- There's an intriguing divide between Marcellus Pittman as a DJ and a producer. He meticulously mixes vinyl when he plays out and makes little-known cuts like Lood's "Shout-N-Out" and Terrence T's "Power" feel like classics. In the studio, he's a different beast—the soul is there, but it's overridden by gnarled machine funk. Late last year, Pittman revealed his first solo material in three years, a pair of 12-inches for his Unirhythm label. The first to hit stores, Revenge For Nothing / Red Dogon Star, contains two of his most out-there tracks to date.
"Revenge For Nothing" is a brutalist minimal jack track centered around a relentless one-note bassline and a jackhammering snare. Sounding like something you'd find on a dusty DAT belonging to a Chicago OG, a rough comparison would be the unhinged acid tracks Adonis made with James "Jack Rabbit" Martin. The B-side, "Red Dogon Star," is the highlight, a great example of the dream logic that sets Pittman's tracks apart. Some classic house elements—organ stabs, lush strings—are present but the pieces refuse to fall into place, making the final product banging yet misshapen. This feeling is compounded by an equally bizarre melodic hook. Pittman does a call and response with two basslines, as one thrums through delay and the other divebombs. The track ends unceremoniously, like the power went out in the midst of Pittman's oddball jam.
TracklistA Revenge For Nothing
B Red Dogon Star