MCDE: 'There's no electronic music happening in America'

Motor City Drum Ensemble: Motoring On

Motor City Drum Ensemble is on the move, en masse. In other words Cologne-based DJ and increasingly rated producer Danilo Plessow is popping out for a little afternoon record shopping; with a friend.

It’s refreshing to hear that one of clubland’s oldest traditions is still alive and well in these ever-changing digital times. One wonders just how many dusty, treasure trove record stores are actually left today. “Sales are really strong in Cologne right now,” Plessow opens. “Kompakt [globally renowned store and, in turn, label and distributor] is booming; they’re hiring another seller. When I’m travelling I’m seeing this elsewhere too. There are some countries where the economics don’t add up and for which MP3s are the perfect format, but elsewhere vinyl really is alive and well. The stores are somewhere you can hold the music, share knowledge and learn. I don’t think vinyl will ever die.”

It’s hard to see how Motor City Drum Ensemble’s reputation will either. Plessow, 26, started producing, incredibly, some 15 years ago. By the age of 16 he had released his first record and a year or so later cult broken beat house cut Slow Swing as alter-ego Inverse Cinematics (alongside Joachim Tobias). That tune earned the attentions of one Ricardo Villalobos and catalysed a string of Inverse EPs picked up by major leftfielders including Gilles Peterson and Benji B.

Motor City Drum Ensemble materialised relatively recently, in 2008, after a move to Stuggart and various solo nu-jazz and hip-hop-edged projects. Plessow’s Raw Cuts EPs, recorded under the new alias, combined old school Chicago and Detroit with innovative, deep ‘n’ dirty grooves to huge underground acclaim. His growing status prompted an invitation from Resident Advisor to record a deep house podcast and the rest was history. Kind of….

Plessow is still, he says, getting to grips with all the Ensemble hype. “Resident Advisor kicked off this whole stage of my career. I’m so thankful, it’s led to some hectic but totally inspirational experiences. But, I’m realistic. I am still learning. I am touring every weekend and have done for as long as I can remember, and with each show comes a different crowd and different challenge. I’m constantly learning how to improve my DJ skills, my reading of the dancefloor, my use of these nights back in the studio when I’m looking for ideas….”

It’s fair to say that Motor City Drum Ensemble’s tasteful exploits on the road have taken over the production side of things. Plessow is hoping that his new mix compilation for DJ Kicks will prove a handy segue back to the studio; something evidently he has been missing.

“I’m pleased with the end product but it’s taken some time to put together” he admits. “I didn’t want this to be another DJ mix; what I love about DJ Kicks is that they allow artists to showcase the music that moves them. So I sat down at the beginning and looked to create a mix that moves through lots of different genres – Detroit, Chicago, afro-beat, spiritual, jazz, soul…. As you can imagine the licensing took a long time but we got there and I think it sums me up pretty well. I hope people like it.”

Plessow’s mix is, in a word, kaleidoscopic. It moves smoothly, yet powerfully between cuts from legendary cosmic jazzsters Sun-Ra and afro-drum kingpin Tony Allen to the classic, soulful 4-4 strains of Larry ‘Mr Fingers’ Heard and Rick ‘Poppa’ Howard and deeper electronic moments by Robert Hood and Aphex Twin. Kaleidoscopic, epic even….

Can we expect a similar methodology when our man sits down to start recording his first artist album as Motor City Drum Ensemble? - because that is firmly the next step.

“It is time to start planning this thing out, definitely” Plessow confirms. “It’s a progression from what I’m currently doing but there is some pressure, because I’m also doing it to try and justify the hype that has been building around the name… live up to the hype. I don’t want to rush an album out, I will take my time getting the right things together, maybe a few EPs before the big release, but I’ll need to focus. The next few months are an important time for me.”

What might we expect? “You’ll have to wait and see” he laughs. “I get so many inspirations and ideas from being on the road and meeting DJs, producers and singers I admire, as well as experiencing different crowds and places. I have a lot I can work with.”

