The Shapeshifters ‘Lola’s Theme’ | The Making Of A House Classic
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- čas přidán 14. 02. 2023
- This is the story of how The Shapeshifters created one of the biggest dancefloor anthems of the ‘00s
The Shapeshifters AKA Simon Marlin shares exclusive insight into how iconic UK house cut ‘Lola’s Theme’ was made, including the story behind finding the track's Johnnie Taylor sample, its initial white label frenzy, and the mainstream explosion that followed.
Electronic music history is rich with unforgettable and timeless classics. In our series, DJ Mag explores the tales behind some of the world's favourite dance tracks, told by the people that made them.
Explore more stories of the biggest tracks in dance music below.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvxAP...
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!["PJANOO" [Eric Prydz] and "LOLA's THEME" [Shapeshifters] - The Palace String Orchestra feat. Gaia](/img/n.gif)
What's your favourite memory of 'Lola's Theme'? 👇
😘💓
Pachá SP Brazil
My ex n I…. This was our favorite tune 20 years ago… n the hook was so applicable… my good time flies…😮
When I learned the name of the track. Obviously the lyrics don't help.
Mates and myself got invited to the VIP at Mambo when Shapeshifters were on. Martin + Max played it, and we enjoyed more than a few drinks with them and of course the Mambo Brothers. Apparently, the reason we got invited in is that we were the only guys in Mambo not wearing vests 😆Great guys! Already one of my favourite house tracks, and seeing them play it live was the highlight of that trip!
The vocals were the key element of this masterpiece.
HER VOCALS GIVE ME LIFE TILL THIS DAY, do not underestimate her contribution
Yeaah like vocals in electronic are soo under appreciated, while vocals in pop or even rap nowadays are mostly not good imo
Absolutely. What else have they done aside from
Speeding up the sample😂
Right?!?! The vocal makes this tune for me 😭😭😭
@@See669 there are fillers going on but yeah.. the ego is shining through a tad too harsh in this interview. Not all that pretty.
I know I shouldn‘t but I‘m 5 min in and I‘m already ready to close the video lmao 😂😂Huh??? The vocals are the backbone of this song!
I just discovered this song tonight in 2024 and I am losing my mind. I’m dancing, I’m crying and shouting! I will never tire of this record. It is pure joy on vinyl!
Welcome to the party!
Welcome to good music! 😊
I bought it on vinyl around 20 years ago, my copies a bit worn now!
No. It's like being INSIDE JOY.....
The vocal is everything to me. I've been DJing for 30 years, this is top 5 of my nostalgic tracks and it's all about that vocal and how it works with the instrumental.
I agree 100%! The fact he could be so arrogant to discount her amazing work. Unbelievable! 😮
So, what are the other 4?
It's a man, Anthony White.@@OneAdam12Adam
"The vocal is everything to me" Same here
MESABI ENTERTAINMENT USVI
The vocals are an integral part of the track and elevates it to a euphoric level - no way it would've reached no.1 without them.
"I use different Persil, turned my wash around", as my own interpretation went.
I could see it reaching number 1 without the vocal, but I don’t think it would have become what it became without it. The vocal, IMO, is the nuclear blast that made this a timeless anthem. That was the element that caused the record to resonate as deeply as it did with people. It would not have been quite the same without it. No way.
Reminds me of Groovejet which was an underground instrumental club hit before Sophie Ellis Bextor arrived
@@TayWoode Right. Groovejet is almost a perfect track without the vocal, but with it? Out of this world. There's just something about vocals that really brings life to a song.
Agreed!
The instrumental is a banger but those vocals were the coup de grace☝🏽...
Arguably a staple in my mix crates!!!
Her vocals were so good
It's a man, Anthony White.
It may not have NEEDED the verse vocal; but my god it perfected it!
EXACTLY!!!
Agree.
Classic track.
Truly classic. Still holds up today. I also bump Back To Basics from them.
Legendary song.
Agreed!
I'm not a DJ, Producer, Promoter nor a Musician of any sorts .. Just an old worn out mechanic that used to party .. But I will tell you what my friend .. You absolutely hit the nail with this one and to this day .. Its still top of my playlist.. Thankyou : )
The amount of energy in this song is still unbelievable! It never leaves my run training setlist.
My wife who has no idea about music just said "that's like one of the biggest tunes"
Lola’s theme is one of the best dance records around! Brings me joy, and always play it and never get bored of it.
One of the single biggest feel good bangers of our dance generation. I hope to see LF SYSTEM getting this recognition in 20 years time.
I don't see a day when this track will not light up a dancefloor, everything about it is perfect and it will forever be in my sets.
