// Essential Listening

Few figures in house music lore inspire as much fanatical devotion as Theo Parrish. The revered producer seemed to have gotten even more exploratory with age, as proven on this acclaimed 2014 album released via his influential Sound Signature label. American Intelligence is as subtly radical as house music gets, threading in the cadences of free jazz, R&B and soul through spare rhythmic patterns and acoustic drum programming, punctuated by vocals from Parrish and special guest Ideeyah. This two-hour collection is yet another revelatory statement in the discography of man who cannot help but push boundaries. –

Theo Parrish is a musician and selector based in Detroit, Michigan, often described as a ‘techno/house’ artist. He has recorded music under his own name as well as with Rick Wilhite, Marcellus Malik Pittman and Kenneth Dixon Jr as 3 Chairs. He also puts out releases on his record label, Sound Signature. Another aspect of Theo Parrish’s productions are his re-edits, often of old disco, funk or soul records. He is almost as renowned for his expansive and genre-hopping live DJ sets as his productions.

In 2014 Theo Parrish took his new live show on the road. It wasn’t the first time he’d been involved with live performancehe was playing shows with his Rotating Assembly ten years backbut this was Parrish putting himself out there, front and centre, performing his own material on stage with a band. This was Theo Parrish the musician, not Theo Parrish the producer or Theo Parrish the DJ. The idea of musicianship, of creating everything from scratch, also drives American Intelligence, Parrish’s first solo full-length since 2007. For someone whose back catalogue is littered with examples of clever sampling, Parrish has distanced himself from sampling as an art form, explaining to Slices this year that “As I grew older, [I began] respecting what I was sampling and editing.” So you won’t find many nifty samples on American Intelligenceit’s all Parrish’s music, and the vocals come from Parrish himself, or Ideeyah, an important cog in his live show.

American Intelligence forms a kind of companion piece to the live show. It’s presented in two versions: the triple-vinyl version, which clocks in at nine tracks, and the more unwieldy 15-track double-CD, which sags heavily as the second disc wears on. The tracks that Parrish performed live this year provide American Intelligence with its strongest moments. There’s “Footwork,” an irresistible call to dance floor and one of 2014’s best singles, “Ah,” with Ideeyah on vocals, is sweet and mostly drum-free, and “Be In Yo Self,” equals anything in Parrish’s catalogue in terms of groove and depth. The drums skitter on “Drive,” on which Theo asks, “Where’s your drive? Has it died? It keeps me alive.” It sounds like a question posed to people around himlazy DJs, unadventurous live acts, a music press he feels is suffering. “Life Spice’s” stuttering loop makes it sound like an Ugly Edit of “Miss You” by The Rolling Stones, while “Welcome Back” is a three-minute imagining of a trip to the grocery store interrupted by a traffic cop, played out by Parrish and backed by belligerent drums. viaResident Advisor

Label: Sound Signature
Format: 3x Vinyl, 12″, Album
Country: US
Released: 2014
Genre: Electronic
Style: House, Deep House

File under: House / Electro / Techno