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[ethereal music]

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[man]
I remember being on the
plane,

being really scared because
I think it was the first time.

I was seven years old
when I came to America

and it was the first time
that I was on a plane

and we literally tried
to take everything of value,

everything that
meant anything to us.

We were, like,
really scared about,

not only facing
our new home

or what was to be
our new home

at least for the
foreseeable future,

because our father was
going to university.

Just scared about having
left Iran for the first time

and going somewhere
that we knew

was going to be
completely different.

I saw that there was room for

a lot of opportunity
to eventually present itself

and I saw that
had I stayed in Iran,

I probably would have done
what was expected of me

and done what everybody
else had always done,

which is become a doctor,
become an engineer,

become a lawyer.
You know?

And in America,
I felt more freedom

to express myself
in creative ways

that maybe,
had I stayed in Iran,

I wouldn't have been
able to do.

Since I used to be
English teacher there,

I was helping Ali
to learn the language,

which he picked up
pretty quick.

The only time that Ali and
Arash had a hard time was,

there was a hostage
crisis in Iran

and they were kids and
they didn't know anything

and at this school,

although their school staff
was very understanding

and supportive of them,

but the children at this
school couldn't understand it,

so they were giving Ali and
Arash a really hard time.

So, they made them
practically miserable.

So, that was the time that
they needed a lot of help.

Ali was average,
actually, at school.

There were some subjects
that he was pretty great,

but the rest
he didn't pay attention,

simply because he was
in love with music.

[ethereal music]

With help of his friend,
Brian Transeau, BT,

he was his classmate.

Eventually, he went into music.

He loved very much

and he constantly
continued this interest.

They saw it as a side hobby.

I don't think they ever realized

he would pursue it as a career

and at the time it was sort
of in the nascent stages.

I mean, it was pre-EDM,
if you will.

I mean, DJs were not
on magazine covers,

especially in America,
you know?

It was a real, sort of
underground career path

and I think my parents,
at the time, were worried.

They were really hesitant

about him moving into that

as a full time career.

I think their initial feelings
were probably disappointment.

[Rouhi] He came to me
and actually requested,

"Mom, if you allow me
to pull out and focus

all my attention to my music,

I feel I'm going to be
somebody."

And after a long conversation,

I agreed that, for him,
to focus one year on his music

more than his education

and that was actually the year
that everything turned around

and, by the end of the year,
he proved to himself and to me

that this is really a special
talent that he has got.

[Ali]
The closeness of family really

has kept me grounded
over the years.

I think,
had I not had that,

I probably would have,
you know,

fallen in with the wrong crowd,

maybe gone off the deep end

with the excessive partying,

the crazy night life.

That's basically
a part of my scene,

but those core family values

kept me on the right path.

[upbeat club music]

[Hutchy] Ali use to spin
hip hop, house,

acid jazz, and funk

and I used to spin reggae

and throughout those genres,

I gave the flavor and the mic.

Before then,
this was unheard of.

This never had been done before

as far as, you have an MC,
you know,

toasting over acid jazz music,

hip hop, and stuff.

It never had been done before.

My little brother,
my younger brother,

threw a party at a
place here called--

It was a pizza shop,
basically, called Milo's

and he closed it down
and rented it at night

and begged me to have Ali play

because Ali was
a sick hip hop DJ.

Actually, the first
time I heard the music

I remember asking people,
what is this?

Who is this?

And there was a DJ up there

next to a Jamaican
guy who was rapping

and everyone told me
it was a guy named Dubfire

and they were playing
what's called acid jazz.

And so, essentially,
he started playing acid jazz

from what I recall.

When we started off,
Washington was a ghost town.

Literally a ghost town.

You can count
the clubs on one hand

and every club has their own
specific ways of doing things.

We came in young and radical

and transformed the whole thing,

but we were the first
to go into a club

or a restaurant and make it
into a club for that one night.

We happened to be about
two and a half blocks away

from the place that
I first met him.

Well, it was called the
Down Under Restaurant,

but on Fridays and Saturdays

we used to have a
night called Exodus

and he came in.

He was a very quiet
guy, actually.

For the kind of noise he made
with the turn tables,

he was a very quiet guy.
[chuckles]

And he's very focused,
didn't say much.

I mean, he came
and did his thing

on a regular basis within
the years, you know.

But I remember the first time,

he just came in with his
record bag and started playing,

but he was very

down to earth,

but very focused.

We didn't participate
too much with the crowd,

but every time you would
go back and listen to him,

the music would change.

I felt like it just get better
and better every week.

Sharam kept coming at Exodus,

but you know, Sharam's music

was completely a
different background,

you know, which I respect 100%,

but it was a great
combination because

I understood Ali's music
was more bottom heavy,

bass-oriented music.

Whether it was slow or fast,
it was very bottom heavy.

And the thing with Sharam,

he has the melodic
aspect of music.