Lola's Theme has been my theme since 2005!
This was one of the tracks that made me fall in love with house music
I dont care if he hates it now ! I still play this song whenever I need an uplifting moment in my life ! And it does the job quite well !
I'm in my fifties now but this track will be etched in my memory forever...it brings back memories of fun at the nightclub with my friends....❤️❤️❤️
Absolute legendary 'modern oldschool' house track! Up there in my top 5 from that era along with Grant Nelsons mix of Solu Music - Fade & Hardsoul Ft Ron Carroll - Back Together, etc...
Remember this being played everywhere. A fantastic track!
i still play this record every set..its one of my top 5 favourite tracks of all time :)
Amazing! 👌
@@WesternState731 and yet I still get bookings :)
What’s the other tracks?!
Good! 👍🏾
I'm still playing mashups and remixes of Lola's Theme today 20 years later. They don't make house music like it anymore. Lola's Theme and Pete Heller's Big Love are the 2 biggest anthems of all time for me. Will be playing them forever.
Plus 1 for Big Love.
The first time I heard this, by about 30 seconds in I knew it would be one of the greatest tunes ever. Twenty years on, it still stands the test of time. An amazing track and memories of good times.
Will always be one of my Ibiza anthems.
Earlier this year I went to a performance from the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra and they busted this tune out. 100 classical musicians backed by a DJ and oooh boy did it raise the roof off! Still a brilliant track that has a very loyal following today.
What an incredible story. And imagine Lola’s theme without the vocal!!!!! 😢
2023 and still one of my favorite tunes of all times - so energetic. thanks for this tune!
I LOVE this track, instant happiness, no matter what my mood is doing. The whole thing is superb, but those vocals!!! LOVE IT!!!!
This is still the greatest sample based record ever made. And that sample is truly the holy grail of samples. Can’t imagine there will be a better one for a very long time ❤
Maybe Stardust?
Or most of Daft Punk's music?@@Snakeandcrane
pete heller big love the best
@@Snakeandcrane Yes Stardust and they used only a very tiny element (still love Shapeshifters)
what sampling a great melody can do, the sample made this song what it is. credit and big ups to original song
It simply gives me joy every time I hear it, and I feel better as a person remembering those relationships that have made me a different, and better person. It's good to be reminded of that time and time. I love this song. Thank you Simon
This song always pops off when it plays at 1 of my events. Had the pleasure of meeting Simon as well he's a nice guy
Great series DJ Mag. Keep them coming!
My friend and I moved to London in 2003 and owned one of the original white labels of this that he talks about. Bought from Black Market Records! It’s mad to think that was 20 years ago 😮
Amazing, please keep this series going.
Plenty more incoming!!
You gotta love that lift the chord 4 in Dorian gives. I call the Dorian scale "minor with hope"
I remember the excitement around this tune before it had a vocal…it was 100% gonna be #1 no matter what!
2004 was my first WMC and yes, this was definitely the track of WMC that year. Very big year for filtered disco house
Sometimes all it takes is that one vocal and you're good as gold - glad it got one! Big tune!
When someone mentions house music this is the first song I think of. Timeless banger
Had the pleasure of seeing them live at CarFax, South Africa. When they dropped Lola's Theme the floor went bananas, proper classic.
Lets be real south africa is the hq of house music damn
Was and Still a greatest hit in brazilian dance Floor 😅😅👏🙌
Não mentiu lol...
what club?
The vocal *makes* the song. Without it, the track would've been good. With it, it's great, a true classic.
One of the best productions in the history of House Music, I was happy each time I played it since my early days as a DJ!
Legendary sound.
This song is just…a force of life. It’s so incredibly ALIVE!!!! It’s deeply loving and just s spectacular energy. A true masterpiece
This was playing on my flight from Brazil to the U.K. in 2006 and I never stopped listening to it! Awesome tune! Will live forever.✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼
👀😳Cant Imagine the .."OoOh, you fired up my heart and made me smile!!... And you and I know baaaaby!!"
Part of the song not being there ..that's like the peak of the song.. for me.😅🔥🔥
One of my top 5 house tracks of all time. I still listen to it every so often.
This is possibly one of my all time favs. I’d love to remix this one day ❤❤
I've known this song since it first came out and never got tired of it. Great thing about electronic (House) music is how timeless it is
Check the Eric Prydz remix, released 2004 (I think)... an Electro banging remix , with some travelling chords. Wonderful ! ♥
I'm a cover singer and I'm going to include it in my show, I've been loving it ever since I heard it for the first time and it still touches my soul😊
Heard this on MTV randomly one morning on the TV as a kid. Stayed glued to the TV for hours hoping it would come on again. Introduced me to house music, thank you Shapeshifters 💕
"Stayed glued to the TV for hours hoping it would come on again. "
People under 30 years old'ish don't know what this is like! Waiting around listening to the radio/Much Music or MTV to hear something again! And then using a tape cassette/movie cassette to record it! ...And then came along Napster, which was the first "on demand" type of media really.
