Israeli super group entrances Ultra South Africa

HOWARD SACKSTEIN

It was a rare double-header for the South African music scene to have two Israeli mega music groups headlining the main stage. Israeli flags waved prominently in the audience as Infected Mushroom’s unique blend of trance and psytrance music enveloped the night.

Infected Mushroom has become the poster performer of Israel’s resurgence onto the international music scene, together with Eurovision winner, pop star Netta Barzilai, hip hop band Static & Ben El, and psytrance duo Vini Vici.

Classically-trained Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani formed Infected Mushroom in 1996, and they have been one of the most enduring partnerships on the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene. Thirteen albums later, the duo is stronger than a committed marriage.

Having played Ultra Miami, Burning Man, Coachella, and heading to Tomorrowland in Belgium later this year, Infected Mushroom is the superstar of EDM music festivals around the world.

The band’s high energy performance at Ultra Johannesburg was one of the stand-out performances on the night. Bouncing wildly on stage, Duvdev (Amit Duvdevani), appeared to be in the throes of a spiritual experience amidst the throng of wildly adoring fans.

One after another in the line-up, the two Israeli groups played a combined three hours of deep trance. Vini Vici and offshoot Sesto Sento was formed by Matan Kadosh and Aviram Saharai from Afula in the north of Israel in 2014. They have collaborated with Dutch trance superstar Armin van Buuren.

In an exclusive interview, Duvdev told the SA Jewish Report that the band used to come to Cape Town every year to play the psytrance clubs and at the Vortex Trance Adventures festival. It was there that Duvdev met his now wife of 14 years, who was an Israeli model working in the mother city. Today the couple have three kids, and live in Los Angeles.

In 1995, on his way back from Goa, Duvdev met Eisen and, in 1996, when psytrance music exploded in Israel, so did Infected Mushroom.

Says Duvdev, “Israel is a hectic place. It’s fast-paced, people feel pressure because of the situation, so they like to break through. Trance and psytrance kind of fitted like a glove, and the public just fell in love with it.”

The duo borrowed the name Infected Mushroom from a band Duvdev knew in high school.

Duvdev says he and Eisen listen to a huge amount of new music and new producers to remain relevant, current, and ensure the longevity of the band.

Collaboration is clearly one of the elements that keeps the band relevant to a younger, more commercial audience. Duvdev says that while collaborating with famed Russian-German record producer Zedd (Anton Zaslavski), Lady Gaga, whom Zedd was producing at the time, heard an Infected Mushroom track. She asked: “What is this? I want to do lyrics right, I want to make it my song. Then came Aura, her opening track on that album,” he says.

Another groundbreaking collaboration was the Infected Mushroom re-work of the music of The Doors. It had original members of the band playing on the album, which was a huge coup for the Israeli band. In doing this, they produced one of the most memorable collaborations in modern trance music.

Duvdev is dismissive of Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS), saying, “We really don’t care about BDS. It’s nonsense. We are a super non-political band.”

Duvdev’s message to South Africa is clear, “I’m sorry that I’ve waited so long to come back, and I hope you all have a great time”.

Straight after the show, Infected Mushroom flew back to the United States, then to Europe, then it has some shows to do in Israel before going to Ultra Miami at the end of March in Florida.