Infected Mushroom | |
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.JPG) Infected Mushroom performing inBinyamina in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Kiryat Yam,Haifa District,Israel[1] |
| Genres | Psychedelic trance,electro house,electronica,dream trance,electronic rock,glitch hop,classical music,industrial,experimental,progressive psytrance |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | BNE, Hom-Mega,Dim Mak,Perfecto,Monstercat |
| Members | Amit Duvdevani Erez Eisen |
| Website | infected-mushroom.com |
Infected Mushroom is anIsraeli musical duo formed inHaifa in 1996 by producersErez Eisen andAmit Duvdevani.[1] They produce and performpsytrance,electronica,dream trance andpsychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups inIsraeli music history in terms of both domestic and international sales.[2]
They employ a variety of musical sources, includingacoustic guitars and complexsynthesized basses. Their compositions often contain changes ofdrum beat andtempo. Infected Mushroom's live shows featurevocals andanalogue instruments in performances that are set against amultimedia backdrop.
Erez Eisen was born on 8 September 1980 inQiryat Yam, Israel. He began classical musical training at a young age, learning to play the organ at the age of four[3] and studying classical piano at the Haifa Conservatory from the age of eight. Eisen later became involved with computerized music, beginning withImpulse Tracker and later moving to more advancedmusical composition software.[4]
Eisen had collaborated with DJ Jörg and other notable psytrance artists by the age of 18,[5] and has released threealbums and manysingles under other psytrance monikers, including Shidapu and Shiva Shidapu.[5][6]
Amit Duvdevani was born on 7 November 1974 in Israel and has a similar musical background as Eisen. He started to play classical piano at age seven and continued to do so for nine years. He then progressed toheavy metal music andpunk rock. Duvdevani played keyboards and wrote most of the material for the Haifa punk rock band Enzyme[7]—he attended his first trance party in 1991.[8]
Duvdevani was conscripted into theIsrael Defense Forces, where he was first nicknamed, "Duvdev".[9] After he finished hisconscription in Israel, Duvdevani lived in India for a year,[10] primarily in the Indian state ofGoa.[11] Duvdevani later collaborated with a member of Shiva Shidapu on four tracks, but they were never released.[5]
Eisen and Duvdevani first began to play together in 1996.[12] A few of their early efforts were released under the name Shidapu & Duvdev. The duo then renamed themselves Infected Mushroom, a name they stole from a local punk band that had been disbanded. The young duo drew inspiration fromThe Prodigy andMetallica. In an interview with Psychedelic Magazine, the duo stated they were naturally attracted to the psytrance genre through its popularity.[12] In 1998 the group began work on their first album, 1999'sThe Gathering, inspired by Simon Posford, X-Dream and Transwave.[9] This album featured a dark, rhythmic sonic atmosphere exemplified by its popular track, "Psycho", using a sample from the movieBatman & Robin.[citation needed] It was one of the first albums to bringIsraeli psytrance to mainstream audiences, and contributed to the genre's worldwide popularity.[13]
Their 2000 album,Classical Mushroom, contained "Bust a Move". The album is commonly referred to as one of the group's best efforts, one in which they continued their sonic evolution, and it remains one of the best-known albums in the genre.[citation needed]
The duo's 2001B.P. Empire is notable for the musical epic "Dancing with Kadafi", which segues numerous styles of music, most notably through middle-eastern style melodies and a classical break which showcases Erez and Amit's piano skills. The name "Dancing with Kadafi" may be a reference to Erez's cat, who was named Kadafi.
Converting Vegetarians (2003), was a two-disc set. The 'Trance Side' disc contained trance-like dancefloor material comparable to their earlier work, while the disc entitled 'The Other Side' contained genre-bending experimental music. 'The Other Side' included Duvdev's vocal debut on the title track, the down-tempo "Elation Station", and the electro-pop tracks "Blink" and "Illuminaughty".
The 2004 release ofIM The Supervisor, continued to mixpsytrance with other musical genres and became Infected Mushroom's best-selling album to date. It was psychedelic in a way that dance music rarely had been prior to its release. Certain parts of IM The Supervisor, most notably thegamelan-like noises, cut-up samples, and the old-school sequencer throb of "Bombat," were lauded as innovative at the time.[citation needed]
Guitarists Thomas Cunningham and Erez Netz joined the group in 2004, the same year as the band relocated from their Haifa base to a studio inLos Angeles, California. Brazilian percussionist Rogério Jardim was recruited later on, in 2007.[citation needed]
Infected Mushroom rose to #9 in the influential DJmag Top 100 DJs poll[14] and were the highest placed psytrance DJs in the category's 2007 debut appearance, a reflection of the role the group had played in the genre's increased worldwide popularity.
