Stacey Pullen will never disappoint a dance floor. He is youthful enough to relate and discerning enough to build and build continuously. With very impressive credentials his name is synonymous with an experience many punters remember long after the event. A celebrated producer and DJ, he is well known for his long and sometimes very long forays into various sound scapes. And Australia can rest assured this time will be no different.

Exposed to the greatest from an early age, he shaped one of his first pieces of material – Ritual Beating System – in 1990 under the alter ego, Bango - on Derrick May’s Fragile Records [a division of the most legendary Transmat]. Somewhat experimental and housey, it brought to the fore a young and ambitious Pullen who knew then, that the world stage had just one more podium – with his name on it.

It was a chance for him to test the waters as it were – and with a small number of releases under a bunch of different aliases afterwards [ever heard of Graffiti, Silent Phase and Kosmic Messenger?] – he penned his first release in his own name in 1996 on Studio-K7 – a substantial and influential German techno label. It was titled the Kicks EP - and with it, he joined a stable of renowned artists including Richie Hawtin, CJ Bolland, Carl Craig and Laurent Garnier. Kicks was followed by a deep and hypnotic mix CD of the same name. In 2001 he gave us the even more experimental album Today is the tomorrow you were promised yesterday. Almost a piece of full-length electronic jazz laced with Afro Cuban beats, as with most of his work, timeless yet vibrant. It is presented forever while being awfully relevant to the here and the now. And some 3 years later, the revered Fabric 14 proved again, why Pullen is a most worthy new school successor to the Detroit greats – Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May and Juan Atkins. Featuring a diversity in presentation rarely found in ‘pure’ techno releases, it seamlessly blends deep and tribal house to tech-house and beyond.

Like all of his releases, they should be considered an essential part of any tech-house collection. Never considered (nor focussed) as commercial releases – anything with his input proves that the foundation laid by the Detroit trio would serve as an significant and indispensable means of helping move the music forward – in turn, cementing a respect for the purity and intelligence of his sound. Likewise, this techno – deeply rooted in the dark but soulful city – has withstood the test of time – through the good and the bad – it has always maintained its nonconformist ideology, never bowing to commercial mediocrity or the pressure of a record industry hungry for profits. Indeed, name a genre that can make a track a hit with just 100 pieces of vinyl? Furthermore, with his own Black Flag Recordings imprint, he allows for an extension of his cultural upbringing while not succumbing to the unproductive and futile exercise of releasing record upon record. For Detroit and its followers have an almost spiritual love of electronica – so much so, that its artists always have and continue to – permeate themselves in terms of quality rather than quantity. And of course, they continue to influence and inspire one another.

So it was, with Detroit and Chicago fast becoming global electronic musical epicentres, Pullen was nurtured at the Music Institute and began his speaker attack at local venues and underground parties only to disembark after a short but heady 3 years to trail a path to college and study communications. Only in 1990 did he resurface to re-embrace his destiny. His philosophy has always been about good music and good talent. Simply. He is a globetrotter spreading his message across the world. It is not uncommon for him to sift through his tens of thousands of records to ensure his performance is just a little different and unexpected – which is what sets him apart.

Just as long as there is an audience, Pullen will continue to recreate himself. Realistically, I’m sure he doesn’t feel old – rather, like one of his most important mentors – the one and only Wizard himself, Jeff Mills – he feels like he is doing what he was meant to. Given the upheaval in the world right now, he might be a little anxious – but he is a committed ambassador – and even on his Fisher Price number, he could still make the goldfish dance.

Be there when Stacey Pullen weaves his magic in your city:
Melbourne – Friday 25th June @ Room 680
Sydney – Saturday 26th June, Together @ Home
Perth – Friday 2nd July @ Monkey Bar as part of Sonik (also featuring Bukem, Q-Bert and Space DJz)
Brisbane – Saturday 3rd July @ Family