Stacey Pullen

Stacey Pullen grew up in Detroit and became interested in electronic music early on, beginning to work within the city's techno scene in 1990. He studied directly under Derrick May, one of the genre's founding figures, and worked alongside him on business ventures as well as music, absorbing May's production approach and work ethic in the process.

He is grouped with the Detroit second wave, following the Belleville Three of Juan Atkins, May and Kevin Saunderson, and recorded under aliases including Kosmik Messenger, Silent Phase, Bango and X-Stacy. His productions favour deep, rolling grooves and gradually shifting layers rather than abrupt drops, and his blending of house and garage with techno has been cited as an influence on later producers.

Among his Detroit contemporaries were Carl Craig and Jeff Mills, and musically Pullen aimed for a middle ground between Craig's futurism and Mills' raw minimalism. He signed recording deals with labels including R&S and Plink Plonk, run by former Shamen frontman Mr C.

His album Today Is the Tomorrow You Were Promised Yesterday, released on Virgin's Science imprint, moved away from straight Detroit techno toward jazz and funk grooves, drawing comparisons to Herbie Hancock. As a DJ, though, he has remained known for long, patiently constructed sets, and has worked steadily in Europe as well as the United States.