Shifted is an anonymous project from an artist who has been involved into the UK electronic scene (but not really related to techno) during the past few years. Since January 2011, the busy boy has released nothing less than three eps and a remix on Mote-Evolver, Szare’s Syndrome Z… and on his own imprint Avian. Close to the berghain-techno genre (Sandwell District, Stroboscopic Artefacts, Frozen Border…), Shifted doesn’t claim to be original, but does the job in a pretty good and proper way. Check out more about him here :
Who are you and what is the concept behind Shifted (and what do you want to express with your music) ?
For the time being i would rather keep my identity and location under wraps. I started writing Techno under the name Shifted a few years back as a side project to my other work within other areas of electronic music. For my other music i work within a group, and the Shifted project is for my solo productions.
What are you main influences ?
I guess i try to draw influence from everywhere, it’s hard to pinpoint things in particular but within music i would say that early 90’s European & UK Techno has a big impact on me. Labels like Downwards, Corrosion, Peacefrog etc from the UK and many others from Europe. I also listen to a lot of Industrial/Drone/Noise stuff like Coil, Chris Carter, Robert Rental. The list is endless really.
You have released some music before in other genres, but I would like to know, when did you feel the need to produce techno-tracks as Shifted ? Is it also because this kind of Berghain-techno is the trend and quite popular now ?
Techno is something that i’ve been interested in since long before the whole Berghain sound became popular. But i would say that club has had a large part to play in more classic sounds becoming prominent again. For a long time, especially with the whole “minimal” thing i think that Techno became a little too overproduced & lifeless. I think now people are looking back to Techno’s roots to draw influence and this has created a movement of producers that are keeping things much more interesting.
Things have been quite fast since the few last months for you, with your first ep on Mote-Evolver, and then one remix or ep each month since January. Why things came out so suddenly in a short period of time ? Are you happy about that ?
This has happened more by chance than anything, i’ve been writing the Shifted tracks for quite a while but only focussed on getting it released around the middle of last year. Because of this a lot of stuff has come out at around the same time. Although entirely accidental, i feel this has worked quite well for me. So yes i’d say i’m pleased about this.
On your Tumblr, the visuals (mostly pictures) are in black & white, and represent a dark, strange, bizarre and very special aesthetic. It made me a little bit think about the works of Sandwell District. Can you tell us more about this side of your project ? Why is it also important for you ?
Yeah i feel that visual aesthetics are very important in music. I guess i try to evoke certain emotions through my music and on my blog i try to emphasise this though collecting images that also play on these feelings. Quite different to what Sandwell District are doing because all the images they do are done by Juan Mendez, where as the images on my blog are just things that catch my eye while trawling through the internet searching for inspiration. But i guess the intended outcome is the same, just a way of enforcing the music by backing it up with a visual outlet.
To try to keep anonymity is important nowadays ? Is it not a techno-concept of the past at the age of internet and free access to all kind of infos ? One day people will know who’s behind this moniker…
Yeah the anonymous thing is obviously nothing new. It was never my intention to follow people like Underground Resistance or more recently the Frozen Border collective. For me, i genuinely just don’t want people to link my Shifted music with anything I’ve done previously. It’s very important for me to have this project judged on its own merit rather than because of my other work. Many people that i’m working with are obviously aware of my identity & i’m sure one day i’ll be outed but i’d like to hold this off for as long as possible and just let the music speak for itself.
You have launched your own label Avian with a friend of yours (Ventress). Is it important for you to have your own structure ? Why ? And how do you want to develop it ?
It’s just something that i have always wanted to do, it’s enjoyable to me to be in complete control of every aspect of the release, from writing the music to finally seeing it appear in record stores across the world. I have other commitments with other labels so Avian will not be the main focus of my work. Just something to do every now and then. The second release will be my friend Ventress & then there will probably be another Shifted release before the close of 2011.
What is planned for you in 2011 (records / remixes / dj-sets / lives…)
Next up is another EP for Mote-Evolver coming out in mid June, this will lead onto a full LP project for them that should be happening around March next year. A remix of Sigha for his Our Circula Sound imprint, aside from this i have a number of other Techno releases that i’ve decided to put out either completely anonymously or under different names. Just because i didn’t feel they fitted with what I’m trying to achieve as Shifted. There is also a Industrial project starting shortly under another alias.