“We’re tired of hiding”: An interview with Two Shell, dance music’s final boss

Dance music thrives on sleight of hand—the artfully flicked fader, the cannily clouded alter ego—but Two Shell take illusionist mischief to another level. They work under veiled identities, are alleged to have sent out stand-ins to DJ for them, and who knows if a recent 'face reveal', on social media and this magazine cover, is actually them. The duo may have started out recording relatively straightforward garage steppers for UK techno stalwarts Livity Sound, but since launching their own label, Mainframe Audio, they’ve given free rein to their wildest impulses. Lately, they’re more likely to be found trotting out patently AI-generated (and, presumably, wildly unauthorised) vocal features from Frank Ocean and Taylor Swift—that is, when they’re not selling what appear to be rocks on their merch page. In DJ sets, you can find them flipping both The Corrs and Panic! At The Disco into guilty-pleasure bangers so criminally sneaky that they put the “perp” into “hyperpop.” Their endearingly low-key website shell.tech, meanwhile, functions as a combined portal and RPG where guessing the right password might net you a DJ mix, coveted ID, or even a Winamp-style player loaded with unreleased tracks. (The wrong guess, meanwhile, will net a reply like “Ah, ye sought whispers in the woods, but the true refuge lies closer to the hearth,” suggesting that the duo has logged plenty of hours playing games like The Legend of Zelda.) Blink and you’ll miss ’em: The 21st century’s answer to The KLF, Two Shell are moving at the speed of pure audacity.

You could be forgiven for wondering if Two Shell’s alias is derived from the concept of the shell game—the classic huckster’s confidence trick meant for fleecing unsuspecting passersby out of tenner after tenner. Maybe it’s simply a Mario Kart reference, given the sticker design of 2020’s 'Touchpad' EP. Or perhaps there’s an alternate interpretation: The duo’s name might also be a reference to protective exoskeletons, impenetrable exteriors designed to thwart prying eyes. Well, hold onto your hermit crabs, because today, Two Shell are opening up.

In a moment of surprising candour, the duo offered Mixmag a rare interview, under certain conditions: It had to take place over email, for one thing, and there were NDAs to be signed before the questions could commence. Questions prepared and sent, Mixmag waited with bated breath… and waited. And waited. But when we finally heard back, the wait was worth it, because Two Shell have finally revealed a side of themselves they’ve never shown before. They’ve opened up about their philosophy of fun, clapped back at sceptics who doubt their DJ skills, and even shared some pointers about selling rocks to cavemen. As for who they really are, though, they’ll admit only this: “Dudes who believe in themself and don’t let the matrix control them.” Read on, and be Two Shell-pilled.

What are your real identities?

OK, let’s try another angle: Just tell me what your real names rhyme with and we’ll leave it at that. (Example: If I were answering the question, I could say “Dill-hip Burr Fern.”)

dude thats a trippy question. they’re nothing special honestly. jack and pete.

Nah, I’m just kidding. I knew you wouldn’t answer any of those. But maybe we could back up a little bit. How did you two—assuming there are actually two of you—meet? Did you have other projects (whether together or singly) before Two Shell?

the two represents the separate parts of the logo, it represents energy and connection. people can drift away from the core but they always come back. haha didnt mean to go deep on you there. sounds like pillow talk but yeah bro there are way more than two people involved. and we’re looking for more. if you’ve got big ideas and feel like you could totally boss it we want to hear from you. confidence is non-negotiable. life’s too short for not smashing it when you get an opportunity.

What’s one of the funniest theories you’ve heard about who you really are?

what do you mean who we really are… our music speaks to guys like us. slick operators who love bass and don’t think too much. that’s one of the things i love about our squad. none of them overthink shit. it’s a real get in get the job done situation. but ye we love bussing joke generally. it’s kind of the fuel in our tank. things have got so sensitive now, it really is a mind virus. like relax look in the mirror and tell yourself you’re actually sick and things will be fine.

Would it make a huge difference to you if people did find out? I’ve read forum threads with some pretty convincing arguments about what your identities might be, and though I’ll play along and not link them here, it seems likely that people will figure it out sooner or later. Have you thought about how you might respond when you’re finally (inevitably?) unmasked?

it’s all public. prs.. whatever.. you can find it. we’re tired of hiding it’s totally messing up our algorithm too. face to camera is what it’s all about. that’s worked so well for some of the biggest legend producers. it’s about time we make it work for us. also it’s getting hard to hide because as we’ve got more confidence our sense of style has really excelled. in fact we’ve kind of got one eye on the fashion space. there’s not enough guys like us in there. and by that we’re not talking about features we mean dudes who believe in themself and don’t let the matrix control them. that’s what’s so sick about dance music at the moment. there’s actually guys like us really repping it on the big stage. and we need even more.

