David Schneider

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Case in point: Iran's Islamic Revolution. While it has been, and continues to be, an enormous debacle for Washington, it did manage to bring to the nation's capital one Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and one Sharam Tayabi. Together, under the name of Deep Dish, they have forged their own revolution in dance music. The accolades have been pouring in--a 2002 Grammy for "Best Remixed Recording" for Dido's "Thank You," "Best DJ" tips from Rolling Stone, and two critically acclaimed Global Underground compilations among them. Madonna famously sought them out for a remix of "Music," which garnered a 2001 Grammy nomination.

Now it's back to the future for Deep Dish with the re-release of 1995's "Penetrate Deeper," which vaulted them from the underground into international renown, and received Musik magazine's "Compilation of the Year" award. It's a CD of liquid carnality, with Elastic Reality's floating whispers of "ecstasy, ecstasy" sliding down into Naomi Daniel's "Feel the Fire," with its plaintive loops of "burning."

"We not too long ago listened to it again, because we had to remaster it," says Dubfire, "and a lot of the same ideas and principles are still intact today. We always strive to link different musical styles together. It's just the tempo that's gotten faster [over the Global Underground compilations]. But in some ways we've gone full circle, slowing the tempo down, getting less 'proggy' now, getting back to that old Deep Dish sound."

Come in to the middle of Deep Dish's live sets--their last Chicago date, at Transit in June, was a complete palms-in-the-air euphoria fest--and you'll be thrown into beats at the same time subterranean and tribally clattering, with shards of melody, tone and seductive vocals placed mysteriously, and allusively, each track communicating itself in theme to the next. "It's an unconscious process," Dubfire admits. But witness a set from start to finish, and you'll appreciate a conscious design, virtually a transposition of symphonic composition transposed onto decks and the dance floor. Stories are told--a car crash, a bedroom scene, a seduction. "The art is how you control. It's all about control and manipulation," he says, "and if you have a crowd that is patient, and willing to go with you whichever direction you want to take them, you create a sort of synergy between you and the crowd."

Deep Dish's Dubfire spins November 22 at Transit, 1431 West Lake, (312)491-9729.

(2003-11-19)

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