Whilst Plessow will look to curb the gigs in favour of constructive studio time, his pace of work is likely to accelerate, if anything. It begs the question of when this seriously in-demand young man gets to take holidays. The modern club artist’s lifestyle is as intense as lifestyles get.

“It’s important to treat this lifestyle as a job, not a party. For sure, it’s a great life to be living but you have to have some professional balance” he offers. “I’m a disciplined performer, I will make sure I get a decent sleep before any big gigs so that I’m fresh for the crowd and don’t kill myself. I also plan my commitments so that I can include the odd holiday. I’m off to Israel for some shows in a couple of weeks and I’m taking my girlfriend so we can relax for a week or so after.”

Mr Plessow is also a stickler for his Monday morning ‘detox’ sessions down at the nearby sauna: “People often ask me if all the rushing around DJing and being holed up in the studio is worth it but it absolutely is. I love music and will never lose that feeling so even when things are too hectic there’s this motivation to keep on. Of course, yes, I do like going to the sauna on Mondays; it’s the perfect comedown after a weekend playing out; a great way to get all the toxins out and set up for the following week. I’m only 26 but I want to look after myself!”

Such pragmatism extends to his long-term aspirations. “I don’t think I will be DJing much beyond another 20 or 30 years” he confesses. “I’m not sure that I will be ready for that. I’ve started producing for other people now, like Rainer Truby [German jazz and boogie-meister], which takes me out of my box and opens me up to other things which, in turn, can feed back into my own music. I’ll definitely want to do more of that in the future, make some jazz and punk records maybe… really diversify.”

Was there ever really going to be another career path? “That’s a toughie to answer” he ponders. “I always liked swimming and a little grafitti art. But I was into music really early. I still like cooking, maybe there is a sideline there in the future? – I could open a cool jazz boutique with fine wine and food… you never know.”

In the short-term, however, Plessow is mindful of further cementing Motor City Drum Ensemble’s good name; much has been done but much is also still to come. “I’m not 100% happy with my studio yet” he sighs. “My immediate goal is to add a few things there so that I can produce the records I want to produce next and develop my label [MCDE]. I really want to make one good, worthwhile album; not just slowly disappear. I’d hate that.”

As would we...

Words: Ben Lovett (Defected)

DJ Kicks: Motor City Drum Ensemble (UK !K7) is released on July 4.

Motor City Drum Ensemble: Studio Talk

Motor City Drum Ensemble isn't just a name. Danilo Plessow's moniker is quite literal. The young Cologne-based house producer has amassed of all but one of Roland's TR- drum machine series (he recently sold his 808), and counts units from Emu, Novation, Korg, Casio and Veromona among his collection. It could be argued, though, that Plessow is most famed not for drums but for his judicious use of samples. The Raw Cuts series, of which there were six tracks spread over three 12-inches, made ingenious use of weathered soul, jazz and funk records, lifting everything from whole bars to single hits to create a collection of modern house classics. With this in mind, you may find it surprising that Plessow also possesses an enviable array of analogue synths. But as I found out when I called him up late last month, he’s about ready to draw a line under his sample-based exploits (for now at least) and dive deep into the world of synthesis and experimentation.

I understand you started out playing the drums. When was this?

When I was either six or seven years old. The lucky thing with my family is that I had three brothers and everybody had to play an instrument, but my parents didn't force us into playing a specific thing. I just fell in love with the drums. I mean, as a kid, this big, loud instrument...

Were you playing all throughout your childhood?

Yes. I played for ten years almost, and then—actually it's a little bit of a funny and a sad thing at the same time—I sold my drum kit to get my first professional monitors, my first Genelecs. I'm in this phase right now where I want to have drums again, so I'm seriously considering buying a drum set again.

What else did your first set-up comprise of?

I got a really cheap sequencer as an Easter gift from one of my uncles. It was back in the '90s when you had advertisements on the television like, "Be your own musician, be your own producer," stuff like this. So it was Magix Music Maker, a really cheap, super-boring sequencer, but the good thing about this program was that there were a couple of other things like eJay and cheap '90s sequencers, but Magix was just a stripped-down version of Samplitude. So, actually it was good software. It's just you shouldn't ever use the samples that come with it, you know? But you could put any sample in there, so it was basically just a super-cheap arranger.

