sound signature
Theo Parrish – Orange Barrel Action [SS103]
The Sound Signature boss remains in a class of one and continually finds new ground to explore in the studio, often taking a freeform jazz mindset to roughed-up house and techno that blends the mechanical with the soulful in otherworldly, hypotonic fashion. ‘Orange Barrel Action (Yellow Flashing Light mix)’ is very much in that mould with lumpy drums detuned and off-grid keys and hissing hi-hats all coalescing into something seductive and subversive. ‘Pianamonn’ is a deep house foundation topped with weird and wonky keys in inimitable Theo Parrish style.
2024 Best albums
From the debut album of cold wave/new wave acts of Konstant, La Nuit Je Mens and Oliver Decrow, to the electro art of veterans Anthony Rother, Dark Vektor, E.R.P. and Legowelt; from the roughness of Filmmaker, Gesloten Cirkel and Howard Thomas to the melodic synthscapes of Steve Moore; from the jacking house of Paranoid London and Timothy J. Fairplay to arpeggiated madness of Rodion & Fabrizio Mammarella, here are our favorite 20 albums from 2024, compiled in chronological order.
Continue reading “2024 Best albums”2024 Best Tracks part 6 (of 10)
We start presenting our favorite tracks from 2024. More or less in a chronological order we present here the sixth set of tracks.
Theo Parrish – Traffic Jams [SS102]
Detroit innovator and singular soundsmith Theo Parrish returns with a new EP which we’re told is his response to “stagnation and nonmovement” either physiologically, mentally or physically. ‘Positive Mental Attitude Solves All’ is up first and is a tribute to the late great funk-father Amp Fiddler. It’s a typically deep cut with dusty drums and irregular, scruffy percussive lines layered in next to diffuse synth warmth and soulful melodies. ‘Traffic Jams’ plays with similar signature themes and is sure to loosen up mind, body and soul. Another standout bit of work from the venerable Motor City man.
Howard Thomas – Skin Breaker LP [SS100]
Theo Parrish’s venerated Sound Signature label hits the notable milestone of 100 releases with this new double album, Skin Breaker, from Howard Thomas. ”The inspiration for ‘Skin Breaker’ comes from my early years of watching sci-fi films. Howard has always been fascinated by them . As a huge fan of 80s beat tracks and 80s sci-fi, Howard aimed to blend those influences into this project. This project is a tribute to the sounds and styles that have inspired him.”
Theo Parrish & Maurissa Rose – Free Myself LP [SS095/96/97]
New album from Theo Parrish & Maurissa Rose arrives on his own Sound Signature label. Hard to define, rule breaking and game-changing producer Theo Parrish is back with another of his challenging and superlative albums. This one is a collaboration with Maurissa Rose that true sooth the soul. It’s full of his usual deadly grooves, shamanistic percussive layers and jazz energies with plenty of his famous luscious, meditative loops. Add in the smooth vocals of Rose – which come in the form of a soulful stream of consciousness – and you have yet another unique album from this true maverick of the form.
Alton Miller – Love Don’t Pass Me By EP [SS089]
Sound Signature welcome the return of Detroit hero Alton Miller for a classy single graced with the vocals of KB, with the thoughtful addition of an instrumental on the flip for those so minded. The result is some extremely classy, luxurious sounding deep house music with a touch of the lounge about it. A track that certainly plays its cards cautiously rather than banging them down on the table all at the same time, but one that will build the atmosphere of your early evening set up subtly but surely.
Theo Parrish feat. Marcellus Pittman – Ooh Bass [SS088]
Theo Parrish and Marcellus Pittman’s collaborations run deep, from those seminal Essential Selections 12″s some 20 years ago through to the T.O.M Project with Omar S, the 3 Chairs super group and on and on. In the usual Sound Signature style, a new link-up between the two Detroit legends arrives with a minimum on fanfare, just a killer jam with all the grit and soul you’d hope for from this pair. The drum levels push and pull in the mix from red line pressure to back seat driving, while a mellow blur of soul sampling comes calling through the mist until the titular low end glues everything together. It’s understated and casual brilliance, everything a Sound Signature club drop should be.
