Since seeing Theo Parrish last weekend, I have become a little obsessed. His set at Beacons Festival blew me away and since then I’ve been looking into Theo’s work. He was born in Detroit but his music is not simply the classic techno that the city is famous for. He brings in all sorts of other genres, from jazz and funk to house and tech together to create a his legendary sets. He also has some pretty outlandish views on his ‘art’… He never plays a set shorter than four hours as he argues that four hours is the minimum amount of time to truly “tell a story”( if you don’t know what he means by this, got to one of his gigs). He also fairly outspoken in the digital/vinyl debate as he never uses a laptop during his sets arguing “I’m not comfortable with convenience replacing artistry”. All of his passion and knowledge certainly make for an amazing set.
Aside from his live sets Theo also does work on the production side of things, most recently through his label ‘sound signature’. His productions mainly focus of re-edits of old disco, funk and soul records and still carry that passion and drive Theo has made himself famous for. ‘Made in USA – Never Gonna Let You Go (Theo Parrish Re-Edit)’ is a perfect example of that. After recently being featured in Motor City Drum Ensemble’s Boiler Room it has become certainly my favourite Theo Parrish track. With an uplifting tone, cleverly looped vocals and funkiest bass line you could hope for this track is easy fall in love with. Enjoy.
Released: 2010
– Martin Bavone