[KONTROL] Sat.Sept.4th w/ Roman Flügel & Motor City Drum Ensemble September 4, 2010

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

[ K O N T R O L ]

minimal techno + avant house
every 1st Saturday at The Endup

featuring from Frankfurt, Germany:

::: ROMAN FL‹GEL :::

(Playhouse . Klang Elektronik . Cocoon . Alter Ego)

Legendary German DJ and producer Roman Fl¸gel has
been active since the early 90's, releasing a diverse
array of Techno, House and Electro under various guises
including Alter Ego, Acid Jesus, Eight Miles High, and
Soylent Green. As a co-founder of the famous
triumvirate of labels Playhouse, Klang Elektronik, and
Ongaku, he has had an enormous influence on dance
music throughout Germany and the world, along the
way remixing heavy hitters like Daft Punk, Blaze,
Primal Scream, Ricardo Villalobos, Tiefschwarz,
Radio Slave, and countless others. Don't miss this
true musical pioneer in his Bay Area debut.

and from Stuttgart, Germany:

::: MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE :::

(MCDE . 20:20 Vision . Compost)

With the obvious influence of classic Detroit sounds
throughout his music, it would be a forgivable mistake to
assume Motor City Drum Ensemble is a product of our
own Motor City, but such is not the case. Hailing from
Stuttgart, the automobile production capital of Germany,
this "ensemble" actually consists of one Danilo Plessow,
a musical prodigy who at the tender age of 25 has already
released on more than 25 labels and has proven to be a
key figure in the recent global resurgence of Deep House.
Having blown minds with his "Raw Cuts" series and
delivered one of the most revered RA podcasts to date,
we are proud to bring him to the West Coast at last for
his much-anticipated debut.

with residents:

SAMMY D (Classic . Dirtybird . Utensil . Magnificent 7)
http://www.myspace.com/sammydoyle

NIKOLA BAYTALA (S.W.A.T. . Robsoul . Junior Boys Own)
http://www.myspace.com/nikolaswat

CRAIG KUNA (Mothership . Platform . ESDJCO)
http://www.myspace.com/craig1

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The ENDUP
401 6th St @ Harrison, SF
10pm - 6am / 21+ / $20
http://www.theendup.com/

FREE before 11pm!

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Flyer:
http://www.kontrolsf.com/K63/K63H.jpg

Poster:
http://www.kontrolsf.com/K63/K63P.jpg

Facebook Invite:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109444299113107

RA Event:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?188296

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::: ROMAN FL‹GEL :::

It all started with one of these Chicago Trax compilations on DM/STREETSOUNDS. As a reaction to his thirsting for more of these crazed beats from overseas and with a view to his tight budget, the greatest hits of these expensive imported 12î singles were soon released in the form of a compendium. This opened Pandoraís box, for very young Roman Fl¸gel, too. Innocently given to him by his elder brother as a present (ìHe probably had no idea what he was about to unleash and just wanted to give me some new musicî), the dazzle of the unrefined and feverish dance music, furnished with just a few drum machines and inexpensive synthesizers, turned the whole world upside down for the cultivated music pupil from Darmstadt. After several evenings at Sven V‰thís renowned Omen club, few kilometres further up north, and his mind was made up. Memories of the atmosphere at the legendary Warp or Underground Resistance label nights has put a smile on Fl¸gelís delicate face ever since ñ a man who would also make a fine figure as a literature lecturer, poet or thinker. ìLFOís bass, once they had set up their massive range of equipment, was unbelievable,î he says laughing.

It didnít take long before the well-trained ear tried out more than just classical melodies. Little by little, he collected a vast array of equipment, bringing forth his first sound experiments and enough courage to give a demo tape to indie fan (thatís what music magazines like Zillo used to call people like that back then) Jˆrn Elling Wuttke. The latter was a well-known face in Darmstadtís music scene and often enthused about new electronic music. In him he had found the right partner and Wuttke could hardly believe his spellbound ears.

