Gothenburg six-piece Divers have always existed somewhere between shadow and open air — and with their new EP Shapeshifting via Little Low Recordings, they’ve found the most vivid expression of that tension yet. Recorded at Berlin’s legendary Hansa Studios — the room where Bowie, Depeche Mode and Nick Cave all made some of their most enduring work — the four-track release marks a bold new chapter for a band who’ve spent years quietly building one of the most distinctive sounds in alternative rock.
Where their 2024 album One Million Crystal mapped the terrain of mental illness, Shapeshifting turns toward something more transcendental: identity in flux, the passages that remake us, and the question of who we become on the other side of change. It’s a record that moves the way real transformation does — gradually, then all at once.
We caught up with Divers to talk about the electricity of those Hansa sessions, the contrasts that define their sound, and why after all these years together, they’re still finding new ways to become something new.
- For people discovering Divers through Shapeshifting, how would you describe the band in your own words?
We’re six people who create an atmospheric musical world with lyrics about things we think are important to put into words. Part rock, part permanent wave, darkness and light, sometimes broken and in-your-face, sometimes a bit quirky, sometimes sad and at times with a psychedelic twist as well.
- You’ve been making music together for a while now — how has the chemistry within the band changed over the years?
There has always been a sensitivity between us but it has probably become even more noticeable now, and we dare to be open to each other in a different way than before. We also generally get a clearer idea at an earlier stage of what someone wants to say musically when they present an idea.
- Your music balances dark, atmospheric moments with something more uplifting and expansive. Where does that contrast come from?
I think we all like contrasts, they feel important in all art, that it dares to be different, maybe even contradictory sometimes. It feels like humans are full of contrasts in themselves, so when we write songs about the psyche, about the darkness within us, about the longing for light or transformation, we simply start from what reality is like (Lina)
- Recording Shapeshiftingat Hansa Studios in Berlin must have been a surreal experience. What’s one memory from those sessions that’s stayed with you?
In all the great things about being there, the atmosphere, the instruments and the collaboration, we still have to say that the creation of the song Groynes was the biggest. Lina read out the lyrics she had written, John played the first chord and then the song kind of wrote itself as we played together. An hour later the basics of the song were recorded. We also kept the vocals completely from this first recording (Hans)
- A lot of the EP touches on transformation and change. Do you think the people you are outside the band naturally shape the music you make together?
Yes, absolutely.
- Divers have built a strong live reputation over the years — what do you think people understand about the band after seeing you perform live that they might not get from the recordings alone?
There’s a little more of everything when we play live. Maybe even more of those contrasts.. Our impression is that the audience often says it was even better live than on record, maybe because of the excesses, presence, or the interaction with the audience…
- What does each member of the band bring creatively that makes Divers feel like Divers?
Each member of the band says something that only they can say, everyone has their own sound and their own energy that rubs off on the rest of us. Many are in multiple other bands but when we play together we become a unit.
- There’s a cinematic quality to a lot of your songs. Are there films, books or artists outside of music that inspire you creatively?
We are absolutely inspired by the art we consume in all its forms. David Lynch is an icon in film that I believe has influenced many of us, consciously or unconsciously, because his films leave a mark. As do poets like Stevie Smith and Nina Cassian. But most of all, it is probably a sky, full of clouds or clear blue, black with stars, a moon over a sparkling dark water in combination with the way humans deal with the ups and downs in life (Lina)
- Looking back at earlier releases compared to Shapeshifting, what do you think has evolved most about your sound or approach?
It feels like Shapeshifting is more distinct and direct upon first listening, and thereby our approach has probably become so as well, but at the same time there are always new layers to discover.
- If Shapeshifting represents where Divers are right now, what do you hope people take away from this new chapter of the band?
A feeling that the music belongs to them now and a curiosity about what happens next.
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Stream the full collection below
