Interview with American DJ Duo Deep Dish – Dubfire and Sharam

American dance music duo, owners of a lot awards in the sphere of dance music and authors of a single ‘Quincy’. Boom! Now they are back in town, teaming up with the mighty Lock N Load to smash Electric Brixton…their first UK event in six years.

Journalist: Sharam, Ali! Where on planet earth are you today?

Dubfire: “At the time of this writing, I'm in Barcelona preparing to head to Amsterdam for the annual ADE conference.”

Sharam: “Just got back from doing Space Ibiza NY and Toronto last night - have a few hours on the ground to catch up with some studio and personal stuff and heading to ADE this afternoon.”

Journalist: Electric Brixton has become the go to place for many of our superstar producers of late, Marco Carola, Loco Dice, Carl Cox and Eric Prydz all love it here. What is it about this venue that you all love?

Dubfire: “We hadn't played there in years and when I played solo recently for the SW4 after-party all those old feelings came rushing back. It's a large space but feels very intimate despite the scale. And the crowd were fantastic so we're quite excited! Especially as we'll be playing an extended set and supported by our friends Danny Daze and Ross Evans.”

Sharam: “I haven't been to the venue myself but have heard many great things. I'm looking forward to coming back as Deep Dish as its been a few years and we've had some of our greatest memories in the UK. This should be fun.”

Journalist: It has been 6 years since you appeared in London together, what are some of the memories that spring instantly to mind about the nights rocking our capital city?

Dubfire: “Wow there are WAY too many! Playing The Hacienda with Marshall Jefferson was a big highlight personally for me as was Tribal Sessions at Sankeys. Shindig was always like coming home. Our all night sessions at The End were unreal and something we felt was truly special. Plastic People and Ben Watt's Notting Hill Arts Club gigs were also special. Can't forget Full Circle, Bugged Out, Hard Times. The Cream anniversary gig in Liverpool which was the first gig we ever played in the UK; the list is endless!”

Sharam: “Ditto on all that!”

Journalist: Interesting article that Pulse Radio ran earlier this summer featuring 7 Artists Who Went Pop And Kept Their Underground Credibility. You were nicely nestled amongst the likes of Tiga, Timo Maas and Mr C. What were your thoughts on the feature…?

Dubfire: “It was very flattering of course; and true to form as we'd never liked being pigeonholed as an underground "deep house" act and always tried to dabble in mixing more pop-rooted song structures and styles with electronica; especially when it came to rock music. And we did it with varying degrees of success and personal satisfaction. Some bits went more in my direction and some went in Sharam's. But we always strived to make sure that the end result was a balance of our individual styles. But again, with varying degrees of success! LOL!”

Sharam: “Like Ali said, we have always had an allergic reaction with being pigeonholed. With that as the mind set, the creativity door can be wide open which allows you to experiment and try to take a different approach to music. That’s been the ingredient for us. So sometimes that process yields a record that can become so popular that people label it pop and sometimes so underground that no one gets it. The key is to continue on that path of creativity and not let 'labeling' distract you -which sadly in this day and age has become so rampant and visible via the internet, where people are ready for you to experiment just so they can shoot you down because of it. its a bizarre thing that goes on and i never understood it, because to me the most important component of pushing things forward is experimenting.”

Journalist: It’s that time of year again…the DJ Top100 Poll. I interviewed Arthur Baker a while back and he remarked…“there are too many DJs and genres for a realistic competition, it needs to split”. What are your thoughts on that – do you actually give a shit anymore about it?

Dubfire: “The honest truth? It's a popularity contest that has absolutely no merit and the inside running joke of the industry. But for whatever reason it CAN and DOES increase a DJs profile and wages. But it's not for me to bother with as my legacy as an artist or DJ doesn't lie with a meaningless poll, but with the music I make, the sets that I play and the respect of my peers.”

