Stacey Pullen must be one of the most underrated figures in Detroit’s electronic music scene. As a DJ, Pullen commands a cult following. He instinctively knows that creating atmosphere is a ritual. It’s as much a science as an art. He’s the Kosmic Messenger.

Now, eight years after his celebrated DJ Kicks volume, Pullen has completed a new mix-CD for Fabric. The always gracious Pullen recently became a star resident at the boutique London club. He respects Fabric’s ethos. “They weren’t into booking the hottest DJs at the moment or the superstar DJs, they were consistent in booking good talent, good music, constantly in the club.”

Incredibly, Pullen has been DJing for just under 20 years – and amassed over 10, 000 records. For him, Fabric 14 is distinct from his DJ Kicks. Pullen describes the former as “an art project” more than a DJ set, whereas he mixed the latest CD live. There is no post-production. It’s clubby, too. Pullen has never been a purist – or at least not in the conventional sense. He’s more open. Indeed, Stacey has selected just one record by a Detroit artist for Fabric 14 – Moodymann’s house Music People. Tellingly, few have been able to license Moodymann’s music. But the absence of obvious Detroit productions, techno or otherwise, doesn’t make the set any less Detroit-influenced. “It’s still a representation of Detroit. It’s still a representation and an inspiration from in Detroit, because, after all, once I go and mix it, it’s mixed here in Detroit, once I get up and go to sleep, it’s here in Detroit. My inspiration that I look out the window at every day is Detroit. The music that I hear from around the world, I come back to Detroit and it inspires me. For me, it’s a bigger picture than just being pigeonholed and being in one frame of mind all the time.”

Pullen was already DJing when he left the Motor City to attend college – where he studied communications – Down South. He began to develop an individualistic outlook in Tennessee. Travelling home to visit family, Pullen was exposed to Detroit’s new machine soul – techno. Before long, the free-spirited Stacey had forfeited his studies. Pullen would find a compelling mentor in Derrick May. Pullen joined Transmat Records. He emerged as a member of Detroit’s Second Wave along with Carl Craig, Kenny Larkin and Canadian Richie Hawtin. Pullen issued his first record, Ritual Beating System, as Bango on Transmat’s sister label, Fragile. May opened Pullen’s eyes to the world. Stacey lived in the very different environs of Amsterdam for a year. In 1995 he presented his debut album, The Theory Of Silent Phase. Pullen is not a prolific producer. But, having aligned himself with the Virgin imprint Science, he fulfilled his artistic vision with 2001’s TodayIsTheTomorrowYouWerePromisedYesterday.
He demonstrated an affinity with the avant-garde – jazz, funk, soul, house and techno.

With the bold Today, Pullen referenced his cultural roots, negotiating the spaces between the futurism of Detroit’s hi-tech soul, the innovation of jazz, and the forgotten tribal tradition of Africa. Since Today, Pullen has been nurturing his own label, Black Flag Recordings, with two new issues – from the UK’s Pure Science and South America’s Cutlab – previewed on Fabric 14.

Pullen appreciates the current innovations within the urban sphere of R&B and hip-hop and identifies them as relevant to underground electronic musicians. Stacey is a fan of NERD – The Neptunes’ leftfield funk-rock side-project. “Even when I DJ to this day, I’m thinking on that level of always wanting to push the boundaries and to turning the people on to different music, and I’ve also incorporated a little of their music into the set that I’m doing. The more and more I DJ, the more and more I’m finding my niche to bring in other styles of music – not just the DJ-friendly BPM. I’ve always done this, period, but even more now – now that those guys are bringing the electronic aspect into the music.” Pullen feels that such hybridisation will influence his future productions.

“I see a door opening here – I’ll be able to slide right in and make the appropriate transition at that right time and be able to just take the world by storm on the things that I’ve done.”
Pullen is tuned into popular culture. He’s lately purchased albums by OutKast, Ludacris and Musiq Soulchild.
Stacey is approaching his 35th birthday and experiencing profound cyclical life changes. He lately reunited with an old friend from his school days who inspired him to play drums – in marching bands – and later embrace the turntables. They talk daily. “Everything just came full circle,” he says.
As an artist, Pullen may express a strong self-belief, but he has his doubts.

“I have more insecurities and more concerns about what I’m gonna be doing 20 years from now, you know what I mean? That’s what the biggest question is, that’s the biggest thing that’s on my mind, and I’ve always said this – striving for longevity. It’s not about me making that one song, or following up to what people perceive me as, it’s totally different for me, and it’s much more interesting because I’m looking at the overall picture. I’m not just looking at one aspect in my life, I’m looking at my life as a whole and what’s gonna happen, what stories I’m gonna tell my children 20 years from now, or whether I’m gonna be working at some car lot – because who knows? You never know what the future holds 20 years from now – especially the state of affairs that the world is in right now. You never know what’s gonna happen.”

With the music industry in turmoil, new technologies radically changing music distribution, and an economic downturn that has seen many labels fold, Pullen is aiming for consistency. “Once you make it up top, there’s no place to go but down.”

In times of recession, Detroit, being an industrial city, is among the first places in America to show the signs. However, Pullen is optimistic about the future. He observes that the city is giving rise to a new wave. “Detroit at this point right now, as I’m speaking, is bubbling with creative juices from a lot of people in the city, and that’s kept secret. “I feel good about being here in Detroit, and doing the things that I’m doing, and the things that I’ve done, and the places that I’ve been, because, at the end of the day, there’s no place like home where you can get your creative energy going – and especially now I’m at a point in time in my life where I’m making a transition mentally where I’m able to feel comfortable about whatever it is I do. “Years ago, doing the things that I’m doing, I wouldn’t say I used to try to please people, but I used to try to keep up that image of, ‘Yeah, from Detroit!’ It’s in me, regardless of where I go, and, at the same time, I’ve always had situations where, me making music, me DJing, people always wanted to hear that Detroit sound, Detroit sound, Detroit sound, but what they don’t realise is that I don’t have to play that Detroit sound that you expect all the time. Detroit’s in me, so I’m gonna give it to you regardless of how I give it to you. I’m gonna give it to you.”

Stacey Pullen’s Fabric 14 is out through DMC.