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1994 and a good friend of mine was distributing vinyl out of his bedroom in Plymouth as 'Underrated & Dangerous'. On one visit I was called upon to check through a pile of the latest shipment from Submerge. Robert Hood's 'Minimal Nation' LP. Whilst checking for defects we were surprised to discover a mispress containing four unreleased Jeff Mills tracks, one of which I have included in this mix.
It is hard for me to convey what this music meant to me upon hearing it 15 years ago, as Surgeon said 'it was like a bomb went off'. Stripped down to the barest essentials of synth and drum machine 'Minimal Nation' is an exercise in taut minimal funk. The music has lost none of its power and remains as timeless and resonant now as it did then.
Minimal Nation's re-release is a timely reminder of the genre's origins. In Rob Hood's own words 'A lot of so called minimalist artists are jumping on the minimal bandwagon for the sake of being minimal. What’s lacking a lot of the time is the feeling, or the emotion. We hear a lot of slick production but not a lot of passion.'
With this mix I have included just some of Rob Hood's many releases alongside similar work from contemporaries including Jeff Mills and Claude Young. Recorded on two turntables with more than fifty five tracks in 3:03 hours, I had one or two issues with my aged turntables but I hope it serves as something of an introduction for the uninitiated.
Nanobot
www.nonom.co.uk
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Rob Hood's myspace
http://www.myspace.com/hoodrob
Rob Hood Bleep Interview
http://blog.bleep.com/2009/06/10/bleep-interview-robert-hoodhis-influences-and-the-nation-he-influenced/
Robert Hood's Biography
“Before I got into this music I wanted to be an originator ; I wanted to be original”.
Robert Hood needs little introduction. Founding member of the legendary group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with ‘Mad’ Mike Banks & Jeff Mills, his seminal works on Jeff Mill's Axis and his very own M-Plant imprint paved the way for a wave of stripped-down dancefloor minimalism that directed much of techno's path throughout the late Nineties. As Birmingham's Surgeon once remarked, 'When Hood released his pivotal 'Minimal Nation' EP in 1993, it was like a bomb went off.'
Robert Hood makes minimal Detroit techno with an emphasis on soul and experimentation over flash and popularity. Having recorded for Metroplex, as well as the Austrian Cheap label and Jeff Mills' Axis label, Hood also owns and operates the M-Plant imprint, through which he's released the bulk of his solo material. As part of the original UR line up whose influential releases throughout the early and mid '90s helped change the face of modern Detroit techno and sparked a creative renaissance. Infusing elements of acid and industrial into a potent blend of Chicago house and Detroit techno, UR's aesthetic project and militant business philosophy were (and remain) singular commitments in underground techno. Hood left Detroit (and UR) with Jeff Mills in 1992, setting up shop in New York and recording a series of 12-inch Eps. He began to concentrate on his own production 'Vision EP', the 'Riot EP' and X-103 were big stepping-stones for him as they were the first releases he worked 100% on his own. The X-101 to X-102, were Waveform Transmission projects with Mills for Tresor. He slowly progressed to work more and more on his own, but collaberated on some of the first Axis releases with label owner Jeff Mills as H&M (Hood & Mills) with ‘Tranquilizer EP’ and ‘Drama’.
He soon decided it was time for him to start his own label to focus on what was in his soul musically.and set up M-Plant in 1994 releasing singles such as "Internal Empire,", “The Protein Valve” "Music Data," and "Moveable Parts. "M-Plant is what I've always wanted to hear: the basic stripped down, raw sound. Just drums, basslines and funky grooves and only what's essential. Only what is essential to make people move. I started to look at it as a science, the art of making people move their butts, speaking to their heart, mind and soul. “It's a heart-felt rhythmic techno sound. M-Plant is just M. minimal"
Although his desire to remain underground has been replaced by an urge to reach a wider audience, Hood remains fiercely critical of artistic and economic movements destructive to inner-city communities and has combined his musical enterprises with outreach and social activist ends. With this in mind the seminal ‘Nighttime World Pt.1’ in 1995 and ‘Nighttime World Pt.2’ in 2000 incorporating Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop as well as Techno and House.
His debut Peacefrog album 'Point Blank' took Hood's hypnotic minimalism to entirely new depths and territories, whilst his last album 'Wire To Wire' takes his productions onto new levels of musicality and sophistication within the world of electronic music.
Most recently he embarked on a new project with Music Man records (Belgium) titled “HoodMusic”, bringing his unique style of minimal techno back to the forefront of what is going on in the music scenes today. These are a series of singles leading up to an album
TRACKLIST
Mad Mike - Acid Rain III - Underground Resistance [Track: Twista (The Dance)]
Robert Hood - Moveable Parts Chapter One - M-Plant [Track: Untitled Scetch]
Jacek Sienkiewicz - New Direction - Recognition
Monobox - Realm - M-Plant
D.S. Volume 1 - Lukuta - F Communications
Frame Six - Mirror EP - Indulge [Track: Flem&Earl]
Floorplan - Come On - Drama
Robert Hood - Red Passion 1 - Duet
Robert Hood - The Rhythm of Vision - Tresor
Robert Hood - Stereotype- M-Plant
Robert Hood - Invincible - M-Plant
Robert Hood - Nighttime World - Cheap [Track: Electric Nigger Pt 1]
John Thomas - Mr Funk EP - Logistic [Track: The Blend]
Robert Hood - The Pace - M-Plant
Robert Hood - Internal Empire EP - M-Plant [Track: Parade]
Jeff Mills - The Good Robot - Axis
Robert Hood - Apartment Zero EP - Logistic [Track: In Basements]
Robert Hood - Minimal Nation - Axis [Track: One Touch]
Robert Hood - Minimal Nation - Axis [Track: Unix]
Robert Hood - Psychic - M-Plant
Robert Hood - Moveable Parts Chapter Two - M-Plant [Track: Motion Detector]
The Vision - Explain the Style - Metroplex
Kenny Larkin - Art Of Dance Sampler - Art Of Dance
Robert Hood - Sophisticcato - Duet
H&M - Drama EP - Axis [Track: Suspense]
X-102 - Discovers the Rings of Saturn - Tresor [Track: Enceