As Motor City Drum Ensemble, Danilo Plessow plays euphoric house and disco DJ sets that prompt strangers to write their numbers on each other in sweaty eyebrow pencil; Marcus Worgull, meanwhile, produces perkily melodic techno. But for their collaborative project, Vermont, they retreat from the dancefloor to a candlelit mancave full of vintage synths, where they indulge in a spot of ruminative ambience. Almost devoid of percussion, it’s pared back to just a few elements: gruff bass notes padding about in their socks, warm mid-tones rubbing your temples, plucked Göttsching-esque strings emerging from a hammock. It is music seemingly designed to retreat into the background, and as such feels a bit inconsequential – the sort of thing you’d be vaguely aware of while shopping for Scandinavian furniture or legal highs; imagine if the kind of dub techno released by Rhythm and Sound had the “rhythm” bit removed. Still, aside from some tracks that veer into nothingness, much of it wafts around pleasantly enough, given the right beanbag.