And what sort of samples were you feeding into it?

At first I ripped everything I could get hold of. So in the beginning, like when I was still 11 or 12, it would be some CDs I bought. Or some jazz CD from my brother's collection. Even my training CDs I got off my drum teacher, with just drums. Then as I got a little older, I realised through magazines and everything that the whole culture is based on DJs and vinyl. I would go to the local record store and start buying vinyl to sample.

Was that the point at which you began to take things more seriously?
Yeah, I didn't really discover the DJ culture...for me, it was more the production. In my city where I grew up [Schwäbisch Gmünd], there was no nightclub, there was no scene whatsoever. There was a record store and some magazines like Groove or De:Bug that you read, but for me it was really more about trying to be like DJ Shadow, or trying to sound like Nightmares On Wax back then. This hip-hop, sample, abstract beats kind of thing. Imitating the heroes that I had back then.
I had a partner [Joachim Tobias] and we did music together [as Inverse Cinematics], and through a mutual friend we got in contact with a record label from Stuttgart. We just gave them like four or five CDs full of tracks, and from all of those they liked one track and wanted to put it on a compilation. So, actually that was the first release. That was 2000 or 2001 I think.
Shortly after I was super-motivated also because the guys took me to a nightclub. It was the first time I was exposed to DJ culture and how records work, and what makes a record a dance floor record. Before I would always try to fit in as much as possible in one track. But then I realised, "OK, maybe it's good to just strip it down, because that works on the dance floor."

As always with most of my tracks, the work on "Monorail" started afI wanted to discuss your "drum ensemble":

What was the first drum machine you picked up?

It was a TR-626. It's like a really cheapish ROM kind of thing, but it has the classical—like the 505—Chicago bass drum and claps, so you got the feeling of the 707 for cheap.

And now you have most of the TR series, right?

Yeah, at one point I had them all, but I sold the 808.

Are there particular tasks you turn to each of them for?

Yeah, sure. The 909 is still the mainstay. I mean I sold the 808 because it didn't have MIDI and I couldn't do...like, I used the 909's trigger-out a lot with arpeggios on the Juno, and MIDI—the whole sequencer on the 909—is just the perfect sequencer for any drum machine. So, you can also control other synths with MIDI, and I use that a lot, because you can have the swing of the 909, which is also super-sexy, I think. I also love the 606 for the hi-hats. But yeah, I pretty much try to use all of them and modulate them. Everybody's using a 909 and has been for ages, but there are still ways you can make it sound different.

What are some of those ways?

Put it through a vocoder. Or put it through some compressors. A lot of people wrote to me on Facebook, "How do I make it sound that raw?"—they even have a 909, but they just can't get these really kind of crazy claps or whatever. It's just triggering them through really cheap compressors or even recording it onto tape. There are lots of different things [you can do] to make it sound even more gritty.

How much use do you get out of the other drum machines in your collection?

There's some I really like, for example, the Drumulator from Emu. It's like a cheap LinnDrum, but it sounds pretty near. So, I use the claps quite often, and then there's this strange little piece of DDR history called Vermona DRM, which is also super funny and sounds very unusual, I think.

In what sort of way?

It just doesn't have the punch of the Roland drums, you know? Like, the kick drum sounds like a fart, more or less. [laughs]

Would you be layering it with other sounds then?

Yes, actually I still try to find a way to sync everything, so I can just work with all drum machines together. But it's super hard. Schneiders Buero has this Clockwork thing, and I tried that, but even this is not 100% accurate. So, I think it's a dream if everything would just work like I wanted it to.
I wanted to move on and talk about jazz, because I know it's been a huge influence for you. Are you still sampling a lot of jazz records these days?

I mean with MCDE there are two [methods] (or there used to be). I don't know if I'm gonna carry it on. The Raw Cutsseries is entirely sample-based, only vinyl rips and then straight into Cubase. Then there's the more electronic stuff where I use all the synths and stuff. So, for the more sampled aesthetic, it's still very much dependent on me buying records regularly. I'm still very much into that.

