Q+A: Dubfire

Growing up in Washington DC after his family left the Republic of Iran when he was 11, Ali Dubfire was always drawn to outsider music: a “punk, goth kid” whose idols were bands like Fugazi, Minor Threat and Depeche Mode. As new wave, goth, punk and industrial started to collide with electronica he found himself exposed to the early sounds of Detroit and their European influences like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel Jarre. His early experiences as a DJ in DC saw him playing hip hop and rare groove jazz before setting up house duo Deep Dish with childhood friend Sharam Tabeyi in 1992. A run of classic tracks like the peerless 1995 remix of De Lacy’s ‘Hideaway’ and 2004’s ‘Flashdance’ established them as a pillar of the genre and even won them a Grammy. But in 2006, Ali walked away from Deep Dish to strike out on his own as a techno producer and DJ. Since then, thanks to his innovative SCI-TEC label, tracks like ‘RibCage’, ‘Dios’ and his remix of Plastikman’s ‘Spastik’, he’s become one of techno’s most essential producers and remixers – and he’s also created an unmissable live experience with the stunning, immmersive Hybrid live show, which so far this year has slain arenas from Glastonbury and Coachella to the IMS party at Ibiza’s Dalt Vila.

Between the live show and the gigs you’re one of the busiest artists in techno. How many gigs do you play a year?

I think I average 140. But when you factor in all the travel time and time away in between you end up spending more like 250 days of the year on the road.

That’s a lot of gigs!

I’d probably play less if I was more settled in my personal life. I’m never satisfied, but I’m not necessarily searching for perfection. I’m not sure what I’m searching for; I guess that euphoric feeling you get when everything’s perfect in the booth, or in the studio when everything clicks.

Where’s your home when not on the road?

I grew up in the DC area; my partner is there, my parents live there, and our booking agency is based there. But I relocated to LA two years ago with my ex-girlfriend and then we split up. So I’m kind of in between DC and LA for the last 10 years, and Barcelona in summer. Rich [Hawtin] was trying to get me to move to Berlin and I had friends in Amsterdam who were trying to get me to move there, and friends in London too, but I met [Circo Loco mainstay] Davide Squillace and we became good friends. I became friends with his friends in Barcelona; we were a little, tight-knit group of friends from different backgrounds. I tried Barcelona out for two summers and loved it. It’s got a beach! And you can cycle or walk pretty much anywhere you need to go.

Which US cities connect with your sound?

New York, LA, Chicago – all the major cities I’d say. Miami and Detroit obviously, too. I typically don’t go to the second- or third-tier markets as much as I want to, because I used to go all the time when Sharam and I were together. We were mainly doing the States and South America and Canada.

When was the last time you saw Sharam?

He’s actually arriving today. He’s playing tomorrow morning at Vista in Privilege. He’s married with four kids, lives in the suburbs, and me? I’m single and living between three places. When we first split it was pretty rocky, and the reunion [in 2014] got off to a rocky start, so it took a while to rekindle the friendship.

Is seeing him like seeing an old girlfriend?

Exactly the same, yeah. You care about that person because you spent a lot of time with them, you had a lot of crazy arguments and you have a lot of fond memories. So in that sense we’re still very connected and I think we will be to the end of our days, but we don’t really hang out.

Outside of music, what are your other passions?

I’m really into fashion, I’m into film, but there’s not a lot of time. Because I do so many gigs and because there’s so much music out there now it takes time to sift through the mediocre or the stuff that just doesn’t speak to me. I used to skip college classes and go to record stores and sit on the floor all day long, digging through records. I could only afford to leave with two and I’d study them inside and out. I’d read every part of them, the artwork, the label, the vinyl. I geeked out like crazy over vinyl back then!

What are the chances of you listening to a tune someone’s emailed you?

Music somehow finds its way to me. Pretty much everything I’ve released on SCI + TEC has found its way to me organically. It could be a kid at the front of an intimate club who just hands me something. But right now I’m carrying around with me a real big bag of USB sticks [I’ve been given]. The bag has never fully emptied. It’s symbolic of the guilt. A big bag of USB sticks.

I know you’re also a massive foodie...

On the road, the only way to gain some insight into where I am is by going for a meal with the promoter. Unless I’m on my deathbed from five gigs in a row I’m up for going out to eat. It makes me feel connected to where I am – otherwise it just becomes one endless loop.

Your brother told us your mother is the best cook in the world. Is she?

She’s actually amazing. So good that throughout the years I’ve always made sure I’m home for Thanksgiving, no matter what state I’m in. The night before Thanksgiving is a big night to play out. I’m usually DJing somewhere, but I always end up at home and she cooks a feast. Sometimes I’ll invite friends or other DJs, to come. Joseph Capriati has been over the last two years, Sander Kleinenberg, Carlo Lio. So many others.

Is being around peers important to you?

I don’t try to psychoanalyse myself, but I feel more comfortable in the booth when I have 30 people behind me. I think maybe it comes from being an introvert when I was younger, not having a grasp of the language, not being the popular kid. Maybe from that feeling of loneliness that I remember having through my teen years and not wanting to experience that again in my adult life.

Maybe it also comes from having all the family around the dinner table?

I love what I do and do what I love, and that becomes your family. For a lot of people who are passionate about it, like Seth Troxler, music is a living, breathing thing. It’s not just a word or a genre. It’s something deeper than that.

Have you met any veteran DJs who clearly don’t enjoy it any more?

All the time. I know great DJs who are so jaded by how the industry changed. I’ve seen a lot of people lose their fire, fizzle away or decide to do something else. Some have cut back on gigs or don’t make music any more and are raising a family and DJing locally. Others have immersed themselves in drugs and alcohol, passed away or are in danger of damaging themselves or taking their lives. I’ve seen it all.

Guys like you, Rich and Carl Cox still seem to love it, though...

You’ll see me dancing next to Rich during his set at ENTER., jumping up and down. I’m one of those guys who’ll stay to the end. I’ve had moments of self-doubt about certain things, whether it’s gigs or career choices or decisions in the studio, but I’ve never lost that fire. DUNCAN DICK

The Hybrid Live tour hits Ji Expo Kemayoran (Indonesia) festival on September 29 and Freaky Deaky, Chicago on October 29

Duncan Dick is Mixmag's Editor, follow him on Twitter