Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto label will release the upcoming eighth studio album from Israeli-bred, Los Angeles-based psy-trance duo Infected Mushroom. The Black Shawarma is due out on September 8th and features the duo’s trademark mixture of rock and trance. The album also features guest appearances from two rock heavyweights: Korn’s Jonathan Davis handles on the first single “Smashing the Opponent,” while Perry Farrell fronts “Killing Time.”
Obligatory press gush from Amit “Duvdev” Duvedevani about working wth Davis and Farrell: “Recording with Jonathan and Perry was a highlight, of course. They were both incredibly cool. The fact that they liked the tracks was awesome because we’re huge fans of what they do.”
Infected Mushroom will kick off its North American tour In Anaheim, CA on June 11th. See a complete list of tour dates after the jump. Continue Reading →
After ripping the roof off Roseland in New York City, The Prodigy, who are riding on their new album, Invaders Must Die, flew down to perform at Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Bad weather and flight delays almost caused the revered UK band to miss the gig—something that mastermind Liam Howlett almost wishes had happened. “Ultra didn’t really float my boat, “Howlett tells Big Shot. “We’ve done [Ultra] before, and I really don’t like it.”
Keith Flint had a different take on the show. “It was wicked,” he told Big Shot. “I didn’t see much of the festival. We got delayed coming in from New York, and we went straight onto the stage from the airport. That mission to get onstage is always exciting, especially when it’s a banging show. Miami rocks—they love their dance music. We banged it and it rocked.”
“We’ve done [Ultra] before. I don’t really enjoy it. I didn’t think the crowd was very good. It was very flat. It’s meant to be like a rave or a party, but it was the most unresponsive crowd I’ve ever seen. It was, like, dead. [Miami] is filled with holidaymakers that time of year, innit? I could have a better party in my living room.”
Nonetheless, Howlett says he isn’t planning to rush back to Ultra—or Miami—in the near future. “It’s not my type of thing, you know? We’ve done [Ultra] before. I don’t really enjoy it. I didn’t think the crowd was very good. It was very flat. It’s meant to be like a rave or a party, but it was the most unresponsive crowd I’ve ever seen. It was, like, dead. [Miami] is filled with holidaymakers that time of year, innit? I could have a better party in my living room. It was, like, nothing. I was like, c’mon, c’mon…what the fuck are we doing? You can print me saying this. I don’t give a shit.”
The Prodigy return to the U.S. for an eight-day tour kicking off on May 18th in Washington, DC. Strangely enough, no Miami area dates are on their upcoming itinerary.
Peter Hook told Big Shot that New Order is officially kaput. Though Hook isn’t on the best of terms with his former bandmates, he was in New York City last weekend to attend a screening of Joy Division: The Documentary, an excellent biopic that uses interviews with Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris (as well as an array of Manchester scenesters) to chronicle the rise and fall of Joy Division.
The documentary, which features rare audio and video, is an answer to Anton Corbijn’s rather excellent Control and provides even deeper insight into why singer Ian Curtis (who suffered from a bipolar disorder and epilepsy) committed suicide just before embarking on the band’s first American tour. Unlike many retrospectives that are afraid to ask its subjects tough questions, Joy Division doesn’t hold back and wonders why the rest of the band wasn’t alarmed over Curtis’ morose lyrics. Their contention: They never listened to his lyrics and blokes don’t ask each other how they’re feeling.
Below are highlights of the post-movie Q&A session with Peter Hook and producer Tom Atencio.
Peter Hook recalls how attending the Sex Pistols’ gig at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall inspired the formation of Joy Division.
Z-Trip, godfather of the modern mash-up, will follow in the footsteps of Bob Hope by bringing a little bit of America to our soldiers in the Middle East. Unfortunately for the Arizona-based DJ, he appears to be the only non-hasbeen on the bill, which features a lineup that largely looks like the musical equivalent of an episode of The Surreal Life. In this case, the roles of host Dave Coulier and show participants Shannon Tweed, a Baldwin that is not Alec, Willie Aames, and Jessica Simpson will be played by Carlos Mencia, The Pussycat Dolls, Filter, Disturbed, and Jessica Simpson (as herself), respectively. Alternative rock nostalgists and fans of bad comedy, pop, tits, nu metal alike will be in their glory.
How did this lineup come together?
Z-Trip: MySpace approached me about appearing, and they said they really wanted me there. I was on a very short list of DJs, they told me, and I’m one of the first [DJs] who have done this. I oppose the war and I oppose all of the people who got us there, but I am a supporter of the people in the military. I have lots of friends and family there and a lot of friends of family, so that wasn’t a hard decision.
That wasn’t a complicated decision to make for you in the light of your feelings about the war?
I approached Henry Rollins [through Shepard Fairey] and Chuck D because I wanted to talk with other people who had been in the same situation. I grew up listening to [Public Enemy] and rallying behind punk and protest music. I had to call on these people and get their blessing, and find out what their thoughts on me going over there was. They told me that it isn’t about the policies or the people who put us there; it is about the people who are there, and they’re right. They’re totally right. I had to take myself out of my beliefs and head out for them.
What do you perceive your military fanbase is like?
There are plenty of people in the military who knows what I do and plenty of folks who are aspiring DJs. For those who don’t know about me, in any situation like this, if people don’t know me, I just go out there and fucking plan on smashing them over the head with shit I have been mixing. Nine times out of ten that works, especially for those who don’t know what to expect. I think they leave and appreciate it.
I am just hoping to get schooled over there. I want to get over there and learn that this is what goes on there and that its something wholly different from what I expect or whatever. I’m going to be taking a journal over there. I’ll be taking photos. I just want to learn.
