Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia--one half of the Grammy Award winning and four-time nominated electronic music duo Deep Dish--has joined forces with Global Underground for the April 10 release of his first solo mix album Dubfire GU31 - Taipei. The 2-CD mix set is a sweeping change from anything you would have previously expected to hear from the Deep Dish member and it features the finest in house, electro, techno, and even industrial music.

Growing up in the Washington, DC area, Dubfire spent much of his youth playing the guitar in school bands and listening to heavy doses of classic Hip-Hop, jazz/rare groove, dub reggae, new wave and industrial. Dubfire was also influenced by the local punk scene and the music of hometown bands like Fugazi and Minor Threat. Members of these bands also worked at a local record store called Yesterday And Today Records, and this is where Dubfire first picked up on the sounds of acts such as: "Kraftwerk, Ministry, Jesus & Mary Chain, Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb, Adrian Sherwood/On-U Sound and Einsturzende Neubauten". Through this heavy industrial influence, namely the sound of Chicago's famed Wax Trax! label, Dubfire discovered the Chicago house scene and what labels like Trax and D.J. International Records were releasing.

Accolades for Dubfire’s productions have flowed thick and fast – from Mixmag (including being asked to mix the magazine’s prestigious cover mount CD), DJ Mag and Raveline (featured on the cover of both), to IDJ, Groove, Beatportal, Resident Advisor, and many more. And that’s just the press. His DJ and producer peers have afforded tracks such as ‘Roadkill’ and ‘RibCage’ burgeoning acclaim, in both chart reactions and interviews. Such critically (and commercially) successful productions have served as monumental openers for Dubfire’s new digital-release-only label, Science + Technology Digital Audio (SCI + TEC). Initially formed as the exclusive outlet for Dubfire's solo productions, it will grow to incorporate releases from some of his favorite emerging and recognized artists from around the globe.

With distribution and download partners including Beatport, iTunes, and Zebralution, SCI+TEC has quickly established an international reputation as a label that no discerning electronic fan should miss. Asia, Europe, South America, the US, and the Southern Hemisphere – all continents have rocked to Dubfire’s superlative DJ skills in the past 12 months. But filling the finest international clubs is one thing, keeping a floor packed for over 9 hours takes only the very best (just ask those lucky clubbers who experienced this at Brazil’s Warung earlier this year). And with barely enough time to rest his headphones in January, Dubfire was off on the road again once more; with an ever-present hunger for touring flowing through his veins, 2008’s diary was proving to be the busiest yet. 

Dubfire’s change in direction has also spawned new creative partnerships, as well as resurrecting old ones: his reworking of Ritchie Hawtin’s percussive opus and (beyond) classic 90’s track, ‘Spastik’ (original recorded under Hawtin’s Plastikman guise) has been released on M-nus, along with a new production entitled ‘Emissions’, also featured on the label’s recent compilation, ‘Expansion-Contraction’.

With the success of original productions, his remixes, and extensive tour dates, one thing is abundantly clear: based on the current state of play, Dubfire is one of 2008’s most exciting musical visionaries. Finally he achieved the world's best "House Tech- DJ" title of the year, awarded in the "DJ Awards" ceremony at the famous Ibiza, at the end of summer 2008. 

References:   www.deepdish.com
                        www.thedjlist.com

Edited By: Kouros N Nasseri- Sound Planet- Tehran

Interview By: Kouros N Nasseri- Sound Planet- Tehran

Photos & Publishing: Shideh Amerian                                     

Thank You very much for the interview; as we know you are famous, but can I ask you to give us a short biography for our audience & the genre you are working on?

 Well I started making music professionally since I was 18 & I started out as many people know in a duo with "Shahram Tayebi" ( Sharam ) called " Deep dish ". We released two artist albums & a number of Compilations and over the last two years we sort of branched out in separate directions to pursuit some sort of a solo carrier & in some point in a very near future we’re gone get back together as Deepdish & record a new album. 

Can you tell us about your new releases & the new tracks or albums and also are they new plans in your professional future, specially related to your separated work from Deepdish?                    

I don’t push on thinking to much what I’m gonne do, I kindda feel my way through the work and I'm very instinctive of what I’m going to do, so you know there is no master plans as a lot of people have & there are no general ideas about what I wanna achieve, I have a general ideas the direction I’m gonne go in , but I don’t really map out any thing to do with my carrier & I think its important to have sort of instinctive feeling, & its almost doing it but doing blind, & you will find your own way around .               

What is your idea about the new generation of music production related to the new ways of net access & downloading that may harm or destroy the artist's achievement & business?                

The problem is not downloading, it's illegal downloading music; you know in many ways the technological revolution that we witness with the internet & popular rising the spread of the electronic music & other kinds of styles to all corners of the globe. I think it really helped promoting our music in a number of different places & without this technology I think its very difficult for people to have access to all the great music what's out there, so I think its really spread & promoted & specifically electronic music all around the word, but its when you start getting into illegal down loading & sharing files where the artist who try to make living by making music, suffers the most.
                                             
Let me ask you a general question about the hit: "Road kill", that how was it made possible & was there a specific idea about how it starts to be produced? As you know better that it’s the hit of the year.              

It was just something I did the same time that I did my other song "Rib Cage" and you know I wanted to do two completely different tracks ,one kind of very Underground & more sort of the Techno audience & with "Road kill", I wanted to do something strictly for the DJ community & my aim from the beginning was to make music for the DJs to play at the clubs & I was not trying to make an album & I was not trying to make just listening music so I wanted all the DJs with my respect out there to be playing my tracks, that was the criteria for how was translated on the dance floor & how other DJs responded to it & also maybe the plan was to just have that first chapter of the evolution cycle of my new solo carrier. 

Let me ask a common question related to your last relations with "Sharam", as many people ask what's up to this separation?                

We are cool as before & there are no problems. a lot of people want to suggest that we are having problems but as you know we’ve been together for fifteen years & its very natural to spread out & we will eventually get back together in the near feature & we are hopeful to come to Iran & entertain people. 

How do you feel about your home country "Iran" & do you still have any interests in this country & the people, according to what you’ve heard of the Electronic music activities in there?                             

I don’t know any producers or DJs in Iran, and the way I feel is that, it’s changed from the time I know before ,that was the time I came to America & I haven’t been back since, of curse I've  heard from family members & I see them & they kindda film on how things are, but its hard for me to connect, because its not the same thing I remembered before & I'm an artist and at the end of the day I believe my freedom & in fact that I can’t express my self in my own home country is really sad & I hope in my life time if something happens, things changes & some one like us can come & see my family & entertain & work, the way I work all over the world, but in my own country.   

 Finally may I ask you giving a message to the professional music community in Iran, as you know they are waiting for this moment?        

Of curse, thanks for all your support & I hope like I said, one day I could come there with Sharam, especially, & we can do the same we do around the glob. 

Thank you for your time Ali, we wish you achieving top ranks at the 2008 DJ awards.

      This interview including its photos are all exclusively done & belonged to:
        Sound Planet- Tehran. All rights reserved- 2008.
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