- It's hard to say if the world needs yet another German/Englishman/anyone adopting a Detroit-inspired moniker and delivering high-quality deep house to a bunch of other Germans/Englishmen/anyones, but with the rise of Trus'me and others, you get the sense that we're in for a whole flood of 'em. But while those pesky authenticity questions abound, it certainly seems to miss the essential point, which is that people make music to sound like things from Detroit not because they want to take money from the mouths of producers from there, but because they want to hear more of it and, after buying all of those rare 12-inches, there's no better way to go about hearing it than to make it yourself.
So, yes, young Danilo Plessow is from Stuttgart and makes tracks that sound like soul samples rolling along with live keys played over top under the name Motor City Drum Ensemble. And this, his second 12-inch for his MCDE imprint, is pretty awesome. Each track is constructed in the manner described above, with "Raw Cuts #3" perhaps edging out the flip for sheer dance floor impact considering its three-minute hypnotic build to an ecstatic climax wherein an uncredited singer wonders herself why she hasn't put us down. Scratchy funk guitar shards, a heavy kick and the cooing singer that's guided the whole thing continue gliding along like it's the most natural question in the world.
"#4" gets to the point more quickly and drops the cooing for something that more resembles vamping. The circular organ riff that I'm assuming Plessow has added on top works in tandem with the unceasing sample, increasing the groove until it's almost unbearable before stripping everything away and building it all back up again. This kind of thing may have been done by Moodymann, Theo Parrish and plenty of their cohorts plenty of times before, but with a whole universe of soul samples left untapped, it's clear that there'll be enough to go around for producers from Detroit, Manchester and Stuttgart for years to come.
Tracklist A Raw Cuts #3
B Raw Cuts #4