Worldwide Dance: Parrish Smith

Whilst his artist name derived from combining two Detroit greats in Theo Parrish and Alex ’Omar S’ Smith, Dutch producer and DJ Parrish Smith is no mere servant to Techno's spiritual home. His music rather defies time and place, a tight selection of recorded output recalling primitive wave, smashed industrial and EBM grot. These releases complemented by rampaging, twisted DJ sets and Volition Immanent, the wholly visceral act Parrish performs and records under alongside Mark Knekelhuis.

A quick glance at the labels Parrish has worked with should give you an idea of the daring nature of his music. Traxx’s Nation, Ron Morelli’s LIES, Amsterdam’s Knekelhuis, the enigmatic MIND Records, Dekmamtel's UFO series. They’re all bound by a certain brutishness, a disregard for trend or convention, music with spit, sweat and steel.

Already a veteran of the Dekmantel Festival network with previous appearances in both Amsterdam Bos and their Selectors jaunt in Croatia, Parrish will be joining us on the Boiler Room stage this year. Ahead of his performance, Parrish spoke to us about scoring films, his favourite Amsterdam venues, musical inspiration and more.

Where does your love of music and nightlife come from? What inspired you to take this path in life? Is your family musical at all?

I grew up falling asleep on the road while my mother was listening to Bollywood music and mostly waking up on my father’s reggae or rock tunes. My sister brought in the club music at an early age. I remember vividly when I was 9 my sister forcing me to listen to UK Garage and 2-step. I guess from all those leads and went deeper into the UK music history like grime, jungle cuts and other electronic music which was club and non club. My uncles were fairly musical, making rock music influenced by Jimi Hendrix at home which they recorded to cassette. Rock influences were always with us but I started to realise this just a couple years ago when I was figuring out my influences. I can’t play the bass or guitar but I work with a good friend Sofi who has the spirit of pop rock like on my track sex, suicide & speed metal. So I guess that rock atmosphere is always carried around me.

**Aside from the clear Detroit inspirations shown in your DJ name, who else inspires you musically? **

Have mentioned that Theo parrish and Omar S influenced me with their attitude towards music; honest, open and dedicated to the craft. It was important to me how these respected artists work and who their heroes are. It’s not that I was trying to find a mentor I was just finding clues how to be true to yourself and then your music. My main influences musically are Esplendor Geometrico, Mark Lane, Trent Reznor and John Cage. Each an icon in their own way of intensities. For me Mark Lane felt like the experimental version of what Trent Reznor is. Trent Reznor is making music scores now which has hints of what John Cage was doing. Esplendor Geometrico are the pure OG rhythmic industrialists for me and will always be. I don’t think the now so-called industrial techno era wouldn’t be the same without EG. Rhythms in an esoteric form used with synthesizers or heavy mutilated drums sounds which you can hear a lot nowadays. Real factory music with an extensive discography which is still relevant to this day.

**Do you have any special clubbing memories tied to a Theo or Omar S cut? **

Hearing Theo Parrish’s ‘Insane Asylum’ late at night, sped up, fed up and played in red is a brain melter. I can’t remember who the DJ was but it was Theo himself or DJ Traxx years ago. Traxx dropped a lot of Theo and Omar S records in between jakbeat, wave and weird techno. His take on eclectic music was very captivating I have to say.

**What sort of energy do you try and bring to your DJ sets? **

The same eclectic energy as how Traxx projected it, taking forms of heavy music in different genres. I like to create certain moods in a set or extend that moment. I can see it’s sometimes challenging for the listeners but it should be challenging for both. It’s a nice thing to communicate with and it can make crazy moments if you give something that most haven’t heard before. Great example was my closing at Reaktor ADE where I went from Chris Liberator to Scarlxrd with me shouting in the mic. The moment when people were walking out of the room, I switched it up again to fast paced techno and they were coming back in. A Great moment of heads spinning around. It’s a nice time to be alive where we can play this mash up of beautiful open music and punk, hardcore and straight up techno music in big clubs and I will work hard to keep this alive.

How do you feel you’ve progressed musically since your first appearance at Dekmantel Festival in 2017?

I feel more open to newer sounds and I’m not in a hurry anymore. Progression and development on the long term is my way. Musical interest always changes in the details and I find it important to take the time to learn and think of new crossovers as music evolves changes along the way. I needed time to figure out my ground base, the main core from where I can work on. A centre where I can reach out to various genres, creative elements and sounds.

Now I found this I can be as eclectic as I want in my productions or DJ sets because I will never lose the style I carry with me. The style just evolves and renews in something surprising or more refined. I think this has to do with my self-awareness and confidence, how to put yourself out there in a way that I still can see this music life as a passion project and be able to create without our limits. I do not always want to think of elitist terms and prejudices because like this I can move freely between all the commitments we think we have as a musician or artist.

