Infusion
Sometimes hype is redundant. Who needs to bend the truth when your managers phone is ringing
night and day from people wanting to book you, sign you and get you to remix them? Like the
Crystal Method were to the USA and The Chemical Brothers to the UK, Australian trio Infusion set
the bench mark for what was to come.
Although the Australian live dance music scene is now booming and well respected across the
world, five years ago it was a very different story. Music genres were vastly defined and associating
with any sound outside your own subculture was social suicide. Aptly calling themselves Infusion,
the band’s sound burst onto the scene equal parts rock, dance and pop. Their blurring of the lines
may have been a challenge for the record execs but the music fans ate it up.
Infusion released their debut album Phrases and Numbers independently in 2002. Recognising an
immense talent in the making, the band were lassoed by A&R manager Dicko (Australian Idol) and
promptly signed to SonyBMG, releasing their second long player Six Feet Above Yesterday in 2004.
A massive success both commercially and critically, the release was listed in Rolling Stone’s ‘Top
50 Best Albums of 2005’ with tracks from the album receiving heavy rotation across commercial
radio in Australia, US, UK, Japan and South America.
With more stamps on their passport than most foreign diplomats, the trio of Jamie Stevens, Frank
Xavier & Manuel Sharrad have zigzagged their way across the globe to perform in an incredible 123
different cities across 39 separate countries.
Infusion’s relentless touring schedule was fuelled only by the public’s hunger for more of this ‘live’
electro band. And ‘live’ by its very definition they are, with no two performances the same and not a
backing track in sight! It’s no wonder they have been booked by the biggest festivals and clubs
worldwide including Coachella, Roskilde, Glastonbury, Big Day Out, Wireless 02 festival, Splendour
in the Grass, Creamfields and clubs; Fabric and Renaissance, forging a yellow brick road for other
Australian electro bands to follow. Along the way, they have played alongside icons David Bowie,
N.E.R.D and Basement Jaxx and even played just before the revered New Order at a gig in
Sweden.
Their undeniable influence in shaping the direction of electronic music in recent years has seen
Infusion twice honoured with an ARIA Award (Australia’s ‘Grammy’) for best dance release. In 2004,
the hook-driven electro stomper ‘Girls Can Be Cruel’ won the boys their first pointy. The single
reached No 1 on the ARIA club chart and debuted at No 1 on the UK Dance charts. Their critically
acclaimed second album ‘Six Feet Above Yesterday’ saw the band again secure the award a year
later confirming their dominance. No surprise that the leading Australian broadsheet Sydney
Morning Herald proclaimed them “Australia’s best live actâ€.
Infusion is not simply another band. Just ask many of the world’s most leading musicians – The
Cure’s legendary frontman Robert Smith signed off on Infusion’s remix of the classic ‘The Walk’ to
be released alongside other re-rubs by luminaries including New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen,
Morrisey and Devo.
A natural flair for the second take has seen Infusion add their unique industrial touch to remixes for
acts as diverse as Something for Kate, Gotye, Icehouse, El Presidente, Adam Freeland, Meat Katie,
Delirium and Main Element amongst others. Their songs have also constantly been picked up
around the world for countless sync placements with two tracks being used in the hit US series The
OC.
In between touring stints, the band has spent much of the past two years in the studio recording
their highly anticipated new album, with the first single due to drop later this year with the album to
follow shortly AFTER.. Staying true to the band’s globetrotting habits, the LP was part recorded in
their own studio and partly in the US .
Infusion are set to drop their rock-tronica bombshell on the world – you’ll hear it coming before it
finally just drops on your head!
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