Motor City Drum Ensemble is the house music project of German producer and DJ Danilo Plessow, a solo act rather than a band. Plessow is born in 1985 in rural southern Germany and later moves to Stuttgart. His artist name refers both to Stuttgart, which he associates with “Motor City,” and to the Detroit soul, jazz and techno sounds that shape his work.

Early development

Plessow starts playing drums at the age of six and develops an interest in jazz through his school big band. At eleven he begins making his own productions on computer using samples. His early influences include jazz, soul, funk, hip hop and house.

Early releases and Inverse Cinematics

His first completed work appears in 2000 on Stuttgart’s Pulver Records under the name Inverse Cinematics, a house and broken beat project. That project releases seven 12-inch records, including Slow Swing and Detroit Jazzin', as well as the album Passin' Through. It also leads to remixes and compilation appearances and attracts supporters such as Gilles Peterson and Rainer Trüby, both of whom he later works with.

Motor City Drum Ensemble and MCDE Recordings

After other collaborations and solo work in a nu jazz style, Plessow returns to house music and creates Motor City Drum Ensemble, often shortened to MCDE. In 2008 he establishes himself in the house scene with the Raw Cuts series on his own MCDE label, MCDE Recordings, which he runs with Pablo Valentino. Valentino also records there as Creative Swing Alliance. The label is home to the Raw Cuts releases and to later MCDE material such as the EP Send A Prayer.

Style and output

MCDE is known for a warm, crackly deep house sound with a rougher, gritty quality. Plessow draws on Detroit-influenced soul and techno as well as jazz, funk and older house forms, and he is noted for combining emotional, melodic production with dancefloor-oriented rhythms. His work is issued across more than 25 labels, ranging from major names to smaller independent imprints.

Remixes, DJ work and wider recognition

His remix work includes tracks for Caribou, DJ Sprinkles, Jazzanova, Tiga, Zero 7 and Midland. A remix of NUfrequency’s Fallen Hero reaches the top of Resident Advisor’s all-time DJ charted tracks, and he is among the site’s most charted artists. In 2011 he compiles a DJ-Kicks release for !K7, which also introduces the MCDE single L.O.V.E.. He also records podcasts for outlets including RA, XLR8R, Juno Plus and FACTmag. As a DJ, he performs at major venues and festivals around the world.

Other project

Before MCDE, Plessow records as Inverse Cinematics, where he works in house, broken beat and nu jazz before returning to his house roots under the Motor City Drum Ensemble name.