In 1996, Amit Duvdevani and Erez Eisen met in Haifa, Israel, where their mutual love for creating psychedelic trance music had them join forces to form Infected Mushroom. Nearly two decades and eight full length albums later -- including those with the conversation starting titles Converting Vegetarians and Vicious Delicious -- and the duo is still going strong.
Now based in Los Angeles, Infected Mushroom is taking its never ending tour and a live band to Culture Room on November 29. New Times exchanged some late night correspondences with the two to learn how they first met, the inspirations they find on the road, and why you might want to bring a diaper when attending the show.
See also: Infected Mushroom Will Have Audiences Tripping on Sound With Its Fungusamongus Tour
New Times: When did you first fall in love with music?
Amit Duvdevani: We have both loved music for as long as we can remember. Our parents had us classically trained, and by the time we were teens, we were already involved in bands.
Erez started touring as an electronic musician around the ripe age of 14. Music runs in our blood and we are so fortunate to have been able to make a living from our passion.
How did the two of you meet?
A mutual friend linked us up together. He knew we both possessed traits that would balance each other out in terms of charisma, technical skills, perseverance, networking abilities, etc. Sure enough once we got in the studio, magic started to happen.
We started out by collaborating as separate artists, but it didn't take long to realize our powers combined created a monster that was unstoppable.
What is your creation process?
We sit down with an espresso, begin developing a loop, eventually the track comes to life. Sometimes we have a vocal or lyrical idea, perhaps just a theme or concept, then we start to build around that. Often times we like to write music at night because by that time our brains are warped from the long day, which actually helps us to think outside the box in terms of trippy ideas and risk-taking.
You guys tour a lot. Is being on the road something you must overcome to create new music or is it an inspiration?
It's definitely an inspiration. We typically don't write on the road, so that time off gives us new-found energy and inspiration in the studio during weekdays. Also we often find that our experiences on the road give us lyrical or title ideas.
For example, "I am the supervisor, can I get a taxi number" came from a time when we had a psycho taxi driver in Europe... The lyrics just developed organically. Or in the album Legend of the Black Shawarma -- many of the song titles are named after our favorite restaurants from around the world. It's important to find balance in life.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Good food and lots of Heineken.
What can audiences expect on Saturday night at Culture Room?
We are going to bring a ton of energy, and a solid selection of old favorites with new bangers. Just remember to wear your diapers, its going to get messy.
Infected Mushroom, 8 p.m., Saturday, November 29, Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $30 plus fees. Visit cultureroom.net.
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