Still crying cold and alone in your bedsit after failing to secure Kraftwerk tickets? Well lucky for you the Autobanhners aren’t the only German electronic wizards hitting London this winter. Broken and Uneven kick off a series of huge nights littered with Teutonic titans – wrap up warm for some computer love.
Still youthful enough to be getting ID’ed, we’re still amazed by the maturity of Motor City Drum Ensemble’s sound. As his moniker suggests Danilo Plessow’s music takes great inspiration from the sounds of Detroit, heavy on soul samples and filtering everything through a dusty vintage haze. Where he betrays his heritage is on his beady eye for the dance floor - while Moody and Parrish like to take things as deep and slow as possible, Plessow’s tracks are primetime party starters. New EP “Send a Prayer” is a prime case for the defence, knitting together a number of soul sample earworms into four undeniable anthems. While he had gone quiet last year it finds him back to his Raw Cuts era best – this is one City on the up.
Efdemin is synonymous with the Dial stable – the Berlin record label on a singular mission to restore the lost art of the house long player. In a scene dominated by singles Dial curates a strain of deep house to be enjoyed at home as much as the club - Pantha du Prince’s “This Bliss”, John Robert’s “Glass Eights” and Roman Flugel’s “Fatty Folders” just a handful of their inspired output. While Plessow references Detroit’s soulful heritage, Efdemin’s great “Chicago” long player was a record in awe to the warm house of the windy city. No sycophant though, Efdemin mixes elements of classic Chicago house with shimmering techno and the minimal tics of his hometown. Here’s hoping he finds the Studio Spaces of Wapping as much of an inspiration.
Electric Minds: Dimensions Warm-up Party with Motor City Drum Ensemble, Efdemin & Dolan Bergin at Studio Spaces, Wapping, E1W, 2BB on Saturday 2 March. Tickets and information here.
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