So, I thought when they
were kinda partnering up,

I was like, this could
be a good combination.

And then, obviously,
we saw it blossom

to this thing what's
known as Deep Dish.

It's great.

[Sharam] We met through
a mutual friend at a party.

We were booked to
play the same party

and we just hit it off musically

and decided to create Deep Dish
and here we are.

It's like a marriage:

some days you hate it,
some days you love it.

-Yeah, because--
-Yeah.

[laughing]

In the beginning,

they started a bet each other,

but then they
started as a friend.

Ali, first he made his room
as his studio

and then Sharam
used to be with Ali

in our home almost all the time.

And since both of them love
Persian meal and Persian food,

so I was always ready
to make them food

and they used to go
to that little room

and work with each other.

[Man] So you were
like brothers, weren't you?

-Do you feel like brothers?
-We're brothers.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

I always wanted to have
a twin brother, you know?

I thought it would be cool.

And then, God gave me this guy.

Yeah, right. Right.

It's wicked.

Which I'm regretting--

You know they say be
careful what you ask for?

That was just at the start

when he was Deep
Dish with Sharam,

I think in 1993.

I used to go to
his resident party,

which was at State of the Union,

a small bar in Washington, DC.

I was at university

and this was a gig
where him and Sharam

had to assemble everything,

all the equipment,
all the speakers,

CD players, turn tables,

and they had to play
from beginning to end

and they probably got,
I don't know how much,

but I'm guessing $150
to play the whole night,

both of them together.

Well, needless to say,
things have changed.

[laughing]

So, you know--

We go way back

and, even though things
have changed a lot,

it's nice to see
that he hasn't.

[upbeat club music]

I wanna say quiet,
but that's not the right word.

He was always the
deep in the dish

in the Deep Dish equation.

So, he was kinda the deeper guy.

I think as a DJ,
you know,

he liked reggae
and hip hop sounds.

He obviously had friendships
with many of the local DJs,

but he was always sort of
the deeper part of that.

They were the biggest DJ duo

in the world at the time.

They were on magazine covers,

they were headlining
the best festivals,

their music was number one.

You know, anytime
they put a tune out

it was number one at
Winter Music Conference

it was number one
on the UK charts.

They started getting
mainstream US press

and, again, this
is sort of pre-EDM,

pre-Skrillex and Deadmaus
on Rolling Stone.

This is 2005, 2006,

so the industry was
just sort of emerging,

at least in the US.

It wasn't getting the
support that it gets now.

It was really sort of
in the embryonic stage.

And for them to achieve
what they did with Madonna

and with the remixes
and the touring,

it was really
significant at the time.

[Man] Wednesday is one
of the biggest nights

for the musical world.

It is Grammy night.

There are several people
from our area up for awards.

One is the DC-based remix
duo called Deep Dish.

Deep Dish is Ali Shirazinia
and Sharam Tayebi.

They were just children when
they immigrated here from Iran.

Now, the guys find
themselves LA bound,

nominated for best
remix recording

of Dido's chart hit Thank You.

We take a song,
it could be a rock song,

a pop song, any sort
of original material

and we, more or less,
reproduce it.

We write our own music,

our own drum
programming on top of it

and we give it our flavor.

The commercial side of things

really came towards
George Is On

where Flashcance
happened at some stage

and it was clearly
the most commercial record

that they'd ever done.

It wasn't really a
commercial record

because at the
time it was crazy.

It turned into a
commercial formula

after Flashdance was successful,

but at the time that Flashdance
started to be created,

it was impossible to predict.

It would not have been
possible to predict

that that would be a
commercially successful record.

[Flashdance by Deep Dish]

♪ He doesn't mean
a thing to me

♪ Just another
pretty face to see

♪ He's all over town

♪ Knocking them down
yeah honey

♪ And I'd never
let him next to me

Madonna was doing
a pre-tour event

at the Roseland Ballroom
in New York

and wanted Deep Dish
to open up for her

and the reason
was a phone call,

not a fax or an email
at the time was,

this was all super-secret.

Nobody could know.

It was gonna be a surprise
thing. Blah blah blah.

And, to make a long story short,

the guys ended up
opening up for Madonna,

phenomenally successful
and this was the precursor

to her Music tour
at the time

and given that it
was in New York,

given that it was in
such a small venue,

this was a moment
from Heaven for press.

So, a super media event.

And two weeks later,
I get this call from Versace

saying that Donatello
loves their sound

and would they be
willing to consider

working on Versace's
fashion shows?

I called the guys up

and I had to do a lot of
explaining and coaxing

because they weren't really
into commercial stuff

like that at all
and they agreed.

So, we flew out to Milan
and then did that show

and it was crazy stuff,
you know?

Imagine sitting there.

I went on those trips with them.

Imagine sitting there
with a fashion designer

who's saying, "I really
want this to sound brown.

It has to feel warm."