So you're saying with Raw Cuts absolutely everything would have been sampled?

No, I use drum machines on those as well, but no synths. All the musical stuff is completely sampled.

Are you able to name some of the samples you used?

Well, the very first Raw Cuts record, number two, which I'm actually a little bit ashamed about, is really just a re-edit of Frankie Hooker & Positive People ["This Feelin'"]. That's the only one that is like, really depending on a sample and not just flipping it in a clever way. But with the others, I was really focussed on not using a sample with a bass drum underneath and calling it my own track. I wanted to do something more creative with it. So...actually I don't really want to reveal the samples. I'm really surprised sometimes when people can hear something that is like, really small, and they come to me and they tell me "Hey, that's from that record!"—I'm like, "Wow."

Are you usually looking to sample bar-long sections? Single hits?

I take everything, you know? I mean, it can be anything from a micro-second shaker sample to eight bars. It just depends if it's in the right mood, or if I can imagine doing something with it. And what I also do is like, every two weeks I go through all the records I bought in that time and record every passage that I like. So I have a really, really huge sample library of my own collection.

In what ways would you manipulate these samples?

One thing that I did very often with the Raw Cuts was just pitching samples completely down or up. As far as an octave or even more, especially with like Fender Rhodes shots, or double: if it's just a single tone, play chords with it—and because it's a sample you have different kind of durations of it when you play it pitched. I don't time-stretch it, I just leave it as it is. You have a nice kind of artifact when you play it.
It sounds like, from the interviews I've read before, that you have a clear feeling—or harmonies—in mind that you're continually looking to achieve.
I'm not a trained pianist. I'm definitely going to at some point take piano lessons. In the future I just want to be able to directly achieve what I have in mind. To this day, it's still very much trial and error. I mean, I know harmonies, I know chords, but I can't play. Like, I can't solo or anything without playing some wrong keys. So what happens is I take half an hour to play the exact notes I want to play, and then I can play, you know? But I'm not very good at improvising.

With chords, it's a different situation. I know pretty much what I want to have, what harmonies, and usually it's a little bit more complex, minor seven, whatever chord. It's not just basic minor/major chords. At the same time, I also go away from all music theories. Like, you have your music scales book next to you, and you just ignore it and press keys that are not supposed to work together, and it can turn out really well. So sometimes it's good to just ignore music knowledge or whatever you want to call it.

Would you say that you're actively trying to capture the feel of some of your favourite recordings from the '60s and '70s?

Yes, definitely. Not only in aesthetics—I mean, that's my major goal—but also to capture the essence of what made these records sound so special. Meaning, I want to record straight onto tape, I want to have musicians over and just capture everything. I've also been investing in a lot of analogue stuff, or Fender Rhodes pianos, string ensembles, stuff like this. To just be able to, if I wanted to, make a jam session and directly record it onto tape and have that feeling.

Are there things you do in post-production to achieve more of a vintage sound?

The big problem I have is, nowadays, everybody's doing so much "post-everything," you know? Like you only do a MIDI bar and you do everything in Cubase or in the sequencer. There's no direct, raw live energy to it. I much prefer to do something that is definite and you can't touch it anymore. When it comes to post-production in the sense of mixing, compressors and everything, I have to admit that I'm not the best at that. I haven't gone into this much so far, but it's definitely something I want to learn or work with.

Is this something you're doing yourself: the engineering side of things?

Yeah, sure but with the Raw Cuts, it's just a very "blue-eyed" approach and that's what makes part of the magic, I think. Not knowing what it needs to sound completely clean and perfect. Ignoring certain red bars or whatever.

Let's talk about synths a little bit. You said before that the DX7 is your main source for your typical MCDE chord sounds?

