Deep Dish

deep dishDeep Dish is a highly-regarded DJ duo that is best known for deep house, a term they helped define.

It was a chance meeting in 1991 that originally brought Washington DC’s Ali ‘Dubfire’ Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi together. At the time, the two were mastering their mixing skills at local DC parties and clubs when a booking mishap put them on deck duty at the same time. Ali and Sharam discovered that they had a great deal in common, mainly a distinct vision for bridging the gap between the varying styles of electronic music.

The formation of Deep Dish Records eventually led to their DJ and production skills attracting the attention of then-pioneering Tribal America Records and culminated with Deep Dish mixing/appearing on the now classic Penetrate Deeper compilation. The doors for them flew wide open globally by 1995; with an anthemic remix of De’Lacy’s Hideaway and numerous collaborations with old school friend Brian ‘BT’ Transeau, the name Deep Dish became synonymous with the flourishing ‘deep house’ scene (a term which they helped expand the definition of).

In 1998, Deep Dish released their debut artist album Junk Science, a blistering mix of deep lush house, rock/dance fusion, jazz-tinged soul and moody atmospherics. Propelled by the success of singles like The Future Of The Future (Stay Gold), featuring the vocals of Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn, Junk Science underlined their talent for making records that sound as good on the radio or on the stereo as they do on the dance floor. Following Junk Science, Deep Dish continued with the mix compilation albums Yoshiesque (1999), Renaissance Ibiza (2000), Yoshiesque Two (2001) and Global Underground – Moscow (2001), all dynamic examples of the Deep Dish clubbing experience. Infusing their trademark eclectic sound with house, techno, and trance, their mix albums are lovingly crafted melting pots of dance floor styles and genres

Meanwhile, Deep Dish continued to remix works by artists across mainstream and underground echelons, which garnered them some of the highest accolades in the dance industry. Classic remixes including Brother Brown, Gabrielle, Morel, Beth Orton, Sven Vath and Depeche Mode along with breakouts for mega-stars like Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, ‘N Sync, and Justin Timberlake, sparked Ali and Sharam to become two of the most sought-after remixers around. As the offers came pouring in, Ali and Sharam selectively chose projects which reflected their taste for diversity and experimentation.

In 2001, Deep Dish earned their first Grammy Award nomination in the “Remixer Of The Year” category for their mix of Madonna’s “Music,” Amber’s “Sexual (La Da Di)” and their own “Mohammed Is Jesus” original production to name a few. A second nomination followed in 2002, and landed Deep Dish their first ever Grammy win in the “Best Remixed Recording” category for their mix of Dido’s hit single “Thank You.” The single serves as a prime example of Deep Dish’s expertise in cross-pollinating pop and club sounds. Today the single still continues to chart in Billboard’s Singles Chart. Their remix of Justin Timberlake’s stellar solo debut “Like I Love You” also ranked on Billboard charts this winter, hitting the #1 spot on the Billboard Club Play chart.

Behind the influential DJ, Danny Tenaglia, Madonna’s support proved to be a major force in bringing Deep Dish’s music to the masses. Following the buzz for their Grammy-nominated “Music” remix, Madonna invited Deep Dish to open her one-off North American live show at New York’s Roseland Ballroom which became one of the city’s most talked-about gigs. Madonna introduced good friend Donatella Versace on to Deep Dish’s musical stylings, which resulted in Ali and Sharam providing music for four of her Couture and Atelier shows in Paris and Milan and their exclusive after parties; as well as having them DJ at her private home in Lake Cuomo, Italy for the reception she threw for Jennifer Lopez in honor of her second marriage to Chris Judd.

Deep Dish are widely-regarded around the world for their explosive live DJ gigs. Last year the Los Angeles Times (1/2/02) stated, “…there may be no other live DJ act better than Deep Dish.” And by the looks of their diary, which marks stops in places like Singapore, Milan and Tokyo, this statement is testament to their demand. Over the years, Deep Dish have held residencies at hot international club destinations such as Renaissance in Ibiza, Space in Miami, Release in San Francisco, The End and Ministry of Sound in London and beyond.

9 thoughts on “Deep Dish

  1. Best place to get hard house mix from, i am looking for a good site that i can dowload some free sets to give me an idea on how to mix As i have just got my self some cdj 400,s thanks

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