Members Of Between You & Me, Stand Atlantic & Polaris Perform With Mike Shinoda

A bunch of Aussie legends recently had the experience of a lifetime: collaborating with Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda.

Starting his Already Over Sessions – in promotion of his rocking new single, Already Over – while in Australia for BIGSOUND, the rapper, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer enlisted Stand Atlantic singer Bonnie Fraser, Polaris drummer Daniel Furnari, Between You & Me bassist James Karagiozis and local musicians Tash Wolf and Mitchell Black on lead guitar.

Together, Shinoda and his Aussie supergroup performed his new song as well as a Linkin Park classic, Bleed It Out, in which Fraser lets rip during Chester Bennington’s iconic screamed verse. You can check out the collaboration below.

“The idea of the Already Over Sessions is to play the song with talented ‘locals’ from different parts of the world,” Shinoda said in a press release. “Every player has their own style—some DNA of their personality that comes through in their performance. Combining them in a room for a one-day session is kinda high-stakes. I’m thrilled the first session in Australia was such a success and grateful to each of the incredible artists who joined me there.”

The Aussie rockers also made some statements about working with Shinoda; you can read what they had to say about the experience below.

Stand Atlantic’s Bonnie Fraser:

When I got the call, the imposter syndrome hit me so hard I almost backed out. I am so grateful and honoured to have been asked by Mike to collaborate on this project! He was an absolute sweetheart, and I was pinching myself the whole time that I got to be in the same room, let alone playing the same song with a legend.

Polaris’s Daniel Furnari:

I can’t even describe the disbelief I felt at receiving the invitation to be part of this project. I look at Mike as one of the true great rock icons of the 21st century, an increasingly rare breed of songwriter and a genre-defining visionary, and I can honestly say that hearing his records with Linkin Park at age 10 was life-changing for me.

“Stepping into the studio in September, I think we were all experiencing a bit of imposter syndrome, to say the least, but Mike was so quick to make us feel at ease as he worked his way around the room, asking detailed questions about our respective projects and reassuring us all that we had been asked to be there for a reason. Getting the chance to jam in a room with Mike alongside such an incredible cohort of other Aussie musicians was very surreal, something I will never forget. Anyone who says ‘Don’t meet your heroes’ has clearly never met Mike Shinoda.

Between You & Me’s James Karagiozis:

This project was so much fun. Working with Mike was a dream and a breeze; he is one great human being. I have been a big fan for a long time, and the whole thing felt so surreal but also genuine. Working with a hero and then feeling like we were peers by the end of it was not on my bucket list for ‘23, but I’m here for it and vibing.