From Loudwire
Serj Tankian lends his vocals to ‘Shooting Helicopters,’ the new track from Italian electronic producer and DJ Benny Benassi. The infectious track starts with a staccato keyboard line before Serj comes in singing softly. It builds in intensity as the System of a Down frontman’s vocals begin to soar, before a full-on instrumental dance breakdown.
The song shows off a different side of Serj’s powerful and operatic vocals. He took to Facebook and posted to song, writing, “Here’s the full song ‘Shooting Helicopters’ I did with Benny Benassi. I really enjoyed working with him and love the way it came out! Thanks for checking it out.”
In a press release, Benny Benassi has always admired “Serj’s vocal prowess and talent, but he wasn’t sure the singer would want to work with an electronic dance music producer.” Benassi added, the collaboration started “well over a year ago” and the two “spent about six months refining the track.”
The producer went on about the unique collaboration saying, “The idea of bringing Serj’s vocal style into our musical environment was a real challenge. As soon as I started experimenting with the music under the vocals, I was immediately struck by the atmosphere of the song which is decidedly different from most things you here at the festivals I play at and unlike anything we’ve done so far, ourselves. I started playing embryonic versions out, especially as a set opener and the effect was devastating. We kept working on the music until we were 100% satisfied.”
‘Shooting Helicopters’ is available for download now at iTunes. You can listen to the track below.