Vicious Delicious, considered by some as their most diverse musical effort up until that point[citation needed], was released in 2007. The album includes "Becoming Insane"—a Spanish-guitar-led track containing Spanish lyrics—a collaboration with Gil Cerezo of the Mexican bandKinky, and the hip hop-influenced "Artillery" featuring rappersSwollen Members. The overall album features more guest vocalists than previous albums, as well as live guitars and drums.[15]
Legend of the Black Shawarma[16] was released in 2009. It includes a remix ofThe Doors song "Riders on the Storm",[17] and continues the stylistic variety and use of guest vocalists. The album title refers to an Australian who wanted to go to sea in a shark-proof cage and was told that he would seem like "blackshawarma", a West Asian delicacy, to the sharks.[citation needed] The success ofLegend of the Black Shawarma led to a three-year tour.[citation needed]
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The band's album,Army of Mushrooms, was released on 8 May 2012 on theDim Mak Records label. It features tracks influenced by the psychedelic trance,dubstep,house anddrum and bass genres, such as the up-tempo, breakbeat track "The Rat". The album includes a cover of "The Pretender" by theFoo Fighters, the progressive heavy-hitter "Drum n' Bassa" and "Nation of Wusses"—released as a single on 3 April 2012—and "U R So Fucked",[18] released as a single/video on 14 February 2012.[19]
A large-scaleNorth American tour was launched on 12 May 2012, called "The Unveiling", and featured revamped stage production and novel audio/visual live aspects. The new live production featured Erez and Duvdev within two specially designed hollow spheres placed on stage, among otherhigh tech additions to the band's live set-up and multimedia backdrop.[20]
January 2013 saw the duo embark on theirFungusAmongUS tour across North America, with special guestsThe M Machine. The "FungusAmongUS" tour was designed by Vita Motus and V Squared Labs, the creators of Amon Tobin's ISAM production and Skrillex's live Cell production.[21]
The duo released a collaborativeEP namedFriends onMushrooms Vol. 1 in January 2013, again under Dim Mak Records. The EP consists of tracks featuringAstrix andHatikva 6. In July 2013, the duo releasedFriends on Mushrooms Vol. 2, also under Dim Mak Records, which consisted of collaborations with Pegboard Nerds, Savant and Kelsy Karter.[21] In mid-2013, Infected Mushroom embarked on a tour in support of theVol. 2 release that featured the duo "set against an incredible three dimensional landscape that brings INFECTED MUSHROOM's visual and sonic journey to life."[21]
In August 2013, due to the leaked song "Aura", Infected Mushroom was revealed as a production team onLady Gaga's third studio albumArtpop.[22]Friends on Mushrooms Vol. 3 was released on 17 June 2014 and includes a collaboration withSavant.[23][24]
On 1 April 2014, Duvdevani said that Infected Mushroom will be releasing a new album at the end of the year. It was later revealed that Infected Mushroom will in fact be releasing a compilation of the tracks from the Friends On Mushrooms extended plays, bundled together with two new tracks, "Kafkaf" and "Kazabubu". This was released on 6 January 2015.[25]
Following their Animatronica tour, the band officially announced that their new album will be a follow-up to their widely acclaimed 2003 albumConverting Vegetarians. It was also announced that the vocals ofSasha Grey will be featured on the track "Fields of Grey". The album was released on 11 September 2015.[26]
On 27 January 2017, the band released their eleventh studio album,Return to the Sauce, which features their signature psy-trance sound.[27] This is in stark contrast toConverting Vegetarians II, which is more ambient and down-tempo in style. The release ofReturn to the Sauce was preceded by two singles, "Liquid Smoke" and "Nutmeg".
On 24 November 2017, the band released their singleSpitfire on the Canadian independent record labelMonstercat.[28]
On 9 March 2018, the band releasedIM21, Pt.1 under the label Hommega.[29] It is composed of remixes of "Bust a Move", "Suliman", "Saeed", "Yamakas in space", and an acoustic live remix of "i-Wish". These were remixed by groups such as Bliss, No Comment,Paranormal Attack and Modulation. The acoustic remix of "i-Wish" was done by the band itself.[citation needed]
On 30 October 2018, the band announced a new full-length album titledHead of NASA and the 2 Amish Boys.[30] The album was released throughMonstercat on 12 December that same year. There are seven tracks on the album which are mainly electronic with psytrance influences and include one hip-hop collaboration song with Israeli artist Tuna and Israeli girl band A-WA in Hebrew, Arabic and English –Lost in Space.[31]
In 2020, the group released their 12th albumMore Than Just a Name.[32] It features collaborations withAstrix and Bliss. The trackInfected Megamix features a montage of past popular Infected Mushroom songs.
On July 7, 2022, Infected Mushroom released the single "A Cookie from Space", announced to be the first single from their 25-year anniversary album,IM25.[33]
In October 2023 Infected Mushroom released the single "Tirkod LaNezach" (תרקוד לנצח, lit. "Dance Forever") alongside the Israeli singerOmer Adam, dedicated to the victims of theSupernova music festival massacre.[34]
On average, the band completes 120 live annual performances, including theUltra Music Festival inMiami, US; the Virgin Festival in Baltimore, US;Mexico's OMIX; California, US'Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival;Brazil's Ipanema Beach;Melbourne, Australia's Metro Club; and the 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024Burning Man Festivals in Black Rock City, Nevada, US.[35][36] Infected Mushroom have been twice ranked among the world's "10 Best DJ's" by readers of U.K.'sDJ Magazine.[21]
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