Antigen Shift
From Free net encyclopedia
Antigen Shift, while actually referring to a medical phenomenon, is better known as the name of the electro industrial band fronted by Nick Thériault, hailing from Ottawa, Canada.
Thériault began experimenting with sound in 2000, combining world beat with haunting and richly textured sounds scapes. As the project evolved, it became increasingly more concerned with presenting a more distorted and rhythmic view of things, and for many this is when the project found its true form.
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, Thériault released Conjugate on UK label fleshmadeword; a split with English band Detritus, Conjugate saw a more extreme and noisy version of AS that would not be seen again. Finally after a year of scene speculation, 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. 2003 proved to be a very busy year for Antigen Shift, seeing the subsequent release of a split with fellow Canadian Iszoloscope, and a hectic schedule of remixes, compilation appearances, and live dates. In 2004, Antigen Shift's sound began to evolve into a more mature, melodic voice, that nevertheless stayed faithful to the complexity and focus of his previous efforts. Belgium's own Spectre Records released This Moment of Cold remembering, where AS provided their first vinyl experience with a bonus 7" record called Re-surface.
In 2004 Frozen Empire Media released the EP named Next to Departed. The EP was, in some ways, a major departure for the project, with such sounds as piano and synthesized melodies being inroduced to become an important factor in the sound of Antigen Shift. Nick Thériault is part of a growing number of second generation industrial-noise artists that is being recognized for introducing different genres into his sound.