German DJ and producer Danilo Plessow chose the name Motor City Drum Ensemble in tribute to the music of Detroit as well as his home city of Stuttgart. Producing disco-house tracks inspired by the likes of Moodymann and Theo Parrish, he made a major impact on the club world during the late 2000s with a series of self-released singles, gathered on the Raw Cuts, Vol. 1 compilation. He also became renowned for his ambitious, genre-spanning mixes, including volumes of the DJ-Kicks (2011) and Fabric Presents (2021) series. Also prolific as a remixer, he has reconstructed tracks by Tony Allen, Caribou, DJ Sprinkles, and others.