Born into a commune in the Pacific Northwest and raised a vegetarian, Shape was the love child of an expatriated former Soviet nuclear phyiscist and a six foot five Wiccan swimsuit model. Classically trained on the xylophone and recorder, Shape was raised by his grandmother, who was a former mistress of the late Miles Davis and a stage dancer trained by the legendary broadway choreographer Fosse. After a run in the with the federal government and a stint in prison, Shape relocated to New Jersey where he lives in a Newark basement composing hip-hop and sci-fi soundtracks on analog tape decks, using broken organs, piano strings tied to brooms and buckets, reprogramed casio calculators and alley cats.