Those lyrics just lift my spirit each and every time.Absolute classic!
YES!!! Me too!!
Just makes me feel happy, summery and euphoric even this interview talking about the record made all my hairs stand on end good vibes flowing through my body. One of those tunes the all family can enjoy. Yer sometimes you get bored of hearing it but you try not to listen to it for a while and when you hear it or play it again sounds even better than it did last time. 🎶😎👍🏻
Lola's Theme (Lola's Lounging Mix) is in my top 10 all-time favourites. I remember, many years ago, Kiss FM used to play this specific mix (Kiss used to play all the best - and rarest - mixes back then). I knew I had to have it in my life - and it's been here ever since. Exquisite. Far better, IMO, than the regular dance mix.
Great song .... timeless ...... ❤
i love how way back when people looked across all genres, and put them together to make absolute gems... today they take the biggest classic house tracks, fuck them up in a major way, and call it their own...
Just picked the record up on discogs, a must have
Amazing Song, i've dance 2 this many time in more many Clubs. Thanks for this Peace of Love!
Such a banger
Loved the Interview...with an ICON of Club Music.
Its a masterpiece
Still fresh today!
Hopefully the original artist got credit and paid
This song was a big part of my clubbing days and my dj sets !!! Thank you!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
One of the greatest dance songs EVER!!!!!
my first time in Ibiza was 2004 and I remember picking this up on vinyl in, i think it was called Mega Music on the west end. It was so big then that everytime i hear it now it reminds me of my first time there
Honestly this is top 5 all time for me. Incredible track!!
I always play it from the pause...when it almost fades...to go up again in a ❤ way
What I love about Lola’s Theme was the extended intro, the triple snares on the 4th-1st beat was goosebumps til the drop of the piano intro comes in. 😍🙏🏼❤️
Awesome!! Still listen to this track almost everyday
One of the best dance tracks!
the way it distribute to compare now was amazing
I love this song. I think many people can relate to the lyrics
Thanks for the insight Simon 👍. Like many millions no doubt.. I love Lola's Theme, and from its first release it's still always somewhere in one of my playlists 🎶🎧🎼
I remember scoring one of the second 1000 pressings from Black Market Records in Soho. It was heavenly!
Aww, RIP Blackmarket Records 😭
It's an absolute banger. Massive energy, the perfect combo of sampling and organic performance, spot-on vocals, and a melody that's catchy without being annoying. Legend.
Its a classic tune. The production is awesome and the tune. But the vocals really make it. ❤
One of my favorite records of all time, good vibes only!
Almost 20 years old and still a banging tune. I bought it at my local record store, the clear vinyl Positiva label. I'm still playing it every now and then at home. Tune gives me such positive vibes! I prefer the non vocal extended remix
20 years have passed since the song was promoted, and it's still number 1 for me ❤
I have too many tracks to say this is my favourite. But its VERY VERY VERY high up the list.
Thank you Mr Marlin for making it, it was the soundtrack to my 20s! (And Yes, I'm now an old bugger in my mid 40s 😂😂)
Incredible tune. Still gives me goosebumps to this day.
this song is an all time classic !!!!! its the best song for new years its the ultimate celebration song !
This is such a cool series
I paid £16 for the non vocal of a friend and every time I played it , it always filled the floor
I still get goosebumps and flashbacks of ibiza, I love ‘Back to basics’ too ❤️👍🏾
Love this song and other songs that The Shapeshifters have done 😃
This concise interview is intimate and real. Thank you. 💃🏼🕺🏻👯♀️👯👯♂️🪩🩰
Happy 20th for Lola’s Theme.
xoxo 32 yo from Iceland ❄️
Brilliant breakdown of one of the biggest tunes! Thanks for all the details!
Glad you liked it!
Now a classic track. One of many tracks that haven't stopped playing "In My House" since its existence. House head4 life
Hard house junkie
Dance for life
House/dance/tech... on the days that end in Y
I was in a London club in Dec 2013 and the DJ put Lola's theme on. No-one had heard it before and the whole club was dancing to it. It became and still is my favourite dance track.
Don't you mean 2003? The pirate stations were playing it everyday.
Dude, everyone in that club except you had heard it.
Met this guy at a gig in my home town, so down to earth 👏👌