Infected Mushroom on Hip-Hop Collabs, Celine Dion and Israel Clubbin' Don’ts

Since hooking up in 1997, Israeli psytrance duo Infected Mushroom has used elements of Goa, trance, industrial, and rock in their music. Their latest EP, Friends On Mushrooms Vol.1, is no different. We checked in on Erez “Eisen” and Amit “Duvdev” Duvdevani to talk reggae, tacos, psilocybin, Celine Dion and Diplo.

VIBE: You've expanded your sonic palette on this EP, adding a bit of electro, moombahton, reggae & dub to your signature psy/trance sound.
Infected Mushroom: The genres you mentioned are really taking hold in many markets around the world – we feel like our take on these types of music is very unique, but it’s not our goal to become an electro producer, or a moombahton producer, etc. It’s our only desire to make people dance, and to continue trying new things.

Since you're trying out reggae, any thoughts on collaborating with Snoop Lion or Diplo who just flipped from Hip Hop to reggae?
We’d love to collaborate. Diplo is awesome - we really dig him.

You've worked with some big names in rock - Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Perry Farrell (Jane's Addiction), and Jonathan Davis (Korn). Are there any other rock stars you have on tap?
Les Claypool would be super nutty! Dare I say, Celine Dion?

Do you think EDM's ability to incorporate other genres, as you have, is a big part of its success?
Without a doubt! Especially in America where most of the dance music community is heavily fueled by pop culture – remixes of artists such as Rihanna and Madonna. Hip-hop is also making its way into EDM culture with Dubstep and Trap. It is all part of the machine fusing EDM with other genres.

What are the “Dos/Don'ts” about partying in Israel compared to the U.S.?
First of all, we love the US – it’s our home and the clubs/festivals/parties are great. Israel is a special place for us though, it is where we were born. We play MASSIVE parties and everyone goes mental. The parties in Israel start getting crazy at 2 a.m., but in the US the party ends at 2 a.m.

You've played festivals all over the world. Do you have any favorite spots/things/people?
Frank’s Tacos in Tijuana. That is all.

Was your 2009 album the Legend of the Black Shawarma really supposed to be a concept album about food?
The legend was based on a dream I (Duvdev) had about a good friend of ours, a darker-type Israeli, who went fishing and fell out of his boat. He can’t swim, so as he sank to the bottom of the ocean some sharks looked up at him, and thought he was a big black shawarma because apparently, in my dream, the sharks had a legend many years ago about a mysterious black shawarma. When they saw our friend sinking, they realized the legend was true.

Your new EP Friends of Mushrooms Vol 1 (January 22) drops on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records and features Hope 6 and Astrix. Do you have anyone lined up for remixes yet? How'd you link with Steve?
We will have remixes from the likes of Steve Aoki, Pegboard Nerds, Savant, and Seven Lions. We are in the midst of an “East Coast Fungus Among Us” bus tour now with The M Machine, Shreddie Mercury, and Randy Seidman… it’s going really well, and we are very happy. As far as how we linked with Steve, it was a hook-up through our management, who also handles Steve. Dim Mak has treated us very well.