DJs und Delirium record sellers Ata and Heiko MSO from Frankfurt felt the same. At first they thought someone was making fun of them. It sounded too authentic and unique. The music Fl¸gel and Wuttke had presented to their label Ongaku and Klang Elektronik as Acid Jesus or, rather, Alter Ego, couldnít possibly come from the little neighbouring town Darmstadt. In Frankfurt, that kind of sound made people think of Detroit. The rest is history and forged an almost holy alliance. Speaking of holy: a humid summerís day, a crate of beer and a studio in a garage sufficed to found a new label by the name of Playhouse for Holy Garage and to create that certain ìsurpriseî which still excites house clubs today. Comrades-in-arms such as IsolÈe, Don Disco alias Losoul and Ricardo Villalobos made the label the number one address. So they went on, history was written and the nineties flew by in a jiffy. His degree course in music was in the way: ìIt seemed obsolete somehow, just to be analyzing church sonatas all day when there were so many interesting things going on around me. When, on top of that, the only semester on modern music was cancelled that year, I decided to leave the university.î

Luckily for us all, actually. The electronic intellectualís productivity is virtually unparalleled and Roman Fl¸gel, the producer, DJ and label co-owner of Ongaku/Klang/Playhouse has meanwhile become a gentle giant in the German electro scene. With his own personal style and the privilege of being independent from the usual constraints of the music industry. A free spirit instead of a sheep. His solo project as Soylent Green (see the latest ìLa Forca Del Destinoî compendium) is just as much of a must as his Alter Ego project with Wuttke, rigorously affirming techno down to the very last detail. He and Wuttke also count as techno Teuton Sven V‰thís favourite producers, who booked the team to produce a series of his own music. Romanís work as Eight Miles High and Ro 70 show his quieter side, while the remixes (e.g. for The Human League, Primal Scream, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue) and tracks under his own name (just think of the Arcade rave of ìGehtís Nochî) are light dancefloor affirmations.

Roman also champions the cause of this in his job as an entertainer. Tried and tested by the stadium and pop hit ìRockerî, Fl¸gel and Wuttke can be proud of being able to set any auditorium in the world on fire with their live set. DJ Roman Fl¸gel can say the same of himself. Be it his sets at Offenbachís Robert-Johnson, Amnesia on Ibiza or Berlinís Tollhaus Berghain/Panorama Bar: instead of disappearing in trivial and meaningless elevator clicks, he prefers to make his way through 20 years of ìraveî. Contemporary music that includes bleeping house or quirky techno meets futuristic Italo-disco and electronica devoid of all provenance. There was a time when youíd call that kind of sound acid house, released cheaper by the dozen on compilations. It all turns full circle again.

===> LINKS:

Website:
http://www.ongaku.de/

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/therealalterego

Discography:
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Roman%20Fl%C3%BCgel

===> AUDIO:

Roman Fl¸gel - Studio Mix April 2009


Roman IV - Altes Testament


Alter Ego - Rocker


===> VIDEO:

Roman Fl¸gel @ LoveFamilyPark 2007


Roman Fl¸gel @ Love Parade 2007


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::: MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE :::

At the tender age of 6, Danilo Plessow`s path in music started with playing drums. With his engagement in a school big band in Schw‰bisch Gm¸nd (near Stuttgart/Germany) he found his love for jazz ñ and from 11 years of age on he started working on his own music using a computer and samples. Being influenced by Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop and House music, the first results were already released 5 years later--at the age of 15!--on Stuttgarts Pulver Records. Together with Joachim Tobias, Danilo had formed the House/Broken Beat project ìInverse Cinematicsî (http://www.myspace.com/inversecinematics): Seven 12î Records, the highly acclaimed album "Passiní through" and many remixes and compilation appearances followed. The project was and still is a favorite of some of the worldís most influential leftfield DJs such as Gilles Peterson, Rainer Tr¸by (with whom Danilo actually proves a productive collaboration), Michael R¸tten or Benji B. After several other co-operations and solo projects in the Nujazz vein ('Hipster Wonkaz' with P.Valentino for Ubiquity Records or solo as 'Aphro Pzyko' for Raw Fusion), Danilo went back to his House music roots with the ìMotor City Drum Ensembleî (MCDE).

