One of the world's premier house-music labels, the U.K.-based Defected Records, brings its famed global "Defected In The House" shindig to Tokyo on Nov. 6. Headlining the event are The Shapeshifters.
The London DJ and production duo of Simon Marlin and Max Reich (known as Shape:UK to American audiences) first met in the mid-1990s in Reich's native Sweden. Marlin was working for Downboy Recordings and Reich handed him a cassette of his techno tunes. Marlin was impressed and signed Reich a mere two weeks later. While that marked the start of their professional relationship, the two didn't begin making tracks together until 2003. Their first collaborative effort was the 2004 chart-topping dance single "Lola's Theme." Named after Marlin's wife, Lola, they adopted the moniker The Shapeshifters and created their own label, Nocturnal Groove, to issue the song.
Propelled by the success of "Lola's Theme," Marlin and Reich were nominated for a Brit Award in 2004 and won House Music Awards in 2004 and 2005. They were invited to craft remixes for big name pop acts such as George Michael, Christina Aguilera, Moby, and most recently Natalie Imbruglia. They released their debut long-player, "Sound Advice," in 2006 and had finished a sophomore effort in 2008 but shelved it after leaving EMI subsidiary Positiva Records and inking a deal with Defected.