[upbeat music]

Did Deep Dish pave the way
for Swedish House Mafia

David Guetta, Calvin Harris?

I would say, yeah and I
think if you ask those
guys they would tell you,

especially David Guetta,
he's older.

I think that Deep Dish
influenced a lot of DJs.

I remember being at Pacha

and I was a B DJ in France,

but nobody knew me
really outside of France

and I remember saying
hi to Ali and Sharam

and going back to my agent

and saying, oh, my god!
I just shook their hands!

[laughing]

And I was so excited
because I shook hands

with Ali and Deep Dish
and it was such

a big deal for me
to meet them.

Deep Dish was definitely
one of the first,

well, probably the first
house music that affected us

and that we heard,
you know?

It was Deep Dish and
Armin van Houten, I think,

that really got us hooked
in the scene.

That was really like
an American sound.

It was sort of a club sound
that you really don't hear

that much anymore nowadays.

It was so--

I call it mouth music
because I'll show you.

I can only show you
what I mean with that.

I think that Ali
and Sharam reached

the natural life cycle of
any creative partnership.

I think that working together
for almost two decades

and constantly having
to run every decision

past another person,

I think that kinda
placed its toll on them

and I think they
had both matured.

I think that they had
grown a lot over that time

and I think they
were more definitive

about what they
wanted out of life.

They were more definitive about
what they wanted creatively

and they were veterans
at this point.

So, I think there was
that conflict of values,

of each direction Ali and
Sharam wanted to go to.

I think that was in
conflict at the time.

And he said, "By the way,

Sharam and I fight a lot."
[laughing]

"You're gonna be spending
a lot of time with us

and you're gonna
see us go at it.

Just excuse yourself
from the room,

step outside,
hang out,

go down the street,
get a beer,

go smoke a cigarette,
go do whatever you gotta do.

Eventually, everything's
gonna kind of subside

and we'll get back to work."

You know, if you
think about it,

ten years of touring,

ten years of having to be that
close with the same person.

You know, it's difficult.

You know,
the studio relationship,

the creative relationship,

the magic that happened
between them didn't come easy.

It wasn't the type of thing
where they sat in the studio,

said, "Oh, that's a cool sound.
Yeah, let's use that."

There were a lot of fights.

I used to go for a walk a lot.
[laughing]

You know, funnily enough,
thinking back to it,

I don't know if it was that much
of a surprise that they split.

I think that there
aren't that many DJ duos

and when you've been
together with your partner

for as long as they had,

then, in a way, I think it
was quite a natural thing.

I think they'd felt they'd taken
it as far as they could go.

I think they both--

the more I got
to know them better

and the longer that
relationship went on,

they both had kinda--

they were totally
separate people.

They both did
something different.

I think it's very
hard to find someone

who isn't somehow attracted
to money and fame.

I think everybody
wants it a little bit,

at least once in their life

and you have that chance,
you go that way,

and then you have to decide
if it's for you or not

and from my feeling and
understanding with Ali

is that he had an incredible
ride and had a lot of fun,

but at one point found that
there was something missing

and I think that's why he
looked in another direction,

not only musically, but also
for friendship and support

and to,
some people would say,

to get back to the roots,

but I think it was
just, you know,

get back to why
he got involved

in this music in
the first place.

You know, we don't
follow the rules

and we see ourselves
as, like,

you know, I wanna
make it in music

and everybody tells you no.

If you wanna work in
music it's not gonna work.

So many people, you should
have to be very lucky

and you can make a living

I just say,
"No. I want it like that."

And you just fight
to make it like this.

But at the same time,

if you're not happy
in a situation,

you have to be
honest enough to say,

"You know what,
I'm in a peak,

and fuck it,
fuck everything,

I wanna try again
from the beginning."

I didn't think there was
anything rocky about them.

I just thought it was just
two brothers are together

all the time and they wanted
to kill each other, you know?

And if you're together
with the same person
every day you're gonna fight.

Like me and my partner,
we fight all the time and
we have disagreements.

That's what I sensed.

I didn't sense anything
like to what it became.

I didn't see it
coming like that.

[light music]

What I think is what he's
done really well for himself,

he got out of Deep Dish
just at the right time

where the techno scene
would still embrace him

because everybody in
the techno scene--

that's a really hard
scene to get into

because everybody's
really cool, you know?

And to be part of that scene,

you gotta really say
goodbye to anything

that has to do with
other than techno

and he did it really well.

You want the real
me, man. Right?

This is the real me.

I'm gonna give you
the real me.

Whatever you want.

Forget all your
preconceived notions.

This is Taipei and
this is Dubfire.

Initially, there was
resistance, you know?

The techno scene
is very cliquey.

You have to kinda show them
that you're one of them.

Ali spent a lot of
time convincing people

that he was part
of that new scene

and, you know, we had
to help him do that.

I remember him
sometimes paying to play.

