Motor City Drum Ensemble – Send A Prayer

It was in 2011 when Danilo Plessow aka Motor City Drum Ensemble released his DJ-Kicks compilation to a stoked crowd, showing an unusual amount of wisdom for a producer that young. Now, he returns to his best-known moniker – having been on hold since that exciting remix for Midland’s “What We Know” in early 2012 – with another reboot of sorts: choosing his own MCDE imprint as stage for the new record, Danilo directly confronts the legacy of his insanely loved “Raw Cuts” that brought the bounce back to Deep House, injecting a blueprint grown stale with much-needed emotions and rejuvenating DJ crates worldwide.

It is surprising, then, that the latest entry in the series is only the tenth release in a discography seemingly consisting only of classics, but as MCDE’s A&R, Danilo & his partner Pablo Valentino (FACES Records / Creative Swing Alliance) intentionally kept the young label’s artist roster small, focussing on quality output instead and giving the sound room to breathe.

While there are plenty of successful House templates floating around, none defined its roots in sampling as thoroughly as MCDE & Raw Cuts did, and it’s happening again with these four impressive workouts condensing all we love about the genre, resulting in a show-stopping record sure to set even the most distinguished floors on fire. 2013 should consider itself a lucky year, because Motor City Drum Ensemble is back in the producer’s seat and that’s a very good thing.