Fabric Presents Danilo Plessow (Mcde) (Feat. Motor City Drum Ensemble)

Fabric Presents Danilow Plessow (MCDE) is only the German DJ and producers second commercially available mix, appearing a decade after his lauded DJ-Kicks volume in 2011. Like that mix, his Fabric set demonstrates his ability to draw connections between several genres and eras of music, and mix it all together smoothly and effortlessly. Fabric Presents doesnt feel like a sort of music history lesson the way DJ-Kicks did, but its still quite ambitious, packing in more tracks overall, and with rare selections spanning several decades. Its also a bit more of a snapshot of the time it was recorded, as Plessow recorded snippets of conversations with friends about how music was helping them get through the COVID-19 pandemic, placing them almost subliminally in the mix. The mix warms up with ambient and dub selections from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Rhythm & Sound, and Scientist, then settles into a minimal house groove with Herberts dub of Reclooses Cant Take It. It then slips easily between syncopated house rhythms and cruising electro, with Plessows own Nightfall (featuring Francesco Geminiani & Peter Schlamb) walking a tightrope between the two. A track from Cabaret Voltaires early-90s ambient techno period is dusted off, sounding comfortable in the vicinity of electro collective Hypnobeat, early-90s Italian house group the Order, and Drexciya side project the Other People Place. The mix continues to heat up as it goes, unearthing gems such as the 808 State-like cruiser Ill America by mysterious Canadian act Iridium and the wigged-out fusion funk of Jean-Claude Petits Stones of Law. Finally, the set cools down slightly (but not entirely) with Moonstarrs tempo-shifting Detriot, then ends with the burbling, string-laced post-disco of John Kongos Im Dreaming (Any Moment I May Wake Up Screaming). ~ Paul Simpson