Tiefschwarz (German pronunciation: [tiːf.ʃʋaʁts]) are a German house group consisting of brothers, Alexander "Ali" (June 7, 1967-) and Sebastian "Basti" (December 28, 1969-) Schwarz, which formed in Stuttgart in 1996. Peter Hoff, who runs the Benztown studios in Stuttgart, joined later, and completed the first Tiefschwarz production team. Their name means "deep black" in German, and is a combination of the brothers' surnames, and their love of deep house.
Their earliest productions were released on the Continuemusics label in 1997, and their first taste of a well-respected label was with their Music track on François Kevorkian's Wave Music label in 1999. The team released their first album, RAL9005 on the Four Music label in 2001, which was later licensed to Derrick Carter and Luke Solomon's Classic Recordings label. Tiefschwarz continued to release on Classic until its collapse in 2005, as well as releasing on labels such as Fine and International DeeJay Gigolo Records. Many of their tracks have been licensed to compilations, from the Stereo Sushi series, to compilations for Bugged Out!, Get Physical and Renaissance, and in 2006, they released a mix of their own for the Fabric (London) mix series.
Their sound is considered, at least by those who have followed them from their Classic days, to have changed somewhat over the last few years. Instead of their original deep, mellow house, Tiefschwarz now represent a gritty and edgy electro house sound, their more recent tracks gaining recognition from the likes of Ivan Smagghe, Touché, Sasha and Danny Howells.
Ali and Basti Schwarz have been travelling Europe as DJs since 1995, playing at major events and popular clubs all over Germany and Switzerland, as well as making appearances in Ibiza. They've performed in cities as far afield as Miami, New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Amsterdam, Sarajevo, London, Antwerp and Stockholm.
Tiefschwarz have composed remixes for Madonna's Get Together, Missy Elliott's Teary Eyed and Depeche Mode's single, John the Revelator.
2007 sees a return to a deeper house sound as shown in their 10 years anniversary compilation; 10 Years Of Blackmusik.
In January and July 2011 Tiefschwarz performed at the legendary aftershow party of the StyleNite, a cultural event of the designer Michael Michalsky during Berlin Fashion Week.