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Motor City Drum Ensemble Talks

 
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Motor City Drum Ensemble has been a firm RSN Favourite for a long time, both his re-edits series Raw Cuts and his own productions/dj sets are consistently top notch so, ahead of his new EP release ('Send A Prayer' – out next month) we caught up with him for a brief chat on everything from favorurite labels to fantasy production gear….

 
Hi Danilo, as it seems the world is going to hell in a handcart and doom and gloom is spreading like wildfire, I thought itd be good to focus on fantasy for this interview and bring a bit of lightness into these dreary January evenings. Hope thats OK. So, here goes:
 
Youve been asked to put together an ensemble of a different kind – an ensemble of musicians from throughout history, dead or alive. Whod be in the supergroup, and why?
 
All of these musicians are amongst my favorites; Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Stevie Wonder, Arthur Russel, Leroy Burgess and the whole thing done at the Drexciya studio. Now that would be interesting.   
 
Youre quite well known for having a lot of hardware in your studio – if money was no object what would be the first piece of gear youd buy that you dont already own?
 
Probably a high end mixing desk, something like a Neumann or Neve. Synthwise a Yamaha CS80 or a Voyetra 8. 
 
Having released music for the last 12 years, youve got quite a back catalogue going on a fair few different, respected labels. If you could release on any label from the history of music, who would you choose?
 
If i could also work with the key musicians of the label at the time, i would go for Blue Note in the sixties. But i would probably be overwhelmed by the talent of those guys and hide in a dark corner of the studio and just let them do their thing.  
 
If you could go to any point in musical history and be a part of any scene or culture, what would it be?
 
I would have loved to witness the sixties and seventies in New York. Such a vibrant scene!
 
If you had to save one record from the fire, which would you choose?
 
If we are speaking strictly musical value, then it would probably be a Coltrane record. The record i have been after for the longest time and that I would probably never see again  would be Roy Brooks – Sahel Concert. 
 
Youve been asked to programme a night – you can choose any DJ to play from the last 50 years and any nightclub you want to hold the night at. Whod be playing and where?
 
I would go for either Larry Levan or Ron Hardy, simply because of their impact on the art of DJing and because there is so little available to hear online. Would have loved to witness a night at the garage or the warehouse.  
 
If you could change one thing about modern culture, what would it be and why?
 
Sometimes the constant bombardement of information really gets on my nerves. I feel so good if i m away on holidays and not check facebook etc.. 
 
If you could distill your music into liquid alcohol form, what would a MCDE cocktail contain and what would it taste like?
 
Puh, thats a tough one, I m not really a cocktail guy. If it were going for any alcohol – Probably a well aged deep red wine with a big bottom and light hints of acid. 
 
Who would you choose to be the German premiere if the choice was yours and yours alone?
 
It would be fun to see what german anarchist/writer Rocko Schamoni would do. 
 
Finally, we ran a regular series on Ransom Note called Alphabetical Order, an A-Z of seminal tracks from dance music history. What tracks would you choose to represent M,C, D and E?
 
Model 500 –   No Ufo`s
 
Computer Madness – Steve Pointdexter
 
Dinosaur L – Go Bang
 
E2E4 – Manuel Gttsching