Sunday, September 25, 2022

Infected - Breathe

Infected Mushroom (not the trance duo) was formed in a small Israeli town called Nahariya, released an album called Don't Panic in 1993 and broke up. Pretty soon after some of them moved to London and started Infected.
If you want to check that first incarnation you can get the album's re-released CD version (shorter than the original cassette) in this awesome dead blog (please come back).. personally I always had a mixed feeling about that one, it's a weird one, even for me. Avantgarde goth/post punk/funk metal idk, Bauhaus-Primus-Cardiacs, they didn't stop there, pretty diverse. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.
Shachaf Barkai, Amir Shoat, Jon Acker at Bull & Gate , 1994
Photo by Mick Mercer*

Anyways, we're here to talk about the London trio, which I have much more sympathy towrads. Amir Shoat (vocals) and Jon Acker (bass, synths and drum programming) were both the founders of the original group, they were joined by Shachaf Barkai (guitar) who also participated as a guest on Don't Panic. The three were a bit more focused this time, and embraced the goth-industrial influences to the end (I don't mean they've gone straight up Skinny Puppy by saying that). It's still weird, still very unusual, and great all the way doing their own thing.
They were active mostly around Camden Town, especially The Bull & Gate club, between 1993-'96, and recorded a couple of tracks which were compiled to their sole release, Breathe. I think it was released on tape in 1996, but I only have a CD version which says 1999, so I ain't really sure.

I need to get a new scanner..

1. Shake [1993]
2. Breathe [1993]
3. Happy [1993]
4. Grey [1994/95]
5. Toxic [1993]
X. Winelight [bonus track I added, taken from Fuckin' Hardfloor Volumes 1+2 Compilation, 1995]

"Breathe" (Lossless rip)

*That awesome pictures up there by Mercer was stolen from the Bull & Gate facebook group page, where, if you bother to search, you'll find many more by him and some flyers. Mercer actually published a photo book of them.