Sharam: “It can be a great tool to recognize the popularity of the individual players in our scene and what the fans/people are saying. But I always found it to be flawed as it hasn't grown with the industry and its various offshoots. There is no proper auditing system around it like there is for Grammys for example. it can become something a lot more meaningful not only for the industry but also for the fans. It IS a popularity contest so if you have a big record your name appears on that list - as it should, but unfortunately that doesn’t say how good of a 'DJ' you are. Its been hogged by rigging and clever/paid marketing.”

Journalist: This week on your Facebook page you invited your fans to nominate theirfavourite ever Deep Dish track. Were you surprised by the results, any tunes pop up that you didn’t expect?

Dubfire: “The responses were ALL over the place so it was hard to pinpoint the ONE. But I saw many who listed "Stay Gold/The Future of the Future" or "Say Hello"; I guess that with our past work, everyone has a soft spot for the vocals.”

Sharam: “I also have a soft spot for vocals. lol! But i love seeing some of our 'under the radar' tracks like Prana and Watergate appear on there. It’s a great privilege to be in a position that people recognize and still talk about our work from the early days all the way to present. We're blessed.”

Journalist: It has been another record breaking summer in Ibiza, the busiest ever with hundreds of incredible parties all season long. You rocked the Space Closing Party last week, many commented your set was the best of the night. How was it for you?

Dubfire: “We weren't sure how we'd top the extended set we'd done at the opening in the car park but José de Divina did an amazing job before us and we were surrounded by so many friends and supporters who made us feel so welcome there again; it was quite easy and fun for Sharam and I to reconnect that chemistry and I think it showed and was felt by all.”

Journalist: Journalist: Steve Angello, Paul Oakenfold and Afrojack caused a wee stir half way through the summer when announcing on Radio 1 that the island was too VIP now and the white isle had lost it’s “mystique”. Do you agree?

Dubfire: “Oh Ibiza's always been VIP; I think with the success of Ushuaia, certain celebrity DJs flocking to secure residencies and the explosion of the so-called "EDM" sound worldwide it's maybe perceived to be MORE VIP then in the past. But any visit to ENTER., Circoloco at DC10, Cocoon, Carl Cox's night at Space, Solomun at Pacha, Guy Gerber's Rumours parties at Beach House, The Underground, Fuse at Sankeys, etc. and it's blatantly apparent that the underground music scene is more alive, wanted and represented then ever before. So I'm not worried. Now the cost of a bottle of water or a drink has gotten a bit out of hand don't you think? LOL!”

Sharam: “VIP is an integral part of our scene. I think people need to get used to it, simply because a lot of the 'kids' that were championing our scene in the early days have grown up and are successful and they want to bring their crew to the clubs and want to get a table under a more exclusive and comfortable setting to enjoy the music. So they get a table. Big deal. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. More VIP means more money for the club and more money for the DJs. Even all the underground parties have VIPs and tables. its not about the kind of music being played or the type of DJs being booked, its about people wanting to feel special and connect with the music - some feel like that on the dance floor in the thick of it and some in a corner table with a models and bottles.”

Journalist: What are the big 5 tunes in your boxes this weekend?

Dubfire:

1. Stiv Hey & Ricky Ebner - Fatalistic (Unreleased) SCI+TEC

2. Richie Santana - Snake Oil

3. Dubfire feat. Miss Kittin (The Hacker / Brodinski Remixes - Unreleased) SCI+TEC

4. Ruben Mandolini - Also! (The Junkies Remix - Unreleased)

5. Alexi Delano, Jesper Dahlback (Don't Constrain Me [Gaiser's Rummer Mind Remix - Unreleased) SCI+TEC

Sharam:

1. Luis Junior - Sesto Senso (Unreleased) Shinchi

2. Translucent, Danny Daze - Speaker Language Kompakt

3. Eddie Amador - House Music (Uto Karem Remix) Yoshitoshi

4. Loco & Jam - A Pinch Of Spice - MB Elektronics)

5. DJ-Simi - S-Up (Yoshitoshi Unreleased)

6. Sharam - Lambo (Unreleased)

Journalist: What has been your track of the summer?

Dubfire: "Vince Watson - It's Not Over (Carl Craig's c2 Remix)."

