BnB Review: DJ-KiCKS - Motor City Drum Ensemble
Written by Youri Jozee
House/Disco - !K7 returns with a fresh DJ-KiCKS edition compiled and mixed by the utterly versatile and enigmatic Motor City Drum Ensemble… full analysis after the break.
Now this one has been subject to discussion at forums across the net ever since it was announced a few months back, and we’re not surprised. Over the past few years, MCDE (Danilo Plessow) has captured the hearts of experimental minded house & disco freaks with obscure crossover cuts on labels such as Rush Hour, 2020Vision and his own MCDE imprint, with his hugely popular Raw Cuts releases being the undisputed highlights in his career thus far. His mix for DJ-KiCKS explores Danilow wide taste in music, which ranges from experimental afro-beat to Italo-styled disco, oldschool house and tunes that are a bit harder to pigeon-hole. And it’s become a pretty dandy journey to say the least.
The mix opens gently with the chants of Sun Ra’s Door To The Cosmos after which a proto-bluesy direction is taken on Electric Wire Hustle’s Again (Scratch 22 Remix). Tony Allen’s afro-tinged Ariya is followed by a series of housier tracks (Mr. Fingers – The Juice, and the supercool sex track Can Your Love Find Its Way by Rock ‘Poppa’ Howard). The mixing’s flawless, with samples of preceding tracks being repeated as the next cut passes by, which results in a deep and very warm flow of druggy sounds and equally trippy tunage. There’s plenty to enjoy if you’re into obscure house dusty disco, with an occasional techno twist mixed in at regular intervals. The second half of the mix includes a couple of absolute bombs: Loose Joint’s Pop Your Funk’s a hottie, follow-up track Arts & Craft’s I’ve Been Searching (Walter Gibbons 12” Mix) is huge if you’re into disco chants, and although the mix ending’s a bit too offbeat for our tastes, James Mason’s Sweet Power, Your Embrace (a brilliant bedroom funk track) closes things quite nicely.
Our verdict:
Although MCDE’s vision of funk, disco and house may sound like a obscure cacophony to some, it’s really damn tasty mix jam-packed with obscurities. If obscurities is what you like, or if you just feel like adding some really hot rarities to your collection, then this is the compilation to turn to.
Rating: 8.1/10
Label: !K7
Release date: July 4th, 2011
DJ-KiCKS: Motor City Drum Ensemble tracklist:
01. Sun Ra - Door To The Cosmos
02. Electric Wire Hustle - Again (Scratch 22 Remix)
03. Rhythm & Sound - Mango Drive
04. Tony Allen - Ariya
05. Peven Everett - Stuck
06. Bad Jazz Troupe - Breakdown Treat (Dusty Rework) (MCDE Edit)
07. Mr. Fingers - The Juice
08. Rick "Poppa" Howard - Can Your Love Find Its Way (Club Vocal)
09. Stone - Girl I Like the Way That You Move (Dub)
10. Fred P - On This Vibe
11. Creative Swing Alliance - Don't Forget Your Keyz
12. Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats - Black Woman Experience
13. Philippe Sarde - Le Cortège Et Course
14. Robert Hood - The Pace
15. Loose Joints - Pop Your Funk (Vocal Version)
16. Arts & Crafts - I've Been Searching (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)
17. Motor City Drum Ensemble - L.O.V.E.
18. Aphex Twin - Actium
19. Recloose - Cardiology (Isolée Mix)
20. Latecomer - Cosmic Cart
21. Timo Lassy - African Rumble
22. James Mason - Sweet Power, Your Embrace
