Skazi

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Skazi is a band with Asher Swisa and Assaf B-Bass from Israel. They have been producing psytrance since 1998.

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Skazi (Asher Swissa & Assaf B-Bass) began producing their trend setting style of Psy-Trance in 1998.

The first trance album, "Animal", was released in September 2000 and was considered revolutionary in its sound and direction. The album dramatically exploded in the worldwide trance scene. Being previously in the local punk and hardcore scene, Skazi brought a new and innovative twist to trance, combining live guitar riffs and edgy, techy hardcore sounds. While the music did mesh with other Psy-Trance it also was felt to share other elements with Hard House and Techno.

Skazi compiled four compilations between the years 2001 and 2004 ("Zoo1", "Zoo2", "Zoo3" and "Most Wanted") with huge success, released more than a hundred tracks in over forty albums & compilations distributed world wide staying for months at the top of the sales charts. Skazi has made many collaborations with other artists, the distinctive Skazi sound and influence is usually immediately inherent.

Since the combined production of the "Animal" CD, Assaf B-Bass joined Asher as a second member of the band. Asher Swissa is still often referred to as "Skazi" despite that Skazi is officially a duo. Assaf B-Bass is also A&R for the latest incarnation of Skazi's record label, Chemical Crew.

Skazi currently performs mainly at big raves, in front of tens of thousands of people in many countries with large Psy-Trance festival scenes: Israel, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Greece, Serbia, South-Africa, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Australia, Russia, India, Spain, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden and many other countries.

Australia has embraced the Skazi phenomenon further, with a local tribute act named "Skuzi" appearing at many parties and festivals dressed in authentic Skazi wig, carrying a guitar and often flanked by groupies and firecrackers.

The Skazi website claims 5000 visitors daily, with 13,500 other websites mentioning Skazi. Skazi has performed at more than 1000 parties in the last 6 years.

Skazi's success has resulted in the occasional backlash from the Psy-Trance fanbase. Skazi's iconic stage presence, featuring Asher's guitar-wielding rock-star poses, combined with a recent string of tongue-in-cheek remixes of 80's and 90's metal and punk songs (including Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit", Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" and The Prodigy's "Voodoo People", to name a few) has resulted in some pained groans from the Psy-trance purists. Bad jokes and cheap shots at Skazi's expense have become quite commonplace on messageboards and websites, all of which underline his ubiquity, his influence, and his controversial nature. One of those jokes resulted in an apparel line, posted on the Psyreviews online shop with the legend "MAKE.SKAZI.HISTORY.NOW".