Yes, it's still one of my favourite synths, that's for sure. I mean, the thing is, I talked with Floating Points about this recently and we agreed on one thing: now that we tour a lot, you buy a lot of gear but you have very little time to actually use it. So, the DX7 is something you can hear on a lot of records that I did a couple of years ago, or even last year. But by now when I'm in the studio, I have so much more than I'm using that currently it gets a little less love. But it's still, for the price, just an amazing synth. It sounds like nothing else and it's capable of all sorts of stuff. Just by accident you re-create some of the early '80s house sounds and you're like, "Wow, that's what they used."

Did it take some time to figure it out? FM is obviously a different way of doing things.

I mean, I still can't program a patch from scratch. So what I do is edit some of the patches I have. But what I restrict myself to is to not just upload anything from the Internet but really try to work with the few patches that are on there. I mean, once you understand the basics it's not super, super complex. There are a lot of parameters to it, and the interface is really shit, but it's like this with every '80s synth.

What others synths do you lean on heavily?

The thing with me is I always trade stuff, so I don't really have any one constant. The only constant that I could think of as well, would be the Matrix 6 from Oberheim.

Do you find yourself using particular synths for particular parts, though?

Yes, definitely. Like speaking about Monorail, and a lot of my other basslines, they come from a [Roland] MC-202, which is basically the SH-101 with a sequencer. And the DX7, obviously. And nowadays a lot of the sounds I work with are from a [Sequential Circuits] Prophet VS, which is like a vector synth, with the same filter as the Prophet 5, I think. So it's actually kind of the thing why I don't use the DX7 so much at the moment—this little beast.

And you also own a Doepfer Modular System: do you have much of a knowledge of modular synthesis?

I don't have that much, but I mean, when you have a Juno and you understand the basic layout of how you connect, or how the VCO works with the VCF, with the VCA and everything, it's the same on your modular. You just need to patch it yourself. So I use it. But the thing with the Doepfer is that it sounds really, really clinically clean. It's a very techno-sounding synth. I definitely use it right now, but nothing I've made with it has been released yet.

Do you think in general modular synths lend themselves to house music?

Yeah, it depends. Usually the people using modulars are more into techno, or more abstract kind of stuff. Also when I go through message boards, or when I buy stuff from people, [you'll see that the] big modular[s] are [owned by] the more scientist kind of producers. And I can understand it, but at the same time, it really takes time to actually come up with something cool with a modular synth, especially if you have a really big system. With the Doepfer it's still limited—it's only got two oscillators and two filters, so it's not super-complex—but with a big system you definitely spend hours and you will never be able to re-create anything, so...

Are you someone who likes to get ideas and sounds down very quickly?

Not necessarily. If I have the comfort of just jamming around, then I'd definitely take the time to test new things and also work a lot with the modular, or with the more complex synths. The DX7 takes a huge amount of time if you really want to program stuff.

If you have a whole day to work in the studio, how might you structure your session?

If there's something I have to do, like a remix or any kind of thing that needs to be done, then I'd rather have a quicker approach to it. Or a more productive approach to it, like starting with a bass drum and then building around it. But if it's something for myself, and I have the time and comfort, then I just also like go to the Fender Rhodes and test harmonies before I do anything with drums. So, it's really a time question.

Usually when I have the chords and the Fender, I then lay them down MIDI-wise, put them on one of my synths, and then try to find a cool sound on the synth. And then just go through the drum machines and see what fits and build up from there. I may also put some samples and go through the sample library, see what fits. There's no real, 100% same approach all the time. I like to jam as well.

How has touring affected your approach?

I decided to not do anything of my own until I have time to really think of how I can push things forward and not just repeat myself. So with the remixes it was the perfect thing, because in one way you are restricted to actually do something—there is already an idea. So you're bound to that idea, and at the same time you can just experiment, because one of your own records is always a statement that's going to be in people's minds.

Were there particular methods or sounds you are keen not to repeat?

Yeah, definitely. I'm not going to do Raw Cuts seven and eight, or nine and ten, or just stick to a cheap formula to generate money or interest. When you do this, you will be forgotten so soon; you're just a one-trick pony.

Motor City Drum Ensemble mixes the new DJ-Kicks....