So, he would be in the UK

and then all of a sudden
he has to got to DC10

and basically he would
pay to fly himself,

pay for his flight,
his hotel,

and then not get paid.

So, it's an interesting
process to build yourself down

so you can build yourself better

and it's admiring to
see somebody do that.

Ali was coming to our parties.

When I say our parties,
it was in the early 2000s.

This was where my
career started off

and I was playing this
kind of percussive,

bringing minimal
techno into it

before all of this
minimal thing started.

So, he was coming to Ibiza and
then I met him in the States

and I always paid my respects.

"Wow, Ali! You should do
something like way back in time

and why don't you? Yeah."

And he was like,
"Yeah, you're right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You're right."

And then I remember him
coming back from Ibiza

after going to DC10

and being like, nope.
This is what we're doing.

This is the approach.

This is what I wanna do.

And he was so blown away
from that experience

that it was all he
could see, you know?

That was the only way that
this was gonna go down.

We started working on
records that were very much

inspired from that trip
and several others

and Road Kill, I think,

was one of the turning points
for sure.

There was a couple,
you know?

I think the Lucky Heather remix

was another big turning
point for him musically

and also Ribcage was probably,
I think, for me,

for him was one of the
biggest turning points.

After that, I think it
really helped solidify

his sort of sound and style

and I feel like that record

has a lot of Ali in it.

I do remember
that I asked Ali,

can I release that?

And he was like, "No, we already
gave it to local guys

and it's gonna be
just like number one."

And I remember that
really well

because Ali made some great
music before and afterwards,

but Ribcage was a track which

kind of was two tracks
in one, you know?

It was like there was a
really different beginning

to the very different end,

but it made total sense.

And there, you
suddenly had a track

that put you on a journey.

Not only the DJ set
puts you on a journey,

also the little track
puts you on a journey.

When Ribcage came out it was
really such a defining sound.

It was so unique, you know,

and yet it worked so well.

And it was also an
inspiration of saying,

"Hey, you know what?

It doesn't matter where
you are at any given point.

If you have belief and talent,
you can take it anywhere."

And that's the beauty
of this music, I guess.

Electronic music
gives you the ability

to really become or
create whatever you want.

And he showed it on
a really high level

and it showed guts and
it showed excitement

and it showed commitment

and there was no doubt
in my mind

he would take it all the way
to where he has taken it.

I think the singles, when
he put both of them out,

I mean, people from Armin
van Buuran, to Tiesto,

to Richie Hawtin were playing

and I think people were
really taken aback.

They were like, "Wow, where
is this coming from?"

You know, there was this
darkness and this anger

and this new sound that
people not only didn't hear,

but they weren't
expecting from a guy

that had done Say Hello
and Flashdance.

So, I think there
was a real surprise

and I think there was
a real appreciation

for his great creative art.

[speaking German]

I mean, it was like a
"What the fuck?" moment for me.

I don't remember
exactly when it was,

but it was definitely

when I heard that he came
from another place,

he really came from a place
where a lot of techno records

weren't coming from
at the time.

So, I knew he had something.

[upbeat techno music]

Sven ended up being one
of the early supporters.

He put out Ali's first
techno compilation on Cocoon.

He started to bring
Ali into Cocoon.

Nights in Ibiza are
at the Cocoon Club.

So, he was a strong supporter
before Richie even was

and I think it was
because he connected

with how genuine
and how driven

by creative reasons
the transition was.

That's why it worked,
because it was genuine.

[audience cheering]

Since many years,
I love this guy.

[audience cheering]

[Ali]
They wanted me to stumble.

They wanted me to
find my own way,

but they weren't
just watching me

fall apart, so to speak.

They were really there to give
me moral support, friendship.

They were there to give me

creative advice,
technical advice.

So, I'm pretty
indebted to those guys.

You know, and I'll never
forget what they did.

[upbeat techno music]

I worked for the first
tour manager and babysitter

and party-bringer.

[laughing]

And basically, the
main thing is probably

setting up all the equipment

and basically just making sure
that everything runs smoothly

from pickups, hotels, dinners.

So, he can basically
just walk in, do the gig,

feel comfortable
not having to worry

about anything
sort of technical.

I'm making sure we're
picked up, hotels are paid,

dinner's looked after.

So, basically, he can
just come do his thing

without having to stress about
any of the small details.

So, that's my main
part of the job.

He's always been someone
that really likes to push

the limits of technology

and it's really good
working with him on that

because we always just try
to incorporate something new.

So, a lot of people talk
about my rattlesnake effect,

which is just this tape
delay thing that I have.

[upbeat techno music]

And what I try to
do a lot of times

is to create a new version
of what I'm playing

just by looping
different songs together

and maybe I'll eventually--

I mean, if I'm
having too much fun

just looping parts of a track,

I'll just leave it at that

and other times, eventually,
I'll kick in the track

and then it creates
a pretty great

feeling in the whole
room. So, yeah.

