NZ Shapeshifter

Few bands can claim to have redefined a genre. Fewer still can claim to have done it live, night after night, for over two decades. Shapeshifter is one of them: a Christchurch-bred, stage-forged five-piece who have built one of the most enduring careers in New Zealand music and earned their stripes on stages from Auckland to Glastonbury. Their sound is something they call ‘Soul Freakout’: a stadium-sized collision of drum & bass, jazz, funk, rock and electronica, anchored to deep bass culture roots. No click tracks, no sequencers, just five musicians who know how to move a crowd. Seven albums in, three of them platinum, Shapeshifter's music has become the soundtrack to a generation of New Zealand dancefloors. Their 25th anniversary year saw them make history as the first artist ever to place six LPs simultaneously in the Official Aotearoa Top 20 Albums charts, a milestone that speaks to a fanbase who don't just turn up but keep coming back. In 2026, the band will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Soulstice, their landmark third album and one of the most beloved records in New Zealand electronic music, with a tour across Australia. A celebration of where they came from, and proof of just how far they've gone.