Before setting up this interview I had to sign an NDA pledging that I won’t release any confidential information I learn about you. But how am I supposed to know what is confidential and what isn’t? I must admit I’m still a little worried that, given your love of pranks, this whole thing is a setup for me getting sued as a kind of conceptual art project. Can I trust you? Can the world trust you? The whole possibly-sending-out-ringers-to-DJ-in-your-stead gambit did sort of put the whole idea of trust on the rocks.

no way bro. we’ve got you. all that stuff is just our team trying to get us to make people think we care when really we’re kinda passed doing monkey shit we want to be regarded as serious operators. yes the world can trust us for sure. like we said if the world trusted more dudes like us there would be way less overthinking. we feel like people often put all guys in the same camp. but actually we’re all different, even the two of us have different souls and spirits. like people don’t even think we would have that level of self reflection which is kind of mad when we’re the ones making mad beats and djing. most lads don’t even dj they jus hit the session at the weekend. we’re inside practicing.

Read this next: Two Shell on DJing: “In some circles it's more about clout and name dropping than the music”

Who are your inspirations, or heroes, or idols, in terms of the whole conceptual Two Shell project. The KLF? Andy Kaufman? MF Doom?

it’s so sick to see how bellingham has developed. like he’s not even 22 and he’s killing everything. not surprised birmingham retired his number.

By my reckoning, you underwent a subtle but important shift early in your career. The Livity Sound EPs were relatively straightforward contemporary club records, more or less within a recognisable zone of UK techno / UK club. But with 'N35' and 'Missing In Action' you showed a different side—more mischievous, more sample-oriented. It’s that latter side that increasingly came to define the project, with records like 'Wedding Practice' and 'End of the Party', with their hefty, readily identifiable samples. Was that a conscious shift?

ah man. funny u ask that. the livity era was so sick. theres a lot of dudes that look like us on that scene which obviously makes it nice for us as we blended in and stood out at the same time bro. the vocal stuff was mainly to appeal to more ʷᵒmainstreamers which has most deffo worked.. it gets too much sometimes. but yeah at the moment we’re making stuff with less vocals cos we don’t want to leave that scene behind and start overthinking shit. keep it simple. eat sleep bass repeat. nah that sounds lame but we’re on that summer banger vibe atm. you know when you know it’s nearly time to drop the big one. two shell is the final boss and we want the world to know it. haha is that cocky?

About sampling: You’ve never been terribly subtle about it. (I’m not going to sample-snitch here, but in many of your records the sources are easily identifiable.) Do you simply not worry about getting caught because you’re putting out white labels? (Although, come to think of it, you’ve made all those songs available digitally on your Bandcamp as well. Do you just not worry about getting caught, then?)

you can either be a leader or a follower. start eating or get chewed. if you come out on the front foot the rights holder they will respek it. theyre probably like damn. these lads have got spunk and that’s how we felt when we wrote the damn lyrics. we want more people doing this shit it feels like the matrix is working against people at the moment. keep searching and pump it harder.

To go back to the Boiler Room, that was your breakout moment, it seems—certainly the beginning of the Two Shell mythology. I don’t know who was actually behind the decks, but after watching multiple times, I’ve come to two conclusions. One: Both performers seemed really high (particularly the one with the stocking on his head). Two: I’m 99% certain it was a pre-recorded set, because there’s a point where there are ostensibly two songs being mixed yet you can see there’s only signal in one channel. Can you confirm or deny either of these allegations?

mr officer, we shalt speak only the truth. we like to party. first time playing in a hot country when it’s usually raining at home we’d be letting the lads back home freezing there knackers off sat in the rain down if we didn’t give it a little tickle for a show like that. as for the mixing, we’ve had serious operators in the uk underground respecting and protecting our woop. we could mix with the lights off and one shoe on if we had too. have probably done it at the stone circle more than once, ya get mee?

In your Boiler Room set, you dropped a remix of someone who turned out to be antonvstheworld, a pretty unknown emo artist who still has only 5.8K plays on his song on YouTube. How did you find that song and what made you want to edit it? What did you hear in it that made you think, “This could be a Two Shell song”? And more generally speaking, how do you decide what to remix?

the song was found in the usual way.. up to no good, few crispy ones and a bass heavy night. sometimes you just know the horns gonna beep! it’s kinda mad cos the lyrics to the tune are actually quite deep but they’re talking about stuff like being lonely and isolated which is never actually something we’d want to admit or like vocalise so it was weird having put out something which helped people open up when we kind of struggle to do that ourselves but kind of cool i guess. haha sounding like a bit of fleep now.