**You rescored Walter Ruttmann’s 'Opus II, III, IV' for last year’s Dekmantel Festival. How did you find this experience in terms of preparation and performance? **

I found this very inspirational to work on an iconic abstract piece yet very full of emotions and stress because I can project every kind of emotion to an abstract piece of art. So my first obvious move was to figure out who or what Walter Ruttmann was and how he made the piece. I wanted to make my own story without being a slave to the original, so I made a parallel story on his moving work of art. Most of the moving elements were made with oil and brushes on plates of glass. Once a painter always a painter so I tried to begin as humane as possible. I recorded various takes of almost an hour of just white noise, feedback and voice recordings over the dynamic movements of the film, just to play and to understand the scenes. Then I wrote down the composition in a story line because I can’t write musical notations and from there I recorded constructively the compositions. I worked with 2 violinists Kim Spierenburg and Kashka Langerak, they did an amazing job and I think we connected very well personally. We came up with very speaking parts and for the ears greatly cinematic.

Is film scoring something you’d like to pursue further?

It’s a great goal to have and to work and to progress in. I have lots to learn, that’s why I’ve mentioned that I will go for the long term and film scoring is one of the stages I’m working on to get to. I really like to work with different talented musicians on a project. Musicians who can create ideas themselves and heaving this emotionally loaded cache back in their brain. This will get interesting outcomes for sure and I’m happy to take responsibility to create and stitch together a musical telling piece. It’s obvious that I’m familiar with darker cinematic textures but when I can find a balance between Light and Dark then I’m ready to take on a fully inspiring film score of 60 minutes. I’m blessed with having to work with organisations like RE:VIVE from Sound & Visions Institute and with FOAM for their Ai WeiWei exposition and hopefully I can take more similar projects and make my mark slowly along the way.

**Your next release is a return to LIES for a 4-track EP with Interstellar Funk. What's the story behind this release? **

We met each other years ago in the Amsterdam club scene and over time we discovered a lot of common ground in terms of musical taste. Thinking of older crossover music, minimal wave, prototype techno tracks and ‘80s cassette music. We didn’t have to think about how we would project our thoughts into this music. I guess we trust each other capabilities enough to just create music on the fly. Interstellar Funk has a crazy arsenal of gear straight from outer space; it's very inspirational the least to work with new musical instruments and I encourage everyone to collaborate outside of your comfort zone, box or studio. It’s a different workflow and the tempo can be much higher than working by yourself.

The outcome surprised me as a metallic abstract form of music yet still flowing. There is a nice feature or our specific styles blended in together and it’s great to hear the outcome of us not making any concessions to another and that purpose is the engine of any creativity.

Is there a specific concept across the four tracks or was it just the end product a few days jamming gear in the studio?

There are no thematic stories related to the tracks but I don’t think that’s necessary and to worried about, sometimes it can speak for itself and if not, the music will be for people who aren’t born yet.

Are you excited to be working with Ron Morelli again?

Yes, it is trusted which makes the relation very down to earth. I’ve followed his label after the first couple of releases and he is still alive and pushing new artists still to this day. He likes to speak his truth and I appreciate that. I have to thank Phuong-Dan as well because he pushed me on L.I.E.S. and advised me through the years till now.

**Moving onto Volition Immanent, it’s clear you’ve built quite a bond with MIND Records. What appeals about working with them? **

I’ve been following MIND Records since the first Femminielli Noir release and the mystery of the label and the representation just struck me. It speaks obscure; like showing the obscure corners of Japanese Art. Very specific but I like specific. The first impression is the art work which the owner is very dedicated to and when you discover the music and the selected music. It shows that this label is build from passion and curiosity for arts and left field artists. Great label to explore were every release is not the same.

**One of the tracks on your latest VI release, 'Photosynthetic' is taken from a recent live performance at De School. How did that show go? **

So intense and so great. The crowd had to get used to our sound in the beginning. It can be overwhelming with Mark Knekelhuis singing in your face and moving in and around the crowd. We always try to find the right balance between intensities and rest moments. We are playing pre-programmed tracks not backing tracks to be mistaken. There is room to improvise to stretch out certain moments and there is construct to keep the tempo in the set.

‘Photosynthetic’ was our last song, the lyrics are written by Sevdaliza and is also used for her Short movie ‘The Formula.’ I recommend everyone sees that film if you are looking for someone who lives their art. Her talent of reading people and moments resulted in this poetic piece of cinema which we extended to a musical piece, photosynthetic. It felt very warming playing this track because people really listened and eventually when the drums were kicking they were kicking it, and that was special.

**De School itself is widely celebrated as the best venue in Amsterdam. What do you think they’re doing right that other venues are not? **

Setting up a foundation for DJs, artists and music lovers. I remember they started slowly with 2 DJs playing really long sets for the night. I think this was also important to create a following, letting people get familiar with the club. Over the years line ups expanded in the same period when left field music starting to get bigger. So now there was room to have a big club with left field artists and even bigger artists in a club with dedicated following. They have unlocked more rooms over the years and it felt like it was building up club culture.

Having club goers interfere with silent art or visual performances with them genuinely show their interest. A very interesting place where different kinds of people come together to show their work whether its music, silent art or food. They give space for people who like to tell something with their current mindset. I think De School as an institution is the better definition.

**Finally, who are you excited about seeing at this year’s edition of Dekmantel Festival? **

I’ll try to see Sunn O))) and Cybotron on the concert days and on the weekend days there are too many great acts. I’ll just see where I end up. I think everyone is on top of their game that weekend so they will surprise me for sure.

Interview by Tony Poland

Parrish Smith will be perfoming on the Boiler Room stage at Dekmantel on Friday night. More info here.