The mysterious world of Two Shell: ‘Our pranks don’t mean we’re not sincere’

They promised us an in-person interview – then sent along two decoys. So who are the enigmatic musicians who make it so hard for fans to hear their thrillingly alien music?

Two Shell, a buzzy London duo who make hyperactive yet melancholy bass music, are well known for giving people the runaround. They keep themselves anonymous, and perform with scarves and sunglasses hiding their faces. Fans are sent on digital breadcrumb trails via mysterious websites and social media posts. Their first interview, with the Face, was conducted in a chatroom of their own design, and scrubbed from the internet shortly after publication. Their second, with Mixmag, was done over email and paired with photos of a duo who fans on Reddit are almost certain are not actually Two Shell.

So I am excited and wary when I arrive at their Deptford studio to talk with them about their self-titled debut album, released last week on the big-budget indie label Young. Two Shell’s music mashes together various kinds of dance music from the past few decades – speed garage, techno, hyperpop, house, dubstep – and runs it all through a cartoon filter, making for a sound that’s fast and dizzyingly heightened. Their studio is crammed with abstract paintings and pieces of outlandish raver gear. Two tables are covered with dozens of hats, each embellished with embroidery and scraps of fabric. Two young women are sitting on a fuzzy green couch, wearing outfits that sit somewhere between avant garde clubber and first-year art student: they introduce themselves as Flat Earther and Ghost Shrimp.