After just over a decade of work for the cause it would be fair to say Stacey Pullen has earned his place among the second generation of Detroit techno artists, DJs, label managers and music-producers who followed in the footsteps of the forefathers Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson.

Releasing his debut album (The Theory Of) under the Silent Phase moniker on May’s seminal techno label Transmat in 1995, Pullen followed up with the The Collected Works of Kosmic Messenger in ‘97 and then the Today Is The Tomorrow You Were Promised Yesterday in 2001. Of course, while he released a number of 12 inches such as Sweat as his pseudonym Black Odyssey and a couple of releases as Bango on his cohort Carl Craig’s label Fragile, Stacey Pullen has been rather quiet on the release front of late, spending much of the last decade touring the globe helping cement his part, and his hometown’s reputation in the dance music history books.

Pullen has also kept fans of the Detroit style happy with mixes for the DJ Kicks and Fabric series. With a tight but dedicated crew of Detroit techno fans in Australia, Pullen embarks on yet another tour to our shores, and had an extended chat with ITM about musical reinvention, the changing face of the techno DJ and life in his hometown Detroit in lieu of his Easter visit.

Last November Pullen teased fans with the release of an old track, Liquid Letter on the Electric Institute compilation for New Religion Records, and this June, Pullen hopes to release a new full length artist album. While the new material will be long overdue for fans, Pullen suggests the work will showcase some newer territory for him. “I’m sort of reinventing myself. A lot of people have pretty much known me for making the Detroit style of music so now it’s time for me to do me – different inspirations that I’ve been hearing and what’s been going on in my ears, but it’s not gonna disappoint the hardcore followers. They will be more pleased than they have been in the past years.”

You can’t help hear the hint of coyness in Pullen’s voice, a certain air of mystery and uneasiness to relinquish exactly what’s he going to be releasing in June though, “if it’s ready, maybe I might test it out when I get down there,” he says, “but I’m not gonna get on the loud speaker and say ‘hey everybody this is my next release, tell me if you like it or not’. It will probably just blend with my usual set and you will probably not even know it’s coming from me. When it comes out they will be like ‘I heard that song when you came down here’, and then they’ll go and buy it. That’s how it works.”

Offering a rare piece of insight into the music industry, I question Pullen about the impact that electro has had on the techno scene, and if he’s been soaked up into the resurgence of minimalist sounds. “I don’t really classify music,” says Pullen. “I didn’t even know electro was electro until someone told me. I enjoy music for what it is. I know electro for being the stuff we do in Detroit which is totally different to what everyone else knows as electro, so that just lets me know that I don’t like to get caught up in mainstream music. If people identify with that, that’s cool, but I’ve been getting into hip-hop, which I’ve always been into. I DJ so much that sometimes the last thing I want to do is listen to music I play day in, day out, so I like to listen to other things in order to get my inspiration juices flowing. It’s maybe hard for people to understand that Stacey Pullen is inspired by hip-hop music but when you hear my next release you’re going to understand why – but it’s not going to be hip-hop.”

While being a Detroit techno artist in America’s conservative music market place has proved to be constraining for Pullen’s creativity and successes at times, that balancing act is just part of being an artist he admits. “The music that we’ve been doing doesn’t have any lyrics, so it’s very hard for people to identify with, especially here in America and mainstream abroad. They want to hear nursery rhymes, rap, songs about love, what’s happening in society, so for us it’s been a little challenging, but at the end of the day we’ve still been making a difference, that’s being an artist.”

“America is a place where everyone does and thinks the same thing. Everyone watches the same programs, shops at the same store, listens to the same music. One company called Clear Channel owns all the radio stations and have the same playlists. When you have big brand companies taking over it’s hard for the true cult followers to feel wanted or appreciated. it’s overwhelming sometimes, which is why I’m glad I get out and travel and see what is not getting here to the US, so I can always be one step ahead.” Traveling is an important part of staying in the loop as an artist and staying relevant he says. “I’m always going to be traveling, it’s essential for me to see what the youth and the culture is doing. My job is not fulfilled until they (the younger generation) understand what I’m doing.”

Perhaps due to the fact he’s been doing music since he was a kid, thanks to his musician father who was in the band The Capitols, Pullen has never thought of giving up music despite the tough times. “I live, eat, drink music, it’s around me, it’s part of my life,” he says. “Take away music and I would be non-existent. I like to use the quote that Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) said in one of his rhymes – ‘the world is a kinda cold place, and the rhythm is my blanket’. I stand by that to this day. It’s not even an effort for me to continue music because it chose me.”

While other musicicians seem to get caught up in trends, longevity is something Detroit artists seem to have managed to hold onto. “I stay in the loop with the younger generation because I do have history… whether I participate is another thing…. if they don’t know anything they’re pretty much just jumping on the bandwagon. Like this whole electro thing. The reason why it is so big right now, I don’t know if it’s the fact that me saying electro means something different to them as it is to me, I think a lot of the ‘80s influenced music and the electro music that you hear now is due to the fact that the kids grew up in the ‘80s. At the end of the day it’s all the same. When we started making techno music it was all derived from the ‘80s – Kraftwerk, B52s, Tangerine Dream, Devo, Blondie, Duran Duran, you name it, we used to listen to all these groups, so now you have this resurgence of the younger generation that want to experience what we were already into, so this why I say it’s important for me to keep in the loop and let people know it’s all the same, we come from the same school and it’s very important to know that.”

Despite recognising the importance of looking back to your forefathers, Pullen equally embraces modern technology in his journey as an artist. “The digital music realm is where I’m taking my reinvention, you can’t stay as you were 10, 12 years ago, you got to stay up on technology. The way to promote yourself has changed, it’s no longer just putting a flyer in the hand or a record in a person’s bag, now it’s all about the internet, different sites, everybody’s a star. When Andy Warhol said ‘everyone’s gonna get their 15 minutes of fame’, everyone’s taking that literally now and it’s kind of funny. I get a laugh out of it. Myspace has become a very important way for musicians to promote themselves. They are the tools that I must keep in mind when promoting myself and my music.”

Now in his 30’s, Pullen still has plenty of time to make his mark, but he hopes to take a step back from DJing to focus on this production work. In a rare move for the producer, he has submitted some of his new tracks to vocalists, and can’t help but look to hits like ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ by Bob Sinclar for their simplicity and catchiness. “It’s more now about focusing on producing rather than being an artist. I get more out of working behind the scenes and be the brains behind the person, like the Quincey Jones’ of the world.”

Detroit has a strong history for music – before there was techno, there was Motown – so a musical career in Detroit is as common as sliced bread. “It’s part of our environment,” explains Pullen. “Creativity is a must. If you feel that passion, you live that, it becomes you, you do it effortlessly. I’m never going to stop unless my body tells me, but I don’t anticipate that happening anytime soon.”

To stay in the loop with Stacey Pullen checkout his homepages www.staceypullen.com or www.myspace.com/staceypullen and his record label www.blackflagrecordings.com

Stacey Pullen tour dates:

Sat Apr 15 – 360, Sydney (BUY TICKETS)
Sun Apr 16 - Innercity, Perth (BUY TICKETS)
Mon Apr 24 – Seven, Melbourne