Theo Parrish – It’s Out Of Your Control EP [SS087]
New Theo Parrish single appears on vinyl in the form of two mixes differing in vibe but consistent in quality and suitability for DJ use. The original rides along on a shuffling, almost Afrobeat version of house, with Maurissa Rose’s gorgeous vocal floating above the gloopy, hypnotic bassline which gets the full filter treatment. The instrumental dub places that b-line very much at the centre of the mix, starting from a single kickdrum before building up to a more techno-edged, vocal free climax. all throbbing bass, solid bears and minimal, glitchy keyboard interjections.
Leron Carson – Red Lightbulb Theory [SS036]
A few Highlights from the sessions Leron recorded in 1987-88 when he was fifteen or so. China Trax, featured on SS012, came from these sessions. These were hand made, meaning no sequencing was used for the keys on any of the songs featured, using cassette tape overdubs, a lost science. Omar-S touched up the material from those cassettes for this release on vinyl.
LeRon Carson – Under The Conditions [SS083/84]
Brilliant album from the legend LeRon Carson on Sound Signature. Raw dusty early Chicago flavored house. LeRon Carson is one of the many unheralded but still legendary producers out of the American Midwest. His next move takes him to Theo Parrish’s mighty Sound Signature for a new album of his textbook dusty drums and lived-in house grooves. Of course, they are all linked in some way, left of centre of experimental in how they are assembled. That’s the case right from the off with the scruffy drums and twanging synth lead of ‘Under The Conditions.’ What sounds like a speech from Martin Luther King is sampled on ’72nd & Oglesby’ over a sweet of raw, tense beats and elsewhere the bittersweet synths of ‘Bismarck Nite’ strike a different but equally powerful note.
Theo Parrish – Wuddaji [SS079/80/81]
Marcellus Pittman / Theo Parrish – Essential Selections Vol. 2 [SSES2]
Sound Signature presents the return of the Essential Selections series. This second studio hook-up between Detroit veterans Theo Parrish and Marcellus Pittman first appeared way back in 2002, some three years after they made their collaborative debut on Sound Signature. Listening again all these years on, we can confirm that the three-tracker hasn’t aged a bit.
Julion De’ Angelo / Thomas Xu – Roots That Talk [SS069]
A strong debut on Sound Signature by young Detroit-based artists, Julion De’Angelo and Thomas Xu.
Theo Parrish – Gentrified Love Part 3 [SS066]
The third release in Theo’s Gentrified Love series on Sound Signature. Side A, ‘Trust’, features Amp Fiddler and Ideeyah. Flip the disc over for another excellent collaboration between Theo and Amp on ‘My Soul’!
Theo Parrish, Duminie Deporres & Waajeed – Gentrified Love Part 2 [SS064]
Theo Parrish has teamed up with Rotating Assembly member Duminie DePorres and Dirt Tech Reck head Waajeed. The EP, Gentrified Love Part 2, is the first new work Parrish has released since his 2014 album American Intelligence.
Leron Carson – Lemonlime / Sofnthik [SS059]
New 12″ from Leron Carson for Theo’s label. “Lemonline” is a deliciously breezy concoction, with Carson’s jazzy piano riffs working in perfect unison with bouncy, Latin-influenced drum rhythms. Flipside “Sofnthik”, on the other hand, sounds like a previously unheard 1980s Chicago deep house concoction, with warm, loved-up chords swirling around a clattering drum machine groove.
Byron the Aquarius – Highlife EP [SS060]
Sound Signature’s latest missive comes from Byron The Aquarius, a former Onra collaborator best known for his dusty trips into MPC beat-making territory. Here, the Atlanta-based producer successfully turns his hand to dusty, soul-flecked deep house, peppering the bumpin’ groove of “Aquarian Voyage” with a toasty bassline and twinkling Rhodes motifs. It’s the kind of hazy, jazz-flecked deep house that Sound Signature has always done better than almost anyone else. Flipside “Run Sa”, featuring the fluid and intoxicating playing of drummer Dmitri Walker, is even better, with warm chords draping themselves over snappy snares, hissing cymbals and killer fills.
GE-OLOGY feat. Mark De Clive-Lowe – Moon Circuitry [SS058]
The latest Sound Signature release comes from one-time conscious hip-hop producer GE-OLOGY and one-time go-to jazz keys-man Mark De Clive-Lowe. The latter’s brilliant synthesizer and piano work is arguably the highlight of both tracks here. On the spacey, P-funk influenced space-house swing of “Moon Circuitry” he does his best impression of Herbie Hancock, while “Escape On The Lodge Freeway” boasts intricate jazz solos atop a slightly tougher, chunkier deep house groove.
The Hipodrome Of Music 