Origin Canada Years active 2000–present | Genres Electronic | |
 | ||
Labels [[Signifier Records]
[Ad Noiseam]]
Frozen Empire Media
fleshmadeword Members Nick Thériault, Jairus Khan | ||
Antigen Shift is an electro industrial band hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada led by Nick Thériault. The band takes its name from the medical phenomenon. In late 2009, Thériault was joined in the group by Jairus Khan of Ad·ver·sary.
Contents
Background
Thériault began experimenting with electronic sounds in 2000, combining world beat music with haunting, sometimes distorted, rhythmic, richly-textured soundscapes. Antigen Shift released Primary Causation in 2001, a limited edition CD that was sold at the first installment of the Providence Noise festival. The same year, Conjugate was released on UK label fleshmadeword; a split with English band Detritus. Implicit Structures, the first Antigen Shift full length CD was released on Frozen Empire Media. Several live shows were played in support of the CD, including dates with Gridlock and the Swedish sensation Tarmvred.
In 2003, Antigen Shift, released a split recording with fellow Canadian band Iszoloscope. In 2004, Belgium-based Spectre Records released This Moment of Cold remembering, the band's first vinyl recording (a bonus 7" record called Re-surface).
In 2004 Frozen Empire Media released the EP named Next to Departed. This recording used piano and synthesized melodies. In 2006, Antigen Shift's second full-length album, The Way of the North, was released on Ad Noiseam.
Also in 2006, Antigen Shift playing several live dates in support of TWOTN, including participation at the 2006 Providence Noise fest, several European dates in Germany, Austria and Greece, as well as the annual Maschinenfest festival in Krefeld, and finally the Indoctrination Festival in Chicago. Most recently, Thériault played a surprise show in his hometown of Ottawa, alongside Ad·ver·sary and Synkro.
In the summer of 2010 it was announced that Antigen Shift would be returning to both the studio and the stage, with three shows in support of Iszoloscope and Ad·ver·sary. 2011 saw him return to the stage for a surprise show with Ad·ver·sary. In 2012, Theriault and Khan performed a much talked about Ad·ver·sary/ Antigen Shift collaborative set at the Kinetic music festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. At the 2012 Kinetik Festival, Ad·ver·sary and Antigenshift criticized headlining acts Combichrist and Nachtmahr from the stage, playing a five-minute video during their last song that "openly critiques ... the use of misogynist and racist tropes in those band’s music and publicity materials".[7] The presentation ended with the words "Reject racism. Reject sexism. Reject what the industry is telling you. Reject formulaic bullshit. Reject what you are being sold. We can do better. We deserve better. We demand better."
In 2013, SIGNIFIER officially signed Antigen Shift for the release of "Brotherhood", Antigen Shift's first studio album since 2006's "The Way of the North" (AD NOISEAM). "Brotherhood" marked the first ANTIGEN SHIFT album jointly produced by Thériault and Khan, and received wide spread critical acclaim.