This artist moniker refers to his home town Stuttgart, the world's cradle of the automobile and Germanyís very own motor city (w. Mercedes-Benz / Porsche / Bosch a. o.) and obviously is a link to Detroit as well. Taking influences from Soul, Disco and Detroit/Chicago 90`s House, the new moniker soon became his best known: He released five 12î in 2008, and especially his ìRaw Cutsî series made him a shooting star in the Deep House scene, highlighted by the internet house/techno bible ìResident Advisorî for whom he did a mix-tape that is soon regarded as one of the best mixes of this significant podcast. Having blown the world away with his ëRaw Cutsí series, released on his own label ìMCDEî (run together with Pablo Valentino), Danilo has made an enormous impact on House and Techno. On ëJuno Recordsí all three 12" of the cult series are meanwhile charted within the top 8 of the all time 'Deep House' bestsellers and undoubtedly they are still belonging to the most played tracks on the dance-floors! His other own label ìFour Roses Recordingsî has been doing also very well.

Thanks to his remarkable musical talent and overflowing creativity, Danilo has become a sought after and very successful re-mixer as well. With just 25 years of age and including all his projects he has already released on more than 25 labels.

No doubt, 2009 was MCDEís year. In February, Beatportís team of music experts had put him ahead of the up and coming Deep House artists worldwide. In the following months MCDE got a growing critical and popular wave of applause due to his amazing, sample-heavy ëdiscoishí house tunes, delivering the whole ëDeep Houseí notion with clarity and vision alongside a definitive style and by keeping the quality levels bubbling over. ìMCDE has cultivated a style that is somehow incredibly loose and tight at the same timeî and that has made him one of the most appreciated producers of dance music at its best who manages to blend House, light Techno and Disco with the same amount of success. With his impressive slew of stunning remixes for the likes of DJ Sprinkles,Tiga, T-Coy, Steve Bug, DJ T, Tom Trago, Jazzanova, Presence, Akabu, Toby Tobias, Losoul, A. Lodemann and others, Danilo created Deep House master pieces. Since march 2010 for example, his buoyant remix of NUfrequency's "Fallen Hero" leads the top 100 all-time charted tracks (of over 400.000 !) on RA's DJ Charts and he's ranked among the top 10 charted artists. As well, his estimated podcasts (for RA/XLR8R/Juno Plus/Ö) proved that he understands much more about house than what simply emanates from his mixing desk.

Just as successful as he does with his top-ranking productions he works for the dance floors as a very popular DJ ñ just being picked out by the RA-Poll one of the TOP 50 worldwide (as well as one of the youngest of course!). So Danilo now hits the road on a regular again to show some of his DJ skills, which already have brought him to the most famous venues all over Europe, the US, Russia, Asia and Australia .

A reviewer brought it into focus: ìDanilo Plessow has been writing and composing electronic music since he was fourteen years old. Now at twenty-five, he has become one of the most sought after and accomplished artists in the world. From his staggeringly diverse productions, to his brain changing remix work, to his obsessive DJ sets around the world, this young man turns heads with seemingly everything he does. He has played some of the best clubs, parties, and radio shows on earth, and being on equally as large and respected recording labels.î - ìDanilo Plessow is still young, but itís obvious from his 2009 that he has an innate talent for the simple things and will likely continue his run for a long, long time.î ñ Therefore better watch out, this boyës on a mission!

===> LINKS:

Website:
http://www.motorcitydrumensemble.com/

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/motorcitydrumensemble

Discography:
http://www.discogs.com/artist/motor%20city%20drum%20ensemble

Bodytonic Interview:
http://www.bodytonicmusic.com/words/2009/jul/16/chat-motor-city-drum-ensemble/

===> AUDIO:

MCDE - Resident Advisor Podcast 132:
http://soundcloud.com/invrs/resident-advisor-podcast-132-mcde/

MCDE - XLR8R Podcast:
http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2010/01/motor-city-drum-ensemble

===> VIDEO:

MCDE - Live @ Classic 020 (Tunnel, Milano) 06.


MCDE - Interview 2010


MCDE - Raw Cuts #3 web video:


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http://www.kontrolsf.com/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6631032340