What makes a record collector a selector? Or, rather, “what exactly is a selector” as the opening line of the liner notes for MCDE’s Selectors 001 goes.
In 2016, Amsterdam-based powerhouse Dekmantel Records sought to ground the word back into its original lineage. They launched Selectors: a curated compilation framework designed to give the world's most singular diggers an unedited canvas to present their personal musical blueprints. Alongside it they launched an intimate beachside festival, taking place every August in Tisno, Croatia.
For me, this wasn’t just a new label launch; it was the same year I started collecting records. It’s a concept that completely dictated my life.
Back in 2016, I was living down in Canford Cliffs with my buddy Miche, and we began making yearly vinyl pilgrimages over to Amsterdam, spending the day time maxing credit cards in record stores and the nights tracking the deep musical journeys of selectors like Theo Parrish, Four Tet, Floating Points, and Detroit Swindle. There was very little sleep, it was beyond obsessive. Dedicated?
Standing in those crowded clubs and basements, it became clear that despite their wildly different sounds, these figures all shared an unspoken rhythmic outlook when it came to music. Dense West African percussion templates colliding with late-night Detroit jazz chords; ecstatic, raw gospel choirs recorded in tiny New Zealand studios; unquantized regional disco-funk anomalies alongside banging techno, and, of course, the elusive overlooked b-sides and album cuts you never thought you’d hear in the dance.
Selectors 001 was one of the first batch of records I picked up - pretty certain my copy comes from Love Vinyl, purchased on 23 September 2016. Don't ask how I know that.
To fully map out the structural parameters of this musical sandbox, we have to look past our own record bags and examine how the community archives itself. Over the last decade, a core group of generational tastemakers has explicitly documented this philosophy through film, vinyl pressings, and physical text.
Below are resources I’ve used over the years to guide and inform my own personal taste and music collection. I find these DJ’s so inspiring and forever grateful to labels like Dekmantel for putting this work out there. Also included are the liner notes copied from the items from my collection:
The Short Film Archive:
Here are the key figures featured on the Dekmantel YouTube Channel series
Call Super: The documentary takes a cinematic look into Joe Seaton’s Berlin studio and his family home. It explores his deeply conceptual avant-garde approach to sound design, painting him as an artist who builds completely unique, textured sonic environments rather than standard club loops. [1]
Mr. Scruff: A look into Andy Carthy’s legendary, massive Manchester record basement. Scruff represents the ultimate encyclopaedic selector—someone who seamlessly bridges rare jazz, raw soul, reggae, and classic hip-hop, demonstrating that a true selector can control a dancefloor for six hours using nothing but eclecticism and flawless pacing. [1]
Ben UFO: As one of the few top-tier global DJs to rise strictly from the art of track selection without relying on a production catalog, Ben UFO is the ultimate embodiment of the Selectors ethos. His feature highlights a monastic dedication to the UK soundsystem continuum—finding the hidden threads that stitch early jungle dubplates to modern experimental techno. [1]
Andy Votel (Finders Keepers): Featured in the Boiler Room Collections sub-series, Votel is a pure musical anthropologist. His segment shows him digging through hyper-niche, forgotten subcultural histories: Anatolian rock rarities, Pakistani psych music, and obscure Welsh folk records. [1]
Jan Schulte (Orpheu The Wizard / Tako / Red Light Records): The series heavily profiles the tight-knit Amsterdam digging community anchored by Red Light Radio. Schulte’s Collections video shows the obsession with oddball percussive tools, harmonic leftfield jams, and electronic drum workouts that completely bypass standard commercial templates. [1]
Chapter 1: The Soulful Gateway — Motor City Drum Ensemble (Selectors 001)
What, exactly, is a selector?
Dekmantel has long been determined to find out, but even with the launch of the Selectors festival and compilation series, we'll be the first to admit that drawing a sharp line between "selectors" and mere DJs is all but impossible—it's essentially a "you know it when you see it" proposition.
Despite this difficulty, it's hard to argue that Motor City Drum Ensemble (a.k.a. Danilo Plessow) doesn't tick all of the required boxes. He's been digging for records since his teenage years, and his Djing has become the stuff of legend, thanks in no small part to his head-turning sets at the last few Dekmantel festivals.
