MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE レコード& CD

Review: Given the "contemporary classic" status of Danilo Plessow's Raw Cuts series - arguably a string of 12" singles that helped redefine deep house for a new generation - the announcement of a surprise remix 12" is enough to make even the most level-headed DJs go weak at the knees. Pleasingly, said remixers more than live up to the hype. Marcellus Pittman's version - smooth and deep, but with enough raw disco cut-ups and wonky Detroit swing to impress those who like it raw - is particularly good, though Mike Huckaby's locked-in deep house groover is not far behind. There's also a superb version from Recloose, whose crackly, shuffling beats, sweeping pads and soulful vocal samples recall his earliest productions for Planet E.

Review: ** MCDE REPRESS ** Dani Plessow dons the Motor City Drum Ensemble name with Say A Prayer signaling a return to the production game following his much publicized creative burnout. It's clear that Plessow's period of convalescence has worked wonders, with the four tracks here every bit as deep and dusty as the much vaunted Raw Cuts series upon which the MCDE project was launched skywards. Proceedings open with the two part suite of the title track, laying down fuzzy chords and intermittent vocal swoons over a gritty 909 backbone on the opening track; part 2 meanwhile will have you digging out those Raw Cuts 12"s in order to do a MCDE master mix, such is it's immediate warmth and neck snapping drums. On the flip, Plessow uses "The Stranger" as a chance to traverse bleepier, rattling techno terrain with superb results, whilst "SP11" is rasping high octane house at it's finest.

Review: Such was the excellence of MCDE's entrance into the DJ-Kicks hall of fame that K7! have taken the unusual step of commissioning remixes of "Love", Plessow's trademark original production for the mix. Leading the way is the still far too talented for someone so young Kyle Hall, whose remix sprawls across the A Side in typically claustrophobic fashion, building an intoxicating late night groove around analogue bass pulses, relentless percussion and all manner of strange synth noises. Wolfgang Voigt reaches for the (synth) strings on his pleasingly groovy rework, whilst Smallpeople do their best Lone impression with the assistance of some big piano riffs and jackin' beats.

Review: Motor City Drum Ensemble's "Breath Control", out on Four Roses, has support from Ame, Dixon, Toby Tobias, Trusme and more.

Review: Motor City Drum Ensemble is the house/techno moniker of Stuttgart's Danilo Plessow. His deep and techy 3 track EP for Compost Black label reflects his love for the classic deep house and Detroit techno.

Review: Dairmount curates the third episode of Room With A View's Midnight Circles vinyl-only series and there's plenty of reason to indulge. Firstly Motor City Drum Ensemble' delicious Mr Fingers inspired jam "Moving Through Clouds" is given a much needed vinyl release - a pretty smart move ahead of the producer's excellent edition of the DJ-Kicks series. Alongside this is the last ever musical contribution from the dearly departed Aaron Carl, whose distinct tones ride the hypnotic, ever so spectral, Detroit back of Sebastien San with real aplomb. On the flip Basic Soul Unit is in crescendo building mood with the deep, emotive bump of his classic "Bedroom Blues" which is a perfect bedfellow for the one real unfamiliar name here in the shape of Christo. In such exalted company the rising Derby based producer excels with the reverberant skittering brilliance of "New Jazzno" based around the most joyous of jettisoning piano leads.

Review: Given his (deserved) reputation as a versatile, talented and technically gifted DJ, it's perhaps surprising that Danilo Plessow AKA Motor City Drum Ensemble has not released more mix albums. In fact, this superb, action-packed set for Fabric is his first since a much-admired DJ Kicks set a decade ago. It has certainly been worth the wait though. Slickly mixed with a distinctive flow and plenty of impressively long transitions, it sees him work his way through dub techno (Rhythm & Sound), spiritually minded jazz (SKUAS), dubby jazz-house (Scientist), classic deep house (Moogroove, Herbert remixing Recloose), percussion-rich peak-time workouts (Jeroen Vink), sci-fi electro (Proxyan, Basic Variation), deep space floor-fillers (Ciel), starry ambient techno (Cabaret Voltaire), Detroit techno (Moonstarr, Carl Craig remixing Jonny L) and much more besides. Ace!

Review: Like the best instalments in the long-running DJ Kicks series, this mix from Motor City Drum Ensemble man Danilo Plessow gives a far better insight into his musical inspirations than his own productions ever could. While there are, naturally, great deep house moments included (Tevo Howard, Mr Fingers, Latecomer etc), these largely take a back seat to Plessow's other musical passions. So, we get soft-focus electric jazz (Sun Ra), dub wise explorations (Tony Allen, Basic Channel), sweet soul (Peven Everett), dusty afro-funk (Geraldo Pino), urgent leftfield disco (Loose Joints, Walter Gibbons) and even a dash of instrumental jazz-funk (James Mason). That it all makes sense musically, flows brilliantly and is effortlessly entertaining is testament to Plessow's skill as a DJ.