Patrice Scott – Influences

In the opinion of many, Larry Heard is the godfather of deep house. He took house music to another level. He added elements in the early days that were missing, lush melodies and rhythms. He made tracks sound more like songs even if they did not have vocals.

My first introduction to Detroit techno, when I was a young kid, was Juan Atkins and Richard Davis producing under the name of Cybotron. At the time myself and others were witnessing the early evolution of Detroit techno. The synth dominated rhythms, sounds and textures from this music play a big role in my productions today.

If you take the time and dissect every single record that was produced by Lil Louis, there is one thing that you will say whether you like his music or not, and that is it is well produced. Everything is put together to perfection and it seems like he spent a lot of time on his music. Lil Louis’ overall production of tracks should be the blueprint for every artist, and should be to focus on an overall well produced piece of art.

One word that best describes, the reason behind Jeff Mills influencing my entire approach, to this art is consistency. For over 30 years Jeff has always come correct. Productions and DJ’ing have never slacked. He is one of the main reasons that every time I perform, or release a new record, I do it like it is the last time I will perform or the last record I will release. I always try to give 110%.

During the 90’s this duo was another example of consistency. Every record they released, whether it was an original track or a remix, was straight fire! There was no slacking evident in this duo. It seems like the name of the game was to get better with every release and that is exactly what they did.

There are several music genres that influence what I do today: Earth, Wind and Fire is one of the reasons I do not limit myself. This band gave the listener a dose of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, latin and gospel. The boundaries were never limited. They found several avenues to express their art. One of the great bands of all-time.

Coltrane is the greatest saxophonist of all time, in my opinion. Jazz acquired a broader meaning with his music. The modalities, improvisations and experimentations were groundbreaking. John was on a special mission to touch everybody’s souls with his greatness and vey unique sense of art. He left an impression on everyone and still does today.

Roy Ayers is another artist that did not limit his boundaries. He touched many genres such as jazz, jazz-fusion, acid-jazz, soul-jazz, funk, disco, R&B, house and hip-hop. And while touching these boundaries he always stayed consistent. Roy Ayers is another reason that I do not limit myself.

Once again, another excellent example of consistency. Kerri Chandler started in 1991 and has been at it ever since. He is one of my favourite producers of all-time and is still going strong.

What influences me about Kerri is not only his consistency and longevity but how he continues to stay relevant as time goes on. He is not one of those producers that you say he needs to give it up when you hear his new music. His new material sounds as fresh as ever.

Dubbed as “The hardest working man in show business” was no understatement. James Brown never stopped giving 100% to his art until he could no longer do it. A prime example of hard work pays off. When I look at how this man went about his business, when it came to his craft it gives me a positive outlook, on what I love to do so much and what will happen if the dedication is not wavered from.