Vermont

German electronic luminaries reconvene to produce the sumptuous Downtempo analogue delights of Vermont II.

- Hamish Mackintosh

They are perhaps better known for their respective DJ/production skills and projects – Marcus Worgull for a slew of floor-fillers on the Innervisions imprint, and Danilo Plessow for the Funk-fuelled House of his Motor City Drum Ensemble alter-ego… But when the two come together as Vermont, the tempos drop, the vintage synths are dusted down and mesmeric sound reveries are duly fashioned.

Debut album, Vermont, landed to much acclaim in 2014 and Plessow and Worgull enjoyed the experience of collaborating so much they hunkered down in Plessow’s then Amsterdam studio to create, Vermont II. From the languid opening refrain of Norderney, to the analogue arpeggios and lush string synths of standouts Chemtrails and Ufer, Vermont II is a 5am triumph of an album with its echoes of Tangerine Dream and the kosmische music of the early German synth pioneers.

With a mouth-watering collection of desirable analogue synths and outboard at their disposal, FM couldn’t resist the chance to talk tech with Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow and find out a little more about how Vermont II came into being.

FM: Your debut collaboration, Vermont I, was written and recorded in Danilo’s Cologne studio; is that where Vermont II was created?

Danilo: “No, actually I moved to Amsterdam so this album was done in my studio there. Not everything but I’d say maybe 80% of the equipment was the same. The whole concept behind Vermont is that we collaborate in person where we can share an environment and a mindset.”

Do you have set roles or is it a case of doing whatever is required on any given track?