NIGHT CRAWL INTO THE GROOVE DJ DUO STYLE IT UP IN HOLLYWOOD.

Byline: Phillip Zonkel Staff Writer

Maybe two heads are better than one.

The Washington, D.C.-based DJ-producing/remixing team of Saeed & Palash push the house envelope with their innovative tribal, tech-house layers and beats.

Though they challenge the dance music status quo, Saeed & Palash adhere to one rule - nothing over 132 beats per minute.

``Anything over that loses its groove,'' Saeed says. ``Music is all about a groove, and when you lose that groove, it just becomes a pounding beat and it's got no soul or rhythm. I want to see people grooving on the dance floor, not pumping their fists in the air.''

Outside the DJ booth, their new CD compilation, ``Tide: Edit :07,'' has critics throwing their hands in the air and putting them on the list of ones to watch.

``Their studio sound and their DJ sets offer an amalgam of today's better club sounds,'' says DJ Times editor Jim Tremayne. ``On the surface, it's deep, dark and progressive, but there's always a tribal feel underneath.''

``One of the things that makes the music they spin interesting is they come from varied ethnic backgrounds,'' says Nicole Powers, events editor at the monthly dance music magazine URB.

The Iraqi-born Saeed Younan, 30, came to the U.S. when he was 13; the Bangladesh-born Palash Ahmed, 32, came to America when he was 8.

When the two met in 1994, the summer before they began their first semester at Virginia Commonwealth University (Saeed graduated with a degree in information sciences, Palash with a finance degree), both were already involved, one way or another, in Washington's burgeoning club scene. They shared a common musical vision and teamed up, first producing tracks and then sharing the turntable.

Their big break came in the late '90s when they fused the then-separate sounds of techno, house and tribal into a new hybrid. Some of Saeed & Palash's earliest supporters were Deep Dish and uber house master Danny Tenaglia. They also have spun out remixes for Peter Rauhofer and his Star 69 Records, including Celeda's ``The Underground.''

In 1998, disappointed with the lack of heavy tribal and techno-progessive vinyl in record shops, they launched Addictive Records. The youthful exuberance of the U.S.' adolescent dance scene feeds their sets.

``I like the way (the scene) is. It's still fresh and new,'' Saeed says. ``In Europe, it's become a little too commercialized. Our gigs are so much better in the U.S.''

CLUB BUZZ

NOT FOR THE TIMID

Exotic Erotic Ball: San Francisco's ultimate freedom of expression. See sexhibitionists, vixens and fun-loving freaks in a masquerade-madness extravaganza. Also: Lingerie, fetish and costume contests with $5,000 in cash and prizes. Sunset Room, 1430 Cahuenga, Hollywood. 9 p.m. Sept. 1. Tickets: $35 at www.exoticeroticball.com or at the door. Info: [phone].

BRING YOUR SHADES

Club Raw: Laser eye candy, pulsating dance music and glow sticks will overflow the venue as the Grove undergoes its biweekly transformation. Resident DJs include Bert, Daniel Dexterious, Jordan Scott, Hip Hop Shawn and Roland. Club Raw, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $20. Info: [phone] or www.clubraw.net.

SAEED & PALASH

Where: Social at Las Palmas, 1714 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood.

When: 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Tickets: $10. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Saeed Younan

Photos by Lyza Perrenoud