Into the Mixhell

I saw an excellent band, well not really a band so much as a husband and wife DJ-drummer combo, last night at King Fu Necktie in Fishtown. It was Mixhell, the Brazilian combo of Iggor Cavalera, the former drummer of the great metal band Sepultura, and his wife Laima Leyton. Cavalera followed his brother Max in leaving Sepultura - the super-heavy thrash band whose 1996 masterwork Roots brilliantly expanded metal's parameters with Brazilian indigenous rhythm - a few years ago. And through the siblings still play together in Cavalera Conspiracy, he told me after the show that Mixhell, who are recording their first album, takes top priority now. Live, it was impressive, with Iggor, who used to have only one g in his name, either pounding his kit mercilessly while Laima dropped sinewy, elastic beats, or, to even more rhythmically rich rocktronic effect, teaming up with her on CD spinning, knob twiddling duties. In the pictures, Cavalera, who's also a fashion designer, sports a T-shirt repping Philadelphia's Mad Decent label, which seemed to please his buddy Diplo, who was in the house. Below, take a tour of Sao Paulo with the lovely couple, catch a minute of them playing live in their hometown last year, and check out "Beyond God and Elvis" on their MySpace.

Previously: Los Lobos Added To White House Latin Music Fest