2014 Artists of the Year | No. 9 | Theo Parrish

Like most producers cutting their teeth in 1990s Detroit, I would seek out feedback from different players in the music community. Theo Parrish was generous in this respect and I had seen him be (hilariously) blunt with his contemporaries more than a few times about where their music fell flat or felt disingenuous. (I still remember him fronting on the scratching bits I put on "Can't Take It" back in 2000). But the feedback Theo gave worked; it made me and others make better music, personally helping me along by imagining that whatever I was putting out would have to elicit the "stank face" if I played it for him.

Knowing this it came as no surprise that his epic new LP, American Intelligence, is the sonic incarnation of a line in the sand. It resonates equal part musical declaration and journey, unfolding a procession of jarring, social, and spiritual opuses for just over two hours. At approximately $50, the album has already stirred debate about how artists price their releases, and will assuredly confuse the shit out of a large swath of the dance music community. It is clear in its intent to be controversial—the play on paradox of the title, the length, the high price, the content, Theo's admonishing stare adorning the cover—and also doesn't shy away from reviving much needed social commentary in music. (The album includes a skit, enacting a typical police traffic stop in black America).

"Fallen Funk," a razor sharp cut that invigorates accent and syncopation within dancefloor vernacular, is the most direct. Theo opines, "These times will make you clean everything about you all the way up to fit into a machine. Little ones and zeroes, ones and zeroes, ones and zeroes, ones and zeroes…" To drive the point home he closes with… "YOU SEE SOMEONE WITH FALLEN FUNK, TELL 'EM TO GET UP!" Manifesto indeed.
 
But while Theo is fond of pushing all kind of buttons, American Intelligence is also, importantly, a personal exploration of his significant capabilities as a producer and artist, and admittedly my favorite to date. These songs are large. Theo has a penchant for long compositions but on this offering it's even more pronounced, with the majority of songs running over seven minutes and the longest clocking in at just over 13. Beyond the sheer weight of American Intelligence (3X LP or 15-song CD), Theo constructs songs that loom big conceptually, calling on jazz, African, and electronic music traditions in unique new ways, even for him, and evolve organically via programming and playing that feels like its been hand crafted from beginning to end.

Stand outs for me are the trancelike "Make No War" a tune that utilizes an African swing style we heard in other joints like 1999's "Dance of the Drunken Drums"; "Helmut Lampshade" (likely a Night On Earth reference) for its driving energy and winding jazz arpeggios; and "Cypher Delight," which stands as one of the illest drum workouts I've heard in a long time.
 
If you need a proverbial kick upside the head (and lets face it, we all do) then get this album, immediately. If you need to remember that great innovative electronic music can come from America and Detroit specifically, listen to Theo Parrish.

Recloose is a producer, DJ and education rep at Serato. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

THUMP Artists of the Year | Porter Robinson |FKA Twigs | Clean Bandit I Kiesza | SOPHIE | Gorgon City |Kygo | Bassnectar | Theo Parrish | Diplo, Skrillex and Jack Ü