifter in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
While the band stay open to the \u201cnew\u201d, their upcoming Soulstice anniversary tour sees them return to their roots, roadtripping across the motu.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be driving to quite a few of these gigs. And we haven\u2019t done that for a long time,\u201d Apera says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe usually fly around and do the main centres, but this time we\u2019re trying to get out a bit more. It\u2019s going to be cool, a nice return to the old days, with less losing instruments and passports and that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even after more than 20 years on the road, the band can still experience some firsts. <\/p>\n
In October, they will play at the Steinlager Centre Court Sounds in the Manuka Doctor Arena, better known for hosting tennis stars for the ASB Classic. <\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be the first time the band has ever performed on a tennis court.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s going to be interesting, hey? We\u2019re always up for firsts. And [Trevethick and Robinson] are pretty passionate tennis players, so they\u2019ll be loving it,\u201d Apera grins.<\/p>\n
– Shapeshifter\u2019s Soulstice 20th anniversary roadie tour is on now. Visit shapeshifter.co.nz for details. Centre Court Sounds takes over Auckland\u2019s Manuka Doctor Arena on October 31. Visit centrecourtsounds.flicket.co.nz for details. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cBy the time I came in, it was 11am, and I missed all the interviews. I was like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[22641,74,36671,95,4624,3952,1550,7471,1349,9635,147725,83062,156,65792,22220,5431,1446,5430,130,157,111,139,69,90,13194,13608,11674,182951,217512,8485,217513,97090,6642,103847,131,27300,12637,208,4576,1530],"class_list":["post-424063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-20th","tag-after","tag-always","tag-and","tag-anniversary","tag-aucklands","tag-centre","tag-charts","tag-court","tag-dave","tag-digsss","tag-dobbyn","tag-entertainment","tag-frontman","tag-going","tag-hageman","tag-making","tag-mitchell","tag-more","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-progress","tag-reaching","tag-reckon","tag-shapeshifter","tag-shapeshifters","tag-sir","tag-soulstice","tag-sounds","tag-tells","tag-territory","tag-than","tag-theyre","tag-together","tag-tour","tag-work","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}