Plessow's relationship with Dekmantel dates back to the earliest days of the Motor City Drum Ensemble project, making him a natural candidate to head up the inaugural Selectors compilation. Although some artists might be reluctant to share a few of their secret weapons with a wider audience, Plessow had no such reservations. "I wanted to get some of the stuff that is really, really hard to get, and make it available for younger people," he explains. "I used to be in the same situation. Back when I was 18, I would listen to a Rainer Truby mix and he would only play these $400 Brazilian records. I was like, 'Fuck, how am I ever going to be able to afford these?' I was glad when there was a reissue, and it's a bit the same with the compilation now."
Selecting a tracklist from his collection of 15,000 records - was no easy task, and getting the songs-some of which are incredibly rare-licensed was an even bigger challenge. In short, a lot of time and effort went into curating this first Selectors compilation, and given Motor City Drum Ensemble's penchant for detail, it's no surprise that every track here was chosen for a reason. As such, we asked Plessow to tell us a bit about why each song was selected and shed some light on what makes these tunes such essential parts of his DJ arsenal.
DJ SLYM FAS "LUV MUSIC"
I started out back in 1996 as a young guy trying to make hip-hop, and I've always loved the raw sound of that genre's "Golden Era"-think Pete Rock, A Tribe Called Quest, etc. There is a parallel to classic house music in a certain way, mostly because the studio set-ups seemed to be more or less the same (with MPCs or SP-1200s as the main units), and because a lot of the "Golden Era" house tracks from Detroit, Chicago, or New York were also based on samples of jazz, soul, and disco records. This particular record sounds even more hip-hop to me than most of its contemporaries--think Kenny Dope's powerful drum programming on the SP-1200 paired with the Detroit sound of later years; the music of Andrés in particular comes to mind. A big favorite of mine for many years, this track has always been one of the tougher finds on Terrence Parker's Intangible label and for me, it's still the most unique thing he ever released.
DJ Slym Fas - Luv Music / Written & produced by Tony Oliviera/ (1997, Intangible Records) ® Seven Grand Publishing/BMI
HOUSE OF JAZZ "HOLD YOUR HEAD UP"
Back when I started buying records to play out, I was still in my teens and the only cash I had was the little money I made from playing bar gigs, being a paperboy on the weekend, and the occasional gift from my parents, so my funds were really limited. Plus, I was living in a small town that only had one store selling used records—mostly rock and punk-so I had to find ways to get new records other than buying imports from the UK, which back then was very expensive. In the early days of eBay, a certain guy was selling "surprise packs" of house records, and they were dirt cheap, like 20 records for 15 Deutsche Mark (about 8 euros). I ended up taking a gamble and along with a lot of very average stuff, there was this record. To this day, "Hold Your Head Up" is a very special song for me, and it was a pretty under-the-radar thing for a long time. The only other guy I've met that had heard of it was Ben UFO, and apparently Moodymann played it on a radio show back in '95. Regardless, like all good music, it hasn't aged a bit since then and | hope it will get some well-deserved exposure now.
House Of Jazz- Hold Your Head Up / Written & produced by Chauncey Alexander, Wayne Bell, Sherman Burks & Joseph Lang (1995, Urgent Music Works)
Alexbaby/ASCAP, Bigger Than One/ASCAP, Groove Line/ASCAP, SLB Music/ASCAP (Admin by LEO SONG)
20 BELOW "A LIL TRIBUTE TO THE MOODY BLACK KEYS"
Getting this song was one hell of a ride, I can tell you that! I'm friends with Irfan, the main guy behind Rainy City Music, and I've always wanted to reissue this record, as it basically sets floors on fire wherever it's dropped. The thing is, I wasn't the only one-there were a couple dozen other people wanting to do the same thing. So it took a lot of convincing and a lot of negotiating, as Irfan Rainy-very much like meis a perfectionist and wanted it to be re-released in the right way. But here we are, and possibly the best New York house record to ever come out of Manchester is finally in print again. Here's what Irfan had to say about the song's genesis: "Me and Rex Leon recorded this track in 1995 when Masters At Work were the kings of house music, but there was also another killer NY duo: Mood Il Swing. A Guy Called Gerald had brought back the MPC60 to Manchester from America and told us that we needed to use this groove machine and so we did. I named the song using the publishing name Mood I! Swing used. It was our little tribute to their '90s swinging, deep, moody sound."
