Serj Tankian teams up with dance star Benny Benassi

Serj Tankian has teamed up with dance producer Benny Benassi on a new track which is now available to stream.

The System Of A Down frontman lends his vocal skills to the song Shooting Helicopters, which came about when the two met in 2013 and agreed to work together.

Benassi says he is a long-time admirer of Tankian’s vocal prowess and adds that the pair spent six months refining the track.

Benassi adds: “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. I’d like to thank Serj for being part of this. Respect.”

Tankian is also lined up to appear on another dance track. He is among a number of rock stars set to guest on the next album by top DJ Avicii.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.