Read this next: "Silly music": Anti-establishment artists are reclaiming dance music's funny side

I wanted to loop back to the mischievousness and playfulness of your music. Is that a reaction to what you perceive as the self-seriousness of the dance music world? It’s been widely remarked that since the pandemic, we’ve been in the midst of something of a silly season in dance music—hence the vogue for Eurodance edits, trance anthems, etc., that were once considered terminally uncool—and Two Shell, with your Sugababes and Corrs reworks, would certainly seem to be the tip of that spear. My question is twofold: First, why? What appeals to you about this possibly tongue-in-cheek plundering of pop music? And secondly, is there anything that would be a bridge too far? Where do Two Shell draw the line?

look it’s not that complicated. we know when to reach for the heavy weaponry when we have to. a banger is a banger. but you can’t listen to peeps talking about trends. they’re here today gone tomorrow. my old grandad used to say, ‘thou must look inward if you wish to transmit a womper old boy’. he was a difficult old bastard but he weirdly knew what made up a good club track. also apps and the algorithm are changing our perception of speed and time so our brain wants different things at different times but if the journalists tells you it’s going fast it’s almost certainly getting slower. remember this bro. the matrix doesn’t sleep…

How many boring rocks did you sell? Why did you keep raising the price on it?

you know man, people keep saying to us:: you guys could sell snow to an eskimo … more like a rock to a caveman.. no no NO our fans are not cavemen. they are the ones that sɛɛ ɬɧɛ ʄųɬųཞɛ₊‧⁺˖⋆ we needed to sell them low to start to make sure the little guys could afford them you know. although we realised after this wasn’t fair on the worldwide heads who have different time zones. next time we’re going to take a more global approach to selling our rocks.. because.. you guys go unbelievably hard and we fuckin love you. but yeah rock wtf, can’t believe that worked. oh yes it was cheeky wasn’t it, very cheeky indeed.

Read this next: Digital breadcrumbs into their world: A fan’s journey on the trail of Two Shell

This is more of a comment than a question, but shell.tech is such a delightful concept—a mysterious little website with generally quite easily guessable passwords that periodically serves up a bounty of fresh shellage. What’s the idea behind it?

it is both a kind and sick comment thank you…

shell.tech is a gap in the internet. a layer in between. a place to not feel like the algorithm is pulling your pants down and slapping your bam. and it’s where our squad come together. we have some of the best lil spirits in the game making stuff and this our world. edglrd eat your heart out.

hear this there’s about about to be an epic upgrade installed so watch this space. not talking complexity an wacky features we’re talking about a fleet of trucks delivering smoking hot bangers. honestly hold on to your bagpipes uncle sam, slappers ain’t the word.

we should give some away with this, need to find a cool way to do that. jeeves where are you?

There’s a clear video game influence in your aesthetic, from the cover art of 'Icons' to the name of your label, Mainframe Audio. Were games an important part of your upbringing, and do you play them still? Would you like to make music for a game (or even a game for your music)?

haha mate who doesn’t play games. we bang cod more than the bloke in the chippy. fifa too it should actually be illegal how good we are on that ʷᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐᵃᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ᵍᵃᵐᵉ ⁱⁿ ᶠʳᵒⁿᵗ ᵒᶠ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵉʸᵉˢ but ye other games too they have these like little stories behind them which is kind of complicated and goes over our heads a bit but people love it and make videos online talking about them and stuff lol gotta respect it and yes mainframe is our label. that’s also about to have an upgrade installed… more drops and more hits. u know the rest baby, sleeper banger in the underground club space. new balls please landlord.

we are building a squad of game developers. if you want to join us email [email protected].

So let’s talk about 'Talk to Me'. First of all, there was the incredibly cheeky lead-up campaign featuring what I can only assume were AI versions of Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, et al. So many questions here: Why is the “PinkPantheress” song £1,000 when all the others are free to download? Did you really get a cease-and-desist from JungKook’s label, or am I hallucinating that I saw that (and if so, why is it still up?).

haha that was all our managers they made us do it to try and make the song go viral which is something which can amplify a tune in an organic way which when coupled with revenue spend on advertising the outcome can be a pop culture crossover moment. we tried hard with that because we believe in the message in the song many times over. fka is a bad boy too. she trusted us, and that can be scary for an artist. she’s been carving out her path and being respected for ages which is sick. we also partly wanted to do that tune so more chicks would be into our sound. it’s too early to tell if that’s gonna come true yet but we will say this … the compass is a wigglin

Presumably, then, the FKA twigs version is with the “real” twigs. What was it like working with her? Unless I’m mistaken, this is your first big feature; are there more in store?

she trusted us where others might not. there is a reason she is a pioneer.

Two Shell album when?

mate are you even ready that one would actually bbq the scene rn…

More is coming from Two Shell very soon so keep an eye on their socials or say “hello” in shell.tech

Philip Sherburne is a contributing editor at Pitchfork and freelance music journalist, follow him on Twitter