Motor City Drum Ensemble has mixed the next edition of DJ-Kicks, due out this summer on !K7. The release will be Danilo Plessow's first official mix CD. Known for his bass-heavy, soul-inspired sound, the Stuttgart-based artist put out a string of records between 2007 and 2009 that made him a favorite among DJs and house music fans, most notably the Raw Cuts 12-inch series. The mix looks to be a particularly diverse affair, with plenty of nods to Plessow's influences, starting off with experimental jazz gods Sun Ra and moving through selections from Aphex Twin, Rhythm & Sound, Tony Allen and Loose Joints. Classic house fare comes in the form of Mr. Fingers and Recloose, while Fred P (AKA Black Jazz Consortium) brings the ethereal touch with "On This Vibe." An exclusive Motor City Drum Ensemble track is included as well, entitled "L.O.V.E."

Tracklist

01. Sun Ra - Door To The Cosmos

02. Electric Wire Hustle - Again (Scratch 22 Remix)

03. Rhythm & Sound - Mango Drive

04. Tony Allen - Ariya

05. Peven Everett - Stuck

06. Bad Jazz Troupe - Breakdown Treat (Dusty Rework) (MCDE Edit)

07. Mr. Fingers - The Juice

08. Rick "Poppa" Howard - Can Your Love Find Its Way (Club Vocal)

09. Stone - Girl I Like the Way That You Move (Dub)

10. Fred P - On This Vibe

11. Creative Swing Alliance - Don't Forget Your Keyz

12. Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats - Black Woman Experience

13. Philippe Sarde - Le Cortège Et Course

14. Robert Hood - The Pace

15. Loose Joints - Pop Your Funk (Vocal Version)

16. Arts & Crafts - I've Been Searching (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)

17. Motor City Drum Ensemble - L.O.V.E.

18. Aphex Twin - Actium

19. Recloose - Cardiology (Isolée Mix)

20. Latecomer - Cosmic Cart

21. Timo Lassy - African Rumble

22. James Mason - Sweet Power, Your Embrace

!K7 will release Motor City Drum Ensemble's DJ-Kicks in July 2011.

Motor City Drum Ensemble vs Ben Westbeech Interview

Saw this interview over at Juno Plus and thought you may be interested.......

The recent Trouble Vision weekender at their delightfully grimey South London home, Corsica Studios, represented all that is good in electronic music right now, particularly Saturday nights proceedings. Alongside the Detroit legend that is Theo Parrish and the ever-familiar members of the Aus roster – Ramadanman, Midland and label founder Will Saul, was Stuttgart’s finest, Motor City Drum Ensemble.

Known for his signature raw sound combining his affinity for classic Detroit techno with Chicago house, Danilo Plessow brings a certain edge away from the same-old monotonous techno. As one of the guest producers besides Soul Clap, Henrik Schwarz, Midland and MJ Cole on Ben Westbeech’s forthcoming album for Strictly Rhythm, Danilo spent his final minutes before show time to chew the fat with Juno Plus contributor Flora Wong and Westbeech about their work together, the Ableton generation and what’s to come from his label Raw Cuts.

What was the working relationship together like for the new album?

Ben Westbeech: Me and Danilo got on straight away and that’s the beauty of music – being able to meet people and the way it connects you. It’s universal, obviously he’s German and lives over there, and I’ve not spent a lot of time there so it’s often been over the internet…

MCDE: I’ve been in London a lot, I enjoy playing here anyway and I’ve been getting a lot of requests… though don’t want to perform all the time, this was a big party…

So which producers do you really respect at the moment?

MCDE: …There’s a lot happening, there’s so much new stuff these days. Every month there’s so many new artists – some of it is really good which really sticks out because there’s so much crap around – you get sent so much music.

BW: It’s almost like this Ableton generation, it’s become so quick and easy to make music – which is a wonderful thing but it means you do get a lot of crap – but if sticks out then it’s like wow, this is really special.

Despite there being an abundance of overused Ableton presets that anyone might be able to get a hold of – what about those who can’t afford to use analogue synths and equipment that you might use?

