- It's been nearly nine months since Danilo Plessow released a record in his Raw Cuts series, but the young producer hasn't been resting on his laurels. There's been an EP for 2020Vision, one for Four Roses, an excellent remix of DJ Sprinkles' "Grand Central, Pt I" and even a well-received podcast for this here website along the way. As nice as all that is, though, the Raw Cuts are what drew my attention to Plessow, and I've been anxious to see if his newest 12-inch would be infectious as the previous installment. I shouldn't have worried.
"Raw Cuts #5" continues with the template that made "Raw Cuts #3" and "#4" so special: Plessow stakes out a quick-hitting funky organ lick over a soul sample, leading up to a satisfying climax every 8 or 16 bars when he lets loose with some long chords. Add a scratchy guitar, a diva saying something that I still haven't been able to exactly pick out 25 listens in and you've got yourself a deadly effective dance floor tool.
If "#5" is the uptempo party anthem, "#6" is the slow burner. In many ways, its lengthy build-up recalls Plessow's non-Raw Cuts productions under the MCDE name. Hovering underneath the chiming keys and steady beat, there's a lovely drone that slides along almost imperceptibly that adds a wavering sense of menace to the track. Things pick up when the de rigeur anonymous diva makes her way into the track, but it never gets much past this solid, driving groove. In the hands of the right DJ, though, this should be all they need to build into something beautiful.
Tracklist A Raw Cuts # 5
B Raw Cuts # 6