Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Nelson, the Singer-Songwriter also known as DrifterShapeShifter.
Jesse, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
DrifterShapeShifter is indeed a long story – you could say the story of my lifetime… thus far. Whenever I talk about the name, I feel like the first thing that I speak to is how autobiographical it is. Monikers can so often be about how cool of a name people can come up with. For me, my inner voice was guiding me to explore how honest I could be. As a mixed-race queer middle child born into a conservative, Christian, military family – drifting & shapeshifting was what I always did. It’s what I knew… what I know. In many ways, I feel like the great lesson of my life is getting clear on who I really am… not just who people want me to be; tell me to be. Not just who people like me as.
My journey with music has been somewhat roundabout. I always loved it and felt an incredibly deep relationship with it, yet it wasn’t something that I immediately claimed, per se. I was definitely that kid who wanted to do a lot of things… Artist, Geneticist, Psychologist, Cartoonist, Writer… you name it. I did play the viola in my school orchestras. I also studied piano & recorder for brief periods. I would say that it was delving into theatre & choir though where I really started to develop the skills that I would eventually seek to cultivate. Though I always had these big Artist dreams, I definitely struggled with that leap of faith – as so many of us do. Despite my soul’s calling, I still followed a relatively traditional path for a time. But I suppose in the end, it was all meant to be. It was the deep nurturing & support that I received in my college music scene that finally pushed me to trust fall. Halfway through studying, I switched my focus exclusively to music & performance. Shortly after graduating, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue music.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Haha not even remotely. Without question, moving to L.A. to pursue music is the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. Six years in, I can say that I feel a little more settled here, but it has not been without extreme labor & growing pains. From the struggle of cultivating community to dead-end jobs to living on couches for several months – this experience has reached in and pulled mettle out of me that I didn’t know existed.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I create & release music under the name “DrifterShapeShifter.” I am a Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller, Musician, & Artist. I believe that what I am most proud of and what sets me apart are one in the same. From the beginning, I never set out to be just one thing. I was never like, “I’m gonna be a folk singer!” Or “I’m gonna be an R&B singer!” I just loved music and creating it was my only aim. Over the last decade, my music has looked and sounded like so many things. My artistry is colored by everything from Rock to Folk to Hip Hop to R&B/Soul to Electronic to Classical to Jazz to Pop and so on. And truly, I would have it no other way. I don’t think I could. This is also a significant part of where my moniker comes from.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Really, there have been so many. I love that this question exists because there is no way that I’d be here without the support that I’ve received from my friends, family, colleagues, & community. In truth, it’s too many people to name, but I am especially thinking of my fellow music makers who let me crash on their couches during my toughest times. In terms of recent developments, I gotta shout out my main producer & collaborator Laneo Cinco! We met less than a month before quarantine, and these last several months have been an incredibly fertile creative ground. All of the music that I’m releasing during this time was produced by and created with him.
Contact Info:
- Website: Driftershapeshifter.Com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @driftershapeshifter
- Facebook: Facebook.com/driftershapeshifter
- Twitter: @DriftShapeShift
Image Credit:
All photos taken by Drake Steele, Album art images taken by Javier Esquivel, Album Art created by Taylor Berry
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