Marcellus Pittman

Based in Detroit, Marcellus Pittman sits squarely within the city’s house and techno continuum while retaining a strong link to the soul, disco and jazz that shaped his ear — notably through The Electrifying Mojo’s broadcasts and the influence of Jeff Mills. Active as a DJ since the early 1990s, initially at student parties, weddings and old-school events, Pittman also began producing in 1993 with the hip-hop collective Home Grown, before releasing Essential Selections Vol. 1 on Theo Parrish’s Sound Signature at the end of the decade. His trajectory remains closely tied to Detroit’s scene: alongside Theo Parrish, Rick Wilhite and Kenny Dixon Jr. he helped form the collective 3 Chairs, whose approach helped establish a deep, flexible house grounded in the city’s African-American traditions. Pittman later developed his own label, Unirhythm, the main vehicle for his releases, while also putting out records on Omar-S’s FXHE. Between DJ sets and productions he promotes a stripped-back, organic and highly rhythmic aesthetic on the border between deep house, raw groove and a sensibility directly rooted in Detroit.