I was just in Singapore a few days back for the Baybeats Festival, which is a three-day music festival that features an impressive sonic smorgasbord of some of the best local, regional (Chicosci, Techy Romantics, Carlos Castaño, and Camerawalls were among our very own who played this year), and international acts. Held at the Espalanade, Baybeats is one of the most anticipated annual events in Singapore.

I was only able to stop by on the final festival day, a Sunday, yet by some good fortune, I got invited to interview, together with two metal writers from Singapore’s Heavy Metal Tribune (visit their site http://heavymetaltribune.blogspot.com), the Brazilian DJ/mix duo, Mixhell.

A collaboration between Iggor Cavalera, and wife, Laima Leyton, Mixhell combines elements of rock, electronica, hip hop, and cyberpunk.

You may recognize Cavalera as the drummer for influential heavy metal group Sepultura. Later on, he formed Cavalera Conspiracy together with brother and former Sepultura front-man Max Cavalera. “I’ve always experimented with music in general, even in Sepultura days,” shares the legendary drummer. “I’ve never seen myself as just a metal drummer or rock drummer, for me it was more like someone who tries different things, so Mixhell is an extension of that.”

“Mixhell,” says Leyton, “ is a big mix of styles and different beats and music and we only play what we love so it’s a big research [for us].

“What we try to do is to have a fun time, but also bring something new —you know, new beats, new culture —and we try to do that in our music through our mix of ideas and mix of different things that we love,” adds Cavalera.

For her part, Leyton has been exposed to music through her sister who is also a DJ. She started tinkering about with her sister’s equipment and soon moved on to producing tracks and, finally, raising hell as one-half of the duo Mixhell. “It’s something that continues and we are fortunate that this is our job because it is our passion as well,” says Leyton.

Music clearly is a family affair for this husband-and-wife duo and when asked how they separate personal life from their music, well, they simply just don’t separate it. “The thing is that what we do is one big package. Like we said it’s all one big family thing, it can be writing music, it can be us in the kitchen making food for our kids, it can be, you know, doing more serious stuff.”

Before the interview, we were asked specifically not to dwell too much on Cavalera’s involvement with Sepultura. But, of course, we could not help it. We were, after all, music, if not metal, fans and Sepultura is one for the best metal groups to emerge from the ‘90s. Also, I guess, we were just real curious how one exactly goes from being a legendary heavy metal drummer to being a DJ.

Cavalera explains: “For a lot of people it can be very different from what I am doing. For me as a musician I always never stop at one thing, I always keep moving and try new things and look for new ways of playing. There was no shock for me because since those days I have always been searching for new things.

“Leyton adds, “He was the only one that didn’t feel the shock because it was natural for him.”

Some metal fans, of course, can be purists when it comes to the scene and some have expressed hostility towards Cavalera’s new project, but he tells us that this is not something that he is bothered at all. “Usually people that don’t like anything I do at all, they just hate and write it on their blogs or forums like “Ohhh Iggor is gay” and whatever,” says the Sepultura alum. “The negative side is usually from people that don’t like what I do and they don’t leave their houses to see me, so I don’t care. At the end of the day, it’s not something I do to please anybody. Never in anything. If they don’t like it, it’s fine. If they hate Mixhell, that’s okay with me. Same way if people like what I do in Mixhell, but don’t like what I do in Sepultura, that’s fine also. I think there is space for everyone and in the middle of all that there will be people who like both.”

Mixhell is about provoking passion for what they call rocktronica, a play on the words rock and electronica, which best describes the duo’s music. Combine that with their disco-punk and old school hip hop influences and what you get is one hell of a murderous dancefloor mix (pardon the pun).