MCDE: I have a very distinct opinion on this, it doesn’t really matter what equipment you use, but there’s certain borders I wouldn’t cross. Like there’s this studio next to me teaching Ableton to a class, and they learn to sample like Kerri Chandler and some more recent stuff. They literally take the chords, and breakdowns, and re-sample it, and this is when I say – no. This is too much.

BW: That’s just plagiarism, and not being original. In music it’s so important to make your own sound. And say you shouldn’t sample a really big, old tune.

But where do you draw the line?

BW: Yeah exactly, it’s personal opinion, so I can’t really answer that. If you want to sample one of those tracks then cool, but that’s not what I would do personally.

MCDE: Yeah I guess I grew up in a different era, like the hip hop, sample era… You can sample things but there’s a code. You don’t sample other producers’ snares or kicks, and I think that’s a part of the reason why my music sounds like the way it does – not like all the same Ableton sample packs.

BW: Music needs to sound original otherwise anyone could make it, it’ll be like music by numbers you know, and it’s not going to be special anymore.

So how do you stand on all the big edits out there right now?

BW: Edits are like a different ballgame… but taking something, stealing it and say it’s your own…

MCDE: Yeah that’s when it gets shit.

Ben, you once said, ideally, you’d wanted to work with the likes of Neptunes or Pharrell… how important do you think the vocal elements are in electronic music in terms of production quality?

BW: Yeah totally and well being a singer, vocals are pretty important – production quality is really important to me but it depends, like I might take the loop of a simple but then say lets take the vibe off the sample and make a band play it live – and change it slightly but not use it for the final product…

And Danilo, for your label – was Raw Cuts mostly for yourself to release music?

MCDE: The first Raw Cuts was around like 2004/5 but no one would release it, and everyone was raving about broken beat – while house was a little passé. People liked this more technical, abstract minimal sound so no one would play out this music and someone how I couldn’t find a label… but I believed in it and convinced my label partner to do it and three years later it hit the spot so we were like let’s do it.

So what’s planned for the label next this year?

MCDE: We’ve just released a double 12” this week, but the project is now a little bigger than just stuff on the label and we’re using a different formula to try to do different things from Raw Cuts and we’ll be getting more creative…

ARTIST BIO: Danilo Plessow / Motor City Drum Ensemble

At the tender age of 6, Danilo Plessow`s path in music started with playing drums. With his engagement in a school bigband he found his love for jazz - and from 11 years of age on he started working on his own music using a computer and samples. Being influenced by Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hiphop and House music, the first results were already released 5 years later on Stuttgarts Pulver Records. Together with Joachim Tobias, Danilo had formed the House and Broken Beat project ´Inverse Cinematics`: Seven 12 inch Records, one LP and many remixes and compilation appearances followed.

The project was and still is a favourite of some of the worlds most influental leftfield djs such as Gilles Peterson, Rainer Trueby (with whom Danilo just started a collaboration), Michael Ruetten or Benji B. After several other collaborations and solo projects in the Nujazz vein (Hipster Wonkaz with P.Valentino for Ubiquity Records or solo as Aphro Pzyko for Raw Fusion), Danilo went back to his House music roots with the ´Motor City Drum Ensemble`. Taking influences from soul, disco and detroit and chicago 90`s house, the new moniker soon became his best known: He released five 12 inch in 2008, and especially his ´RawCuts` series made him a shooting star in the deep house scene, highlighted by the internets house and techno bible ´Resident Advisor` for whom he did a mixtape that is soon regarded as one of the best mixes of this influental podcast.

In times when even big labels struggle to sell 500 copies, MCDE`S ´Raw Cuts` series, released on his own label ´MCDE` (run together with P. Valentino) sold a few thousands each, and his other own label ´Four Roses Recordings` has been doing very good as well. 2009 started with a 12 inch for one of UK`s biggest house labels, 20:20 Vision, and Danilo now hits the road on a regular again to show some of his dj skills, which have brought him all over Europe, the US and Russia already. In february, Beatport`s team of music experts has put him ahead of the up and coming Deep House artists worldwide in 2009. Therefore better watch out, this boy`s on a mission!