Few cities have inspired more compilations than Detroit, and the latest marks the start of a new collaborative imprint from Planet E and !K7 declaring undying love for the metropolis. The object of the enterprise is to capture the city’s essence but to do so with the inclusion of familiar and unfamiliar faces – which stalwart and Detroit Love party regular Stacey Pullen achieves here. It’s good to see the city’s jazzy inclinations acknowledged in the Motor City Drum Ensemble / Marcellus Pittman winner ‘Raw Cuts’, and also its spaced out techno heritage which is given the appropriate room by DJ 3000 in ‘Delray’. Some of the best tracks here achieve a lot with minimal input – not a criticism but a reminder of just how good minimal techno can be when Sawlin and Chicola are involved. With Burning Bridges and Gary Martin pulling powerfully driven tracks out of the bag, Pullen eases the tension beautifully with his closing number, Patrice Scott’s ‘A Detroit State Of Mind’, a reminder of how Detroit can cast its net much further afield to provide sunset moments for Ibiza. A mighty fine compilation of what we hope will be a substantial series!
Ben Hogwood
5 out of 5
VARIOUS ARTISTS: DETROIT LOVE VOL.1 MIXED BY STACEY PULLEN – DETROIT LOVE/PLANET E
