Dubfire on reviving Deep Dish: “Festivals are getting tired of the same old artists”

Dubfire was one of the thousands from the global dance industry who flocked to Amsterdam last week for ADE, with a busy schedule that included the party he hosted for his SCI+TEC label on the Wednesday night, as well as his appearance at Richie Hawtin’s ENTER edition of the Awakenings Festival on the Friday night. He also found time to sit down with inthemix for a chat, where he elaborated on his possible reunion with Sharam that he told us about earlier this year.

“A lot of people have name checked Deep Dish as pioneers of the whole pop-dance phenomenon we’ve been seeing happening, with maybe a bit more credibility,” Dubfire told ITM. “We’ve always left that door open, and Sharam is actually here at ADE, we’re meeting today or tomorrow to chat about it. But we have been talking about it over the course of the past year or two, because we’ve been approached by a lot of promoters. They just want to see us in the DJ booth together. And I think a lot of the promoters are getting tired of booking the same old artists, the Aviciis and the David Guettas, so they need a new marketing opportunity for their festivals.”

While they’ve both gone down very different career paths, with Dubfire now playing headline slots on prime European techno festivals like Holland’s Awakenings and Germany’s Time Warp, on the other hand, Sharam was warmly embraced on his home turf of America.

“He was actually successful much earlier in his solo career than I was, so I had a lot of catching up to do,” says Dubfire. “I was watching him, and I’m like fuck, I better catch up [laughs]. Straight out of the end of the Deep Dish phase, he’s got this hugely successful solo career, with a massive hit single; I need to step it up if I’m gonna have the same sort of staying power.”

He says they’re still in talks about what form the reunion is going to take. “It all depends on what we can say musically, either as DJs or collaborators again. So let’s see, maybe you’ll see some shows next year.”