Sivivon, dance to the beat

December 17, 2009 - 3:39 PM by David

Infected Mushroom

If it’s Hannukah in Israel, then it must be time for… trance music!

Yes, it may not have been around in Maccabean times, but modern day Israel is a hotbed of innovative electronic music. So, why not mix the levivot and the sufganiyot with a little psy trance, the form of dance music that Israeli artists have become identified with around the world?

Thursday night, the immense parking lot near the Supreme Court building in Jerusalem, is going to witness a Hannukah blow out, featuring probably the most successful Israeli musical artists the country has ever produced – Infected Mushroom.

Celebrated DJs who perennially make the top DJ list in international magazines every year, Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani (Duvdev) formed their electronic music project more than a decade ago near Haifa, after having been exposed to the trance music coming out of the Goa region of India.

Their music has evolved into a full-fledged rock-tinged extravaganza, and their latest CD, titled The Legend of the Black Shawarma (honoring the group’s favorite restaurant – Shawarma Hazan in Haifa), features guests spots by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction and Korn’s lead singer Jonathan Davis.

While the band relocated to Los Angeles a few years ago for career advancement, Duvdev told me that they wait with anticipation to return to Israel to perform for a hometown crowd.

“It’s definitely different coming back to Israel to perform. It’s like a homecoming, but the expectations are so high when we come back, there’s more pressure on us to have a great show in Israel than in other places,” he said.

Also performing on the electronic dance fest will be Astrix, an Israeli DJ originally born in Russia and the Matbucha Project which combines Middle Eastern music with electronica.

Certainly, it won’t be a traditional Hannukah event, but one that will likely make the capital a bit brighter on this Festival of Lights.

Share with others