Mike, have you
seen the fader plugs?

-[Mike] That's insane.
-Yeah.

Traktor controller.
Traktor controller.

Yeah, for TraKKtor.

All four decks.
Everything.

A, B, C, D. See?

-Yeah.
-That's something else.

He has also great
insight on the DJ business

and also what the DJ
really needs in the booth.

So, he's one of the guys
that we like to talk to

even though,
I've got to admit,

when we met it was
really more private

and really just hang out
and learn a little bit

about the DJ life
and maybe

one of the managers of one of
the companies in our industry.

[Speaking Japanese]

[Ali]
It's a powerful feeling.

I mean, DJing can be
extremely powerful.

You can be in a situation where

you're in complete
control of the crowd.

And that can make
you feel, you know,

some people have
thrown around that word

and there was that
Faithless song, I remember,

like, God is a DJ or whatever,

but it can make you feel
god-like in some ways.

When you're sort of
above ground level,

when you're, you know,
in your pulpit,

it can have a very,
you know,

powerfully spiritual
effect on you

to be in control
of so many people.

[soft dramatic music]

There's so many different
parameters at play.

There's so many
different variables

that sometimes are
working with you,

sometimes are
working against you

that you have to
navigate through to find

that point where you connect

and when you connect,
it's a beautiful--

it's like the eye of
the storm, you know?

It's like that calm,
serene place

that pilots have driven into,

that scientists have discussed

as a very unusual,
very calm place

in the middle of what could
be the worst storm in history

and that's what playing
in a club is like

because you're surrounded
by all these things.

There's people knocking
things over around you,

there's drinks falling on
your laptop and on the mixer

and a certain audience member's

trying to get your attention,

certain people behind you or
the entourage of the promoter

are trying to get you
to pose for photos

and all this other stuff

and while all that's going on,

while all that's
happening around you,

which is the hurricane,

you're in the center of it all

and you're trying to
find that inner peace,

that inner connectivity,

not only within yourself,
but with the technology

and ultimately with the audience

and you're trying to bring
people into that space.

It's a very warm and
inviting space to be in.

[electronic ethereal music]

[music on headphones]

[brass horns]

[upbeat techno music]

[speaking Japanese]

[upbeat techno music]

[speaking Japanese]

[upbeat techno music]

I think what's great
about working with Ali

is he travels a lot,
he sees lots of things,

he's very open-minded,

he takes in lots of influences

and also, he's willing
to take a risk, you know?

We've tried to do a
3D show for 4000 people

and we'd never done it before,

we didn't know how
it was gonna work,

and we tried that
and it worked,

but you don't always
know how these things
are gonna work or not or how

much affect they can
have. Sometimes, you can
have things that

you don't expect
to be a big deal

or they're almost
something that just happens

and that's when it becomes
something of focus.

But what's nice working with Ali

is he's prepared to let
those things happen.

He's not too precious
or controlling of things

and he places
a lot of trust in us

and I think because of that,

he's got the best
out of us really.

[upbeat techno music]

[sheet rustling]

When people look
at how much money you get

for a night to play a show

and how long you play, maybe
you play an hour or two,

it just seems like,
"Wow, you make a lot of money."

But then if you think about it,

yeah, I just played an hour,

but I spent eight hours
to get to this club

on 30 minutes sleep
from the night before

and after this it's gonna take
me 12 hours to travel home.

If you scale that whole thing,

you're getting paid like
this much to make music

and then this much
for traveling

and dealing with
the music life,

maybe partying too much
and half asleep on a plane

and stuff like that.

I don't think
that people realize

how much travel is involved

until you really look at
a DJs entire schedule.

If you're club-goer A and
you're sitting in Dubai

and Ali shows up
to play a gig,

you're like,
"Wow, that's great.

Ali was here, I'm sure he's
staying three or four nights

and he's spending
time at the pool."

No. Ali is probably
there for 12 hours

and he's playing a set and
then he has to get on a plane

to fly somewhere else

and there has to be time to
sleep so that he's refreshed

so that the next day
when he plays Aman

or Beirut or Istanbul
or London or Toyko,

he's ready and fresh
to perform again

and to be creative and
to deliver the experience

that the club-goer
wants to have.

You can't be a
successful DJ, really,

unless you love traveling.

Maybe for a couple
of years you can,

but you've got to love
getting on that plane,

going to different places,

revisiting and
exploring a little bit.

And Ali loves that.

He loves where that type
of situation takes you.

When you go to a new place,

you want to meet new people,

you want to go to new places,

you want to try new food,
new drinks,

and explore everything
about that place.

And then, when
I'd go on a weekend

and you go from club to club,

maybe you have two
shows in a night

and you're not sleeping and
you're like, oh, my god,

I'm never drinking again,

I'm like, this is
too much for me,

but then slowly you get
better at it and better at it.

Kinda like being in the Army.

