Do That :: Motor City Drum Ensemble @ Asylum, Leeds

Asylum 6th Birthday at Mint Club

Date :: Saturday, 26 September 2009
Time :: 11pm – 7am
Venue :: Mint Club/ 8a Harrison St, Leeds, LS1, UK
Cost :: £12
Line up :: Motor City Drum Ensemble (20 20 Vision/Sonar Kollective/Compost)
Unabombers (Electric Chair)
PBR streetgang (Red Music)
Negghead (Wax On records)
Andy Whittaker (20 20 Vision/Lunar Jam)

Stuttgart’s Motor City Drum Ensemble has taken the world by storm over the past twelve months. His exemplary series of 12’s, Raw Cuts has blazed a trail of soulful bombs that have gained critical acclaim and set pulses racing on dance floors from Ibiza to Berlin.

Still in his early twenties, Danilo Plessow’s freshness to the scene is apparent in his light and airy productions. The Raw Cuts series – so entitled as they are instinctively constructed in short periods of time – manage to create unbridled euphoria without sounding cheesy or tired. His own productions and remixes combine dance floor sensibilities with a rough edge, making for tough, chunky DJ tools that balance intensity with space.

Bit of a prodigy then this lad, check his interview with The Burlington Project for details about how he works. He makes his debut in Leeds at the asylum party. Much is made of Stuttgart as a city with a similar motor manufacturing heritage to Detroit. Comparisons can be made there as to the roots and mechanical inspirations behind the music. Although the German government were canny enough to ensure that the city had ample support as the it’s main industry began to wain, unlike Detroit which was left to rot. The main inspiration therefore for MCDE’s music, then must be the women of Stuttgart, widely recognised as the most beautiful in Germany.

Asylum celebrates its sixth birthday with a refined but high quality line up. Main support is the Unabombers, who’ve seen their popularity surge in the wake of the rediscovery of Disco influences among Househeads. Known for their discerning party nous, their experience in moving crowds should create an interesting comparison to the youth of MCDE. Following Mint Club’s £ half million refurbishment last year, which saw the installation of Funktion One sound and a Watergate style LED display the club has been shifting out line ups that have singled it out as one of the top clubs outside of London. Having played host to Carl Craig, Henrik Schwarz, Luciano, Theo Parrish, Maurice Fulton, Prins Thomas and Metro Area to name just a few, their crowd is one who really know their music but demand to be moved.