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All Music Guide:
With a style similar to Moodymann's take on Detroit tech-house as a melange of distorted disco-funk and boogie, Theo Parrish originally grew up in Chicago but moved to the Motor City by the time of his late-1996 Baby Steps EP on Elevate Records, a subsidiary of 7th City. From the EP, his Chicago tribute "Lake Shore Drive" later appeared on the Kenny Dixon/Moodymann release "Inspirations of a Small Black Church," and Parrish also worked on tracks by Rick Wilhite, Dewayne Davis and Norma Jean Bell. He continued through 1997 with singles for his own Sound Signature label plus Music 15 and Filth. In late 1998, Peacefrog released two Theo Parrish LPs, both of which were issued on CD as First Floor. Also a stellar DJ, Parrish is renowned around Detroit for his sets of downtempo jazz-funk and disco.
Wikipedia:
Theo Parrish is a musician and selector based in Detroit, Michigan, often described as a 'techno/house' artist. He was born in Washington, DC. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois listening to jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and George Gershwin. He graduated from the Chicago Academy of the Arts and went to study at the Kansas City Art Institute. While at KCAI, he concentrated on sound sculptures, creating sonic pieces by combining live instruments, human voices, and looped recordings. He received his BFA in 1994 and moved to Michigan to focus on musical projects.
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, and plays a monthly residency at the London nightclub Plastic People.
