It seems like the guys of Deep Dish are spending more time apart than together, but the musical results become more and more interesting as the two collaborators diverge. The clear maverick of Sharam and Dubfire is the latter. Born Ali Shirazinia, the Iranian-American grew up around Washington, D.C., in the '80s, a time when the district was a hotbed of punk and hardcore. Shirazinia was quickly swept away by the energy of that music, as well as synth-pop acts such as Depeche Mode and more punishing industrial acts such Ministry and Einstürzende Neubauten. That was his gateway into electronic music, which through a long, circuitous route eventually led him to scoring progressive-house gold as part of Deep Dish.
But while erstwhile partner Sharam has continued to go unabashedly commercial, Shirazinia, as Dubfire, has begun to loop back to his underground roots. His sound these days is darker and more techy, with a few nods to his past, such as a 2007 cover of "I Feel Speed," a song by gothy U.K. band Love and Rockets. Still, the experimentation is all relative, and Dubfire tracks work just fine in the big room. Check him out when he returns to Miami this Saturday for a gig at Mansion.