20 Below - A Lil'Tribute To The Moody Black Keys/ Written & produced by Irfan Rainy & Rex Leon / (1996, Rainy City Music)
© Copyright Control
RISQUE III "ESSENCE"
This is probably the most "obvious" track on the compilation, but it had never been properly reissued (at least not sounding as good as it should have) and seeing how it features in almost all of my sets, had to have it on here. K-Alexi is a genius of the highest order, and his early records still sound years ahead of their time. Sadly enough, the original record didn't move the same quantities as its contemporaries on Trax and DJ International, so it remains a collector's item to this day and copies in perfect condition are scarce as hell.
Risqué III - Essence of A Dream / Written & produced by K'Alexi Shelby/Risqué III / (1986, Stride Right Records) @Alexi-K Ascap
LICKY "AFRICAN ROCK"
For me, Patrick Adams and Peter Brown's take on disco music is a bit like Sun Ra's relationship with jazz or Theo Parrish's with house. The records they released on their multiple obscure labels (among them Queen Constance, P&P, and Land of Hits) are musically sophisticated, completely out there, incredibly well arranged, and just thrillingly unique. With a back catalog full of gems that are still mostly out of print, I decided to pick two of my favorite titles from that era. "African Rock" sounds a bit like some of the Nigerian stuff that's incredibly en vogue at the moment-think Kiki Gyan or records on Afrodisia-but at the same time, it still captures the aesthetic of the New York underground, with driving percussion and call-and-response vocals dominating the track. I can only imagine what this song did to dancefloors back in the day, although given that it was so rare, it's possible that it barely ever made it onto one.
Licky - African Rock (Club 12" mix) / Written & produced by Peter Brown/ (1979, Phase One Network Inc.)
• Phase One Network Inc/Demon Music Group Ltd.
RAPHAEL GREEN "DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL"
Sometime during the last couple of years, I started buying a lot of gospel music, and the album that contains "Don't Mess with the Devil" remains one of my personal highlights. Mr. Green has a very distinct voice and I was surprised to see that this was his only recording, a private press record released in tiny quantities out of Oklahoma City. Nowadays, he is the head of the Metro Christian Worship Center in St. Louis and according to his assistant, who I had a very charming conversation with about licensing this particular song, he is still performing in the church as well. hope that through this compilation, his wish to reach a new generation of listeners will become a reality.
Raphael Green - Don't Mess With The Devil / Written & produced by Raphael Green / (1979, Self Released/ Raphael Green)
© Raphael Green
AHZZ "NEW YORK'S MOVING (INSTRUMENTAL)"
Another Peter Brown release here-legend has it that Larry Levan drove people nuts with this one. The raw production on this is the epitome of New York's underground disco sound during that era—a true counterpart to the polished, orchestral, and diva-esque sounds that were ruling the mainstream at the time. Here, you have nothing but the bare essence: rough drums, claps and guitar that sound like they were recorded in a cavern, and almost proto-Detroit-sounding synthesizer strings. To my ears, it sounds like one of the first possible true inspirations for house music. Regardless, "New York's Moving" is a cult classic that still sounds fresh, not to mention a track that top Dis like Danny Krivit continue to play out.
Ahzz - New York's Movin (Instrumental) / Written & produced by Osborne Hunter & Steve Boston / (1981, Phase One Network Inc.)
® Phase One Network Inc/Demon Music Group Ltd.)
BILL DEAL & THE RHONDELS "FREAK N FREEZE"
The mystery surrounding this song is strong—a white rock and roll band from Virginia releasing this fast-paced, monstrous disco banger? Adding to the mystery is the fact that the record is virtually unknown, impossible to find, and not even seasoned disco collectors seem to know about it. When I got this 7" from a Belgian friend of mine who specializes in 45s (and who, no disrespect intended, to this day believes this record is some sort of cover-up where another band recorded the song and somehow it ended up being released on here, I wasn't exactly prepared for the reactions I got when i played it out. On the first listen, this may sound like your typical disco-funk thing, but trust me, it absolutely slays dancefloors. It just sounds unbelievable on the right system. Throughout my career, this is probably the record I've received the most Facebook messages about, the one that gets the most people running to the booth, etc. So for all the people I have kept this secret from over the years, here it finally is. Freak n Freeze!
Bill Deal & The Rhondels - Freak 'N' Freeze / Written & produced by Freddy Owens & Alan Porter / (1979, Gig/Way)
® Clay Music Corp. BMI