Sharam: "The Youngsters 'Third Knife (Matthias Tanzamann Remix) - 2020 Vision."

Journalist: So everyone is talking about 2014 as the year of the “Deep Dish Comeback”…whatever you want to call it, is has been fantastic to have you back! How has the summer been…did you just click back straight away, has it been a blast?

Dubfire: “Thank you It's great to be back and to see such overwhelming enthusiasm from the fans! The summer has been pretty relentless work-wise but we managed to survive. We're still working on re-connecting to that special chemistry in the studio and on the road but if some of the sets we played together this summer - the Miami debut, Exit Festival, Space Ibiza and Balaton Sound not to mention the Quincy single and the dozens of other studio bits we've worked on - is any indication, it's been a pretty productive and creatively inspiring year.”

Sharam: “Just another day at the office…after an 8 year vacation.”

Journalist: We were out in Vegas when Tongy joined you at Life SLS…how has Sin City changed over the last couple of years as America goes dance crazy around it?

Dubfire: “We have our fans and there is a small hardcore underground legion of supporters there but Vegas is still Vegas; maybe more so now with the explosion of this so-called "EDM" scene and the pop DJs who have climbed aboard that train. We had some great times at Hakkasan and the SLS and I have always enjoyed EDC Vegas but beyond that, let’s just say that I'm not itching to be back anytime soon.”

Sharam: “Back in the day Hip Hop ruled Vegas and house music was knocking on the door. Now EDM is ruling the show and house music is still knocking on the door. Having said that, I've had some of my best memories as a DJ in Vegas. You have to go to Vegas with a different mind set. You don't go to Vegas with educate first in your mindset. You got to Vegas with entertain first in your mind set. Once you understand it then it can be a fun and entertaining place to play. I'm looking forward to going back.”

The last GREAT, new location or club you discovered this year?

Dubfire: “Me personally? Believe it or not I'd never played Sunwaves in Romania or Nordstern in Basel until recently this summer and I had a BLAST! Especially my 13-hour set at Sunwaves which I hope to make a recurring thing.”

Sharam: “NYC. Believe it or not my last 3 shows in NYC at Marquee, Provocateur, Space Ibiza NY has been phenomenal. I'm looking forward to going back.”

Journalist: Another great little piece you were included in this summer was the Dancing Astronaut ‘Mid Year Top 10 Mixes’ of the year. You smashed in at No. 5 with your first Essential Mix in over 5 years…what thoughts been your favourite DJ set of the summer…?

Dubfire: “I loved (and DANCED!) to Apollonia every chance I had this year so they get my vote!”

Sharam: “Luciano at WMC Miami was probably the best set i heard in the past 5 years. I stopped by Story to check him out and say hello quickly before heading to Ali's party and I couldn't leave. I simply could not leave. So very late out of guilt I went Ali's party and luckily it was shut down by police so I grabbed him and rushed back to Luciano. It restored my faith in being inspired by other DJs. He was just phenomenal and leaps and bounds beyond anything else i had heard recently."

Journalist: Any up and coming producer to watch out for in 2015…

Dubfire: “SHADED has been murdering it at every show. Also look out for Wigbert, Johnny Trika and Stiv Hey.”

Sharam: “I've been following Luis Junior for a while and he never ceases to amaze me. I think he will break through big. Also Danny Daze. My man has the dark side of the force locked up to his corner. Also Veerus & Maxine Devine have been making some amazing music.”

Journalist: And finally…you knew the question was coming, what is rolling out next from the mighty Deep Dish studio…

Dubfire: “We've recorded maybe 20 or so tracks in various demo stages and are diving into the studio together in February to begin polishing some, discarding others and coming up with new ones. There's no reason to rush it. "Quincy" happened very naturally as did the Essential Mix we did in that they both combine each of our unique approaches so we were very happy about that. And some of the nicest compliments we got were from colleagues who commented that it sounded like vintage Deep Dish, but with the current modern, futuristic sound of electronic music.”

Sharam: “Stay tuned…”