Danilo Plessow

Originally from Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany, producer and DJ Danilo Plessow developed his musical practice early on—first on the drum kit as a child and later through computer-assisted composition in his teens. Influenced by Detroit house, the soul of Marvin Gaye, 1970s jazz and 1990s hip‑hop—particularly J Dilla and Pete Rock—he built his musical knowledge crate-digging in Stuttgart before asserting his identity under the alias Motor City Drum Ensemble, a nod to Detroit as well as to his region’s automotive tradition and his taste for drum machines. His work sits at the crossroads of deep house, disco, funk and jazz, with sampling as a central technique and a pronounced sense of groove derived from African-American musics. The maxi series “Raw Cuts” established his sonic signature and accompanied his emergence on European club and festival stages. At the same time Plessow co-founded the labels MCDE Recordings, Four Roses Recordings and Space Grape Records—the latter aimed at contemporary music projects performed in live line-ups, notably with Jéroboam and musicians associated with the Japanese collective Kyoto Jazz Massive—while producing numerous releases and remixes for various international labels.