West is Best

Sharam dishes on getting wild

Here’s something you don’t see (or hear) every day: a spaghetti-western inspired electronica concept album. But that’s exactly what DJ and producer Sharam Tayebi—who bills himself under his first name—has just released. Also known as half of the Grammy Award-winning house duo Deep Dish, Tayebi says the theme for his inaugural full-length album stemmed from putting together the artwork for the album’s title track, “Get Wild.”

“I thought something western-y would fit nicely, so my designer said, ‘Instead of taking any western image, why don’t you dress up and do the act?’ So we went to Vegas and did a photo shoot and one thing led to another,” he says. “It just became an all-encompassing western-themed album. I’d always wanted to make a few songs inspired by Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks to those movies, so I figured if I did it this way, I’d be able to make those songs and have it all make sense and be cohesive with this splash of country and western and dance music. It’s a bit crazy, but I like it to be that way.”

It’s been awhile since Victoria audiences have had a chance to boogie down to a set by Tayebi—but he did make a couple of stops here back in the early- to mid-2000s, when Deep Dish was riding high on the success of their Global Underground compilation mixes. (I have fond memories of getting down to their remix of Iio’s “Rapture” on the dance floor at One Lounge when I was just old enough to be getting into bars.)

“At the time, there was a lot of hype on those series and there was a true following of the brand,” he says. “There were people that were obviously fans of ours, so when we did that it combined things together and it was like a perfect storm. It was amazing the level of attention that it brought and how people followed those CDs. It was just a stepping stone for us and we always wanted to showcase what we do, not only as producers, but as DJs.”

True, the Global Underground series isn’t as popular as it was when progressive house and trance music were at their height, but Tayebi is still going strong, playing clubs all over the world and having folks like Kid Cudi, Mario Vazquez and even, uh, Diddy guest on his new album.

“Music is always mutating and the problem is that people tag it something,” he says of the current state of progressive electronica. “I listen to everything from deep house to trancey records and everything in between. I don’t limit myself to one thing. Progressive, for the past few years, hasn’t been the cool thing to hang your hat on, but if you just take the name away and let the music speak for itself, whatever you want to call it, there’s good music out there.”

And folks can expect to hear that good music—including cuts from Get Wild—when Tayebi touches down at Element on Sunday. He’ll even have a visual component for the show, as part of the concept album included a short film and music-video shoots.

“It’s an added thing that people get a kick out of,” he says. “The visuals are so great that a lot of the time people get zoned in on them and I have to go, ‘Hey, I’m over here!’”

Hey, if you roll in wearing that cowboy hat and boots, I’m sure you’ll have no problem getting the audience’s attention, Sharam.

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Sharam
(with Gano, Carson and Joca)
9pm Sunday, May 17
Element, 919 Douglas
Tickets $25 • 250-383-7137