Patrice Scott
Detroit deep house producer who started Sistrum Recordings in 2006 to release his music his own way, and only when he feels it.
- Detroit DJ and producer of deep house.
- Founded Sistrum Recordings in 2006; first release, his Atmospheric Emotions EP.
- Released the album Euphonium on Sistrum in 2015.
Patrice Scott is a Detroit producer who prefers fewer, better records. Since 2006 he has released his deep house almost entirely on his own label, Sistrum Recordings, and he only puts something out when it moves him.
Detroit radio and Chicago records
Scott grew up in Detroit and wanted to be a radio DJ from the age of nine or ten. The Electrifying Mojo, the city’s famous radio DJ, was an early influence. He was 12 or 13 when he heard the music that would shape him, at a park party where the Direct Drive DJ crew played. He shopped at Buy Rite Records in Detroit, and as a teenager he made regular trips to Chicago to buy more, coming back with Frankie Knuckles mixtapes. Ron Trent and Mr. Fingers are among the producers he names as influences; a cousin and friends gave him further Chicago connections.
Sistrum: doing it his way
Scott started Sistrum after shopping his tracks around Detroit labels and being asked to change them. “I just wanted to do it my way,” he told Beatportal in 2020. The first release, Atmospheric Emotions, came out on vinyl in autumn 2006; its title track was a spacey, synth-heavy take on Chicago deep house. Beyond Deep followed in spring 2007, then Underground Anthems in two volumes, the second released on Keith Worthy’s Aesthetic Audio.
Scott does almost all of the label work himself. Sistrum puts out only a handful of records a year and does not accept unsolicited demos. His rule is simple: “If I’m not feeling anything, I don’t put anything out.”
Euphonium and the label family
In 2015 Sistrum released its first LP, Scott’s Euphonium, which mixes ambient pieces with a techno-influenced sound. The Detroit Upright EP (2016) moved towards piano and jazz, and Soulfood (2017) brought funkier, breakbeat-style drums.
The label also opened up to others. Genesis Tracks Vol. 2 (2016) gathered Kai Alcé, Reggie Dokes, Eric Cloutier and Scott himself, and Sistrum has released Javonntte, Henry Maldonado as Son of Sound, Aleqs Notal, Brian Harden and the Italian producer Butch Haynes. Scott’s own remixes include Alton Miller’s “All the Little Things” (2018), featuring Ree.
In the mix
Scott says he plays “some of everything”, with house at the centre. His records suit long, slow-building sets, between Chicago deep house and the warmer end of Detroit techno. Another Detroit independent with the same attitude is Moodymann.
FAQ
What label does Patrice Scott run?
Sistrum Recordings, which he founded in Detroit in 2006. Its first release was his Atmospheric Emotions EP.
Has Patrice Scott released an album?
Yes. Euphonium came out on Sistrum in 2015, the label’s first LP.
Does Sistrum Recordings accept demos?
No. In 2020 Beatportal reported that the label does not take unsolicited demos and works with artists Scott already knows.