You know, when you
first join the Army,

I'm sure you're not used
to only two hours sleep,

but later you're like,
oh, I have 15 minutes,

I'm gonna sleep right now.

And then, you wake
up and you're fine.

You just train your body to deal

with that kind of lifestyle.

I need sleep and
I love to sleep.

Definitely everybody needs
sleep and it's very healthy,

but it's funny because
during the week,

if I would sleep
only for two hours,

the next day I would
be like, "Oh, my god.

I only slept two hours."

But on a weekend
or when I'm on tour

and because of your flight
schedules or whatever,

you get only two hours
of sleep, it's okay.

You're like, I got two
hours of sleep, you know?

I can deal with the
rest of the night

and that basically shows you
it's all a mindset thing.

I mean, ultimately, of
course you need sleep,

you need rest, but you
can do two, three days

with a little bit
of amount of sleep

and you can still manage to do
your things in the right way.

[dark dramatic music]

You don't get much
sleep over the weekend

when you're doing
these kind of events.

But not only that, we do
have a daytime life as well.

We have relationships,
married, kids,

I have a record label to run,

I have a radio show,

I do a lot of remixes,

I work in the studio.

All of these things are
cumbersome of what makes a DJ.

And also, when we
put the events on,

things all need to be
worked out in meetings,

things that you
have to go and see,

and not only that, we have
people that we need to see

from a financial point of view.

You know, marketing structures,

all this kind of stuff.

It really is a
part of-- this success

has created all of
what we basically

need to understand and
what we need to go through

to be able to go to that party

and do what we do at
the other end of it

and that is all time.

It takes so much time,

but it's necessary to do it

otherwise the wheels
of the industry

doesn't keep turning
if you're just like

[yawning]

"What time is it?
Eight o'clock in the evening.

All right, I'll get some
food and go to the party."

All these meetings and
things are backed up

and things that you
need to know about

have not been done

and then, it all falls down.

So, you have to be
on top of the game,

not just from the
DJing point of view,

but from the nuts and
bolts of the industry

point of view as well.

DJing or playing
music for people,

it's a lonesome life.

Much like the life of a cowboy

and life on the road is
like life on the prairie.

Alone to your words,
to your horse and yourself.

[Camille]
I never went on tour with him

and I was used to being
on my own all the time.

So, I'd be like, see
you when you get back,

and I had no idea
where he would go.

So, I was like, "Oh, okay.
You're going to DJ.

Cool. See ya."

And then, he would come
back and he was like,

I'm so tired, and I was like,

"What did you do?

Where have you been?

What's going on with you?"

But he never was like,

"Oh, I'm just gonna sit
back and chill."

He always wanted to do
something or go out.

So, I probably didn't get the
end of that being tired thing

until like two years later
into the relationship.

I think to stay on
top of everything,

all the DJs just
take lots of drugs.

I say that because I think
some people out there

actually think
that's the case

and that's the only
way it actually works.

Most of the DJs I know have
had crazy times in their lives

and in their careers where
perhaps they were experimenting

and drinking a lot and
doing lots of things,

but most of the DJs now

who are on top of their game

are quite disciplined.

So, they have a schedule
that's pretty intense

between staying fit--

because staying fit
means playing your best.

Staying fit also
means a clear mind

that allows you to work
and run companies.

[upbeat techno music]

I always make sure that
Ali has time for Ali.

I've introduced him
to wellness doctors,

to physical therapists.

I think of Ali as a brand.

I think of DJs like brands

and I think that,
like professional athletes,

there's wear and tear
on the body.

There's constant travel,
there's no sleep.

So, I recommend people
for him to go see

and he listens to me
and we work out together

and I think that
there's a whole upkeep

or maintenance element
of his lifestyle

that helps keep him going.

You know, we're at the gym
very early or swimming,

we're then straight
into the office.

We're having lunch
and dinner meetings,

which are usually, you know,

very rarely do I see
any of us having

really personal time.

It's always somewhat mixed.

If I'm out with Ali,

probably I'm out with Laura,
my girlfriend,

and Camille, his girlfriend,

and we're talking personal,

we're talking into business,

we're going back and forth,

and that's kind of how
the whole lifestyle is.

Everything is mixed.

[animated conversation]

This isn't a nine to five job.

We don't punch in, you know?

It is a job because
it makes our money,

but this is our life

and we really love what we do.

So, our personal time and
fun time is our work time.

So, it's very hard to say
when anything starts or stops.

[loud bass music]

[high pitched ring]

DJs are a bit like mice
on the wheel kind of thing,

always spinning, always
pleasing the next person,

and then forgetting to
please yourself almost.

You think you're
pleasing yourself

because everyone is standing
in front of you going crazy,

but it's not really.

So, you have to enjoy
the process of doing it

as opposed to just turning up,

thinking I'm going to enjoy it
when I have the day off.

You've got to enjoy
the whole thing.

[Guetta]
What I feel is

life gives you a blessing.

The blessing of being successful

when there are millions
of people out there

that are dreaming to have
half of the success

that we are having

and when life gives
you this blessing,

I think you cannot refuse it.

We do this because we love it.
It comes from the heart

and that's what spurs
you on, you know?

If you love something so much,

it doesn't matter
where you are,

if you're on your own
or how tired you are,

you get in the club and if

the show's amazing,
it's worthwhile.

It's worth being tired.

It's worth not seeing
your loved ones.

We do this because we love it.
No other reason.

There's a lot of
difficulties along the way,

but at the end of the day,
I think for all of us,

it's that moment that we get
to the DJ booth or the stage

and we hit play
that it all makes sense.

[upbeat techno music].

When he first
stepped into the room

I already knew that he
was such a Japan freak

and he knew so much about Japan

in every different levels

and he's just a
great guy, you know?

He works very hard and
he respects the country

and the culture
and the people

and also, he knows
how to have fun,

how to have great time
with the people around him.

Ali, going back to childhood,

always had a
fascination with Japan.

It was always something

when anything
Japanese would come

on the television
when we were kids,

he would sort of
stop and tune in

and over the years when he
traveled to Tokyo in Japan,

I think he really
embraced the culture.

He felt comfortable there

and I think Japanese culture,
again, is very meticulous.

There's an emphasis on quality

and I think Ali
appreciates those virtues.

[crowd happily shouting]

Yeah. Like this?

West coast, east coast.

So far, he's west coast
and new school.

Many people
cannot even imagine,

but there is a big
extreme change in emotions

when you're on the
stage you are at the max

and then you go
back to the hotel,

you are alone,
you and your room

most of the times,

but I try always to
stay with my friends

after a big gig.

Like, I don't know,
big festival.

We have the after hours,
the after party.

That's why we do after party

because then it's like the
celebrating of a success

and I love also, with Ali,

many times we do this
because we celebrate together

the music and the freedom.

You know, the amazing
thing to stay together

and to share something.

So, for me the
continued celebrating.

Of course, not every
time with after hours,

but even when I go
back to the hotel,

I have this
adrenaline, you know,

that is like,
I don't know,

after a school exam,
you know,

you have this feeling in your
stomach, like butterflies,

and I have this before,
during, and after.

So, yes. It's special.
Very special.

[phone ringing]

[light dramatic music]

We skip from country
to country in hours.

We can play in three
countries in 24 hours.

Be in Tokyo one weekend

and one Friday in
New York the next.

So, our minds work this way

and that fast-paced mindset,

that love of technology
which helps us play,

helps us travel,
helps us communicate

is something that I think
we all felt in Japan

and I think we all
had that similar rush,

that excitement and
felt like we were

stepping one day ahead
of everybody else.

[light dramatic music]

[speaking Japanese]

[upbeat techno music]

[speaking Japanese]

The flavor is fukuzatsu.

So many things.

One little piece.
So many things.

-Thank you.
-Yeah.

[speaking Japanese]

[upbeat techno music]

[speaking Spanish]

[upbeat techno music]

If I'm anywhere in the world,

Bulgaria or whatever,

I say, right, to Ali.

Where's the best place to eat?

And guaranteed he'll
have four or five places

that are just amazing.

It doesn't have to be high-end,

it just has to be good food

and he is one of these
DJs that has a love

and the knowledge of where
to eat around the world

because it's
important to eat good.

It makes you feel good,

you feel happy about
what you've eaten,

and you can go into
your gig very positive

knowing that you've eaten well

and it has an affect on you.

It really does.

I mean, even more so than any
time before in our lives now

that we're all very health
conscious about what we eat

and how it makes you feel.

He had the passion with
gastronomy with foods.

He's one of the guys,
you understand?

He's eating with all those chefs

and everybody knows him.

That's a nice feeling.

That's somebody that is
so emotional with food,

but also has a passion with it

because it's not only food,
it's more than that.

[speaking Japanese]

DJs are people loving food.

It's that creative edge,
you know?

When you travel around
and actually spend

most of your meals
in restaurants,

you start to really
pick up taste, you know?

And Ali's a man
with a superb taste

and most people with taste love,

not only food, but art, fashion,

and other things in
culture, you know?

And for us, Ali and I,

one of the top things
next to music is--

that tops investment in
culture is food, you know?

That taste, the
experience, you know?

They're both experiential
events, you know?

Like both with--

It's like embodying more
than one sense, you know?

There's something about
that that's just like

the best thing in
life, you know?

Good food, good music,
good friends.

Throw some good sex in there,

you can't ask for anything else.

It's a true story.

I thought it was good.

It could have used a
bit more seasoning,

you know, for my palate,

but very nice.

Very nice.

The meat was fantastic.

Very tender.

Just for me, a bit
more seasoning,

but I could tell it was
made with love, so congrats.

He is the number
one DJ you call

wherever you are in the world
and say, hey, where am I going
to eat tonight?

And he's been there
and he's found it.

He's amazing.

So, it's all about balance

and finding something
outside of the DJ booth

to keep you sane.

Family is obviously a very
important part of that,

but it's having other
interests as well.

Staying at the top is
the fucking hardest thing.

You know, being in this
industry for 30 years

and consistently
pushing yourself.

Society wants a new hotel,

a new club, a new
restaurant, a new DJ.

We all want new, new, new.

The point is, you've
gotta reinvent yourself.

You've gotta stay connected

to globally playing to
a younger generation

while you grow older and
grow older gracefully.

You know, you expect
that there's always

going to be someone
new and that's good.

That's good for
all of us, right?

But learning and
understanding that

is more important and
it's more important

to look at the long haul
and the bigger picture

rather than the five
minutes of fame.

The only positive
that you can find

when you're at the
top of the game

is to be able to be creative
and reinvent yourself.

That's the only thing

because you don't wanna
do it for the money.

You already have money.

You don't want to do
it to be number one,

you're already number one.

So, you already
proved your point,

so it's not about the ego,

it's not about the money.

The only way
to stay there

is for it to be
about the love

and the creativity and the
challenge to reinvent yourself.

It's a quarter to, so you
might have made your interview.

Could be rocking and rolling.

We have a lot of
dance music in Hollywood

and everybody is really
into the dance music.

Yeah.

People get spoiled
real easily, you know.

Yeah. Yeah.

-Do you notice that when you're
in a hall -and it's all--
-Yeah, totally.

Like this guy right here. Yeah.

Everybody's so spoiled.

-They know the music. They know
how to--You know?
-Yeah.

Do you experience
that as well?

Yeah, but I
honestly don't even

have time to think
about that, you know.

I'm just jetting from
one gig to another

or from one airplane
to another

or one studio
to another.

[Woman] Are you still
enjoying that life?

[Ali] Absolutely enjoy, yeah.

The day I stop enjoying it
is the day I'll hang--

-You'll quit.
-Yeah. I'll quit.

[Announcer] Make
some noise! Dubfire!

[crowd cheering]

[upbeat techno music]

[crowd shouting happily]

We could use another set.

My ears are destroyed.

Already?

Three hours.

[laughing]

It's not that
glamorous, you know.

Sometimes, yes, we
take a private jet

to get to certain parties,

but I've always said,

if I've got to take
more than two flights

to get to a venue,

then I'll take a private jet.

If now, I'll take
domestic airline.

And the thing with
domestic airline,

you can't ever guarantee
that your one or two flights

are gonna get you
where you need to be.

There's always
aircraft malfunctions,

there's always strikes,

there's always mistiming
of connecting flights.

You could be waiting on
delayed flights for hours

and you're just sitting
there, you know.

Three hour delay.

What do you do with that
three hours, you know?

It's terrible when you're just
people watching, you know.

And this is what takes
the time and the energy.

It sucks the energy out of you,

but you still have to step up,

you still have to
be inside that fire

that basically gets you to
go and do what you're doing.

[mellow electronic music]

I'll never forget Ali used to

point to some of these
pictures on the wall

of the big DJs in the world

that he was looking at the
picture and then looking at me.

"Mom, one day I'll be as
famous as this person."

And another big
dream that he had,

he said, "One day
can you imagine,

one day I'm going to
travel all over the world

to see the whole world."

And the shine on his eyes as
he was passionately talking

about being one
of those big DJs,

that pointing to
the big picture,

and seeing the whole world,

and experiencing
the whole world.

That shine is something
that I will never forget.

[upbeat techno music]

Because part of realizing was,

well, what else would I do?

You know? Go open
up a hair salon?

[laughing]

I did ask Ali one time,
how you doing?

To work with him, well,

I am the quiet one, but I
need to have some craziness.

He's more sexy than the other

and I think he agrees with me.

It's just like, oh, you're
here to have a good time?

Let's go. Let's fucking party.

I think he enjoys
vampires and,

from what I can gauge,

I knew he had a
collection of some kind

of vampire-type magazines
on his coffee table as well.

You know, they
brought us horse.

Really, I'm not kidding.

The Japanese
restaurant drove horse.

[Interviewer] Okay,
you're gonna tell us.

Whores?

-Yeah.
-Like, sluts?

No, horse.

You know the ones that are.

[Interviewer] Oh, horse!

I thought you said whores.

-No. I would love that.
-[laughing]

Ali picked up an extra
hobby on top of that

is to be a food connoisseur

and post every piece
of dish that he's seen

in the last two
years on Instagram.

[laughing]

If you don't know me,

get the fuck off the bus.

Please. In the
nicest possible way.

Because if I came
up to you and said,

Hey, how you doing?
Can I come to your house?

The answer would be
who the fuck are you?

So, if those are
real fucking answers,

get the fuck off the bus.

[upbeat techno music]