The members of The Cortex Shift met as students of the music program at Heathfield High School in Heathfield, South Australia. Their first public performance was at the Hoot! Adelaide Hills Jazz Festival in June of 2012 under the name Ellipsis. In August that same year they won the Imaginate Battle of the Bands, hosted by Ink Pot Arts. The recording of their first album Quest of Chin began in 2013 and was completed in 2016.
The Cortex Shift recorded and released their second album Songs in the Key of Lunchin 2017. After the studio session for this album took place in January, keyboardist and founding member Rohan Pullen left the band to pursue a career interstate. Another Heathfield High alumni, guitarist Sam Morris (Bird Detective, Relict, Superdose Gangway) joined the band in his place. During 2017 The Cortex Shift supported Johannes S. Sistermanns (Germany) at COMA and were finalists under the experimental category for the SAM Awards. In 2018 the band released a live album that was professionally filmed with footage available on their YouTube channel.
The band's 2019 release Moose Sluicing Is Not The Answer was accompanied by their first official DIY video clip. In 2020 they supported Stereolab (UK) at Bonython Hall for the Adelaide Fringe Festival with help from keyboardist Jack Strempel (Eraser Description, Wanderers). The filming of a second and more ambitious DIY video clip for the release Nuisance Pooch began in late 2020 and production is yet to be completed. In 2021 The Cortex Shift released Eat The Rich and Steal Their Spaceships, showcasing a heavier style of music and a greater reliance on modern multi-tracked recording techniques. At the launch show for this release the band was joined by accomplished pianist Ciara Ferguson (daughter of Mark Ferguson) who later agreed to permanently join the band.
Their eighth official recording Magic Bearded Chicken Subverts The System was released in June 2022 and was the first studio album to feature keyboards since 2017's Songs in the Key of Lunch. In July 2022 band leader Kyle curated and released a 'best of' compilation album that includes a selection of tracks from each of their releases from 2016-2022. The Cortex Shift were finalists at the South Australian Music Awards for a second time in 2022, this time under the album art category. A video clip for their heavy track 'Medium Steve' was released in early 2023.
