Comments on: Theo Parrish Interview

By: Ross

Ross — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:29:29 +0000

What can I say though ultimately he’s the greatest thing to happen to detroit in a long time, fair play to anyone who takes their art seriously, it’s amazing to hear some good music.

By: Ross

Ross — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:04:52 +0000

Lastly though I must say again, should anyone stumble upon this now ancient thread as they trawl the internet for techno race relations topics…

What came first?

Debussy, Walter Murphy, Moodymann?

Kraftwerk or Africa Bambaata + Planet Rock?

I love debussy.

I love Techno too.

I love to subvert modernity as much as possible, when given the chance.

By: Ross

Ross — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:38:47 +0000

I do however understand what is meant when referring to the utopian dream, and also understand that white people throughout history have proved themselves towards taking what wasn’t theirs. Detroit has offered a lot more originality than a lot of other musical havens, as has chicago. It seems bad for me to play detroit instead of uk electronica, I do love both of them. I suppose the best way for anyone to dj is with originality of variety, which is in itself a hard thing to achieve without really getting in there and letting the sounds flow more than just playing song after song. A tribute is what’s needed, a real consideration of the sounds mixed together, so that a feeling flows and a context is appreciated and met. Anyways..

By: Ross

Ross — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:55:13 +0000

Having read this message, listened to many of the ugly edits, bought one, mistakenly bought a bad bootleg of one too, and downloaded and listened to others, I say that:

I love Theo’s music, I love the music of which he has sampled, I love each and the other in their respective contexts.
Theo, if you are there i’d like to say that having seen you three times now, and love the sound that you have to offer, for it is so far from those which other people have played to me, and different from my own sound too.

I don’t have enough money to buy records all the time, especially the ugly edits which are few and far between and about £50 for the best of them. So I swap music with friends, and pay tribute to bands and acts alike by visiting them at their and my preferred destination concert.

I try to spread the good word as much as possible with regards to the music I love, sending internet links out to discogs pages as well as imdb for films and the like. With the advancements of the world wide web, I see that there isn’t such a race issue as a format of perception, and an opportunity to help each other through the times ahead with reference to one artform or another. To lubricate the lives that some of us live by paying tribute to those who made it, wanted to make it, didn’t want anything other than express themselves. And their expression in whatever abstract form is most gratefully received.

After reading your comment Theo, I have one thing I would like to say. The ugly edits weren’t that much of a mistake. They were great. If people archive things using recording equipment, then those things are materials as much as they are thoughts.

Best Wishes to all concerned

By: andre

andre — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:52:53 +0000

lol totally agree with this dude , and I think alot of music would not exist without the black people getting involved. Yeah, of course they were influenced by European culture, but at the end of the day, who isnt influenced by someonelse’s culture. At the end of the day , they dont get acknowledged, and thats what really sucks, not that they originated it, but they originated it, and they suffer for their creativity, all because white people want ot stay on top of everything

By: James Braun

James Braun — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:03:59 +0000

I grew up listening to Theo Parrish and he was as important to my musical upbringing as I’m sure May, Saunderson etc was to him, but I’m not black and I grew up in Europe. I see his points, but it is like hearing a speech from the sixties. Until Americans wake up from there slumber, after the decline of the US as a sole super power, and get into the global mind set, this will just be a self-perpetuating status quo. Race? I don’t care, I don’t even notice because it doesn’t matter to me. We’re all human beings, and this isn’t some hippe hipocricy, it’s just fact. So dry your eyes Theo. There would be no Berlin scene without a Detroit scene, but everything has roots - no matter colour. And if you’re tired of the US, come over here. We still love you.

By: clom

clom — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:00:21 +0000

a digression,

where did this DJane term come from?

it makes me want to die.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:09:20 +0000

we are all victims of racism everyday-get used to it-german whites too get their bit in areas like kreuzberg, moabit, neukölln in berlin.its common knowledge here.
we read about nations being rascist to one another everyday when some dispute appears.the question is how you deal with it-today its more subtle-you get blocked carreerwise-i recently read how spike lee’s movies never make it in germany-the 25th hour etc were amazing movies but just like how theo and moodymann were labelled rascists then and how no booking agency wanted to handle them here back then would tel you how deep denial is here-its like you become the devil himself;exposing the truth.no one wants to talk about it; its spreading “bad vibes” and sometimes i do feel sorry for them because no one actually likes them( except for berlin)-germany is a toilet when it comes to such issues-the country is run by the cdu which supported the nazi regime then and terms like “fatherland” are used…hello? merkel didnt want obama to speak at the brandenburger gate last month ( her reason/excuse was that its a historical place and not to be used for a political campaign)BUT neo nazis have marched through during a legalised demo(all of a sudden its democracy) carrying slogans etc; meaning they are sending a message-they didnt have to speak on a microphone but their message was in the form of huge posters-isnt that the same thing? to answer your question-no-because i dont let them.you must bear in mind that a rascist is the person with the problem.its hard sometimes but what can i say? but i observe stuff like this everyday.sickening, but the truth sets you free, eventually.

By: Ronan

Ronan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:05:28 +0000

have you been the victim of racism recently?

By: dave

dave — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:20:00 +0000

theo is right and i think that everyone reading this thread knows it too-racism is WHEN YOU FEEL SUPERIOR because of your ethnicity;thus discriminating others-Theo..would you call yourself a rascist? hell no..the effects would be too negative for your musicmarketing; thats why you were shunned and labelled a rascist in germany etc back in 2002;-germans dont get your message-its a homogenious country and they arent that mentally advanced to know the difference between outright racism and an OBSERVATION; which in this case would label the observer as being a rascist-pretty stupid , isnt it?which was very unfair especially when you get wannabe’s purveying “white deep house” and calling themselves ..ixon; who in one article in the groove magazine explicitly said-why do all black americans constantly moan about the origin of house music;which is soul and funk and disco(blackmusic)-why cant it be more upfront and creative? heh? -(guess where the name came from- KDJ ?)-what Theo is trying to get at, i think/assume is that if you are white, you need less talent,looks are enough(look at Djanes-how many mix well and rock without having to show their cleavage??)if there is an available white dude who has 15% in his soul and and deliver 25%-he’s good enough for the industry..and for his fans..dont ask me what the purpose is; maybe it goes way deep into idolism..wanting to see your own people do well-but it has to be pure not faked-the rest is marketing etc–and mind you , its the gigs which rake the cash, not the record deals.and of course, it makes you an angry man. because that is stealing without style and class.look at kruder and dorfmeister-all their work have been sampled-from bob james to….how come the groove magazine in germany always mentions sven vath, dj t(ok.he owns it) and ritchie hawtin and ricardo villalobos?? look at madonna-she literally …cked herself to the top; she cant sing to save her life, her last attempt for a comeback used an abba sample to fool a whole new generation..hello..whats goin on?-what about jellybean benitez who founded her and made her big?what is this weird bilderberg like movement? so, its all true,bruddas and sistas.sell your music on your own and be the master of your own destiny-theo, my respect to you for having the guts to voice this out as freely as you do.life is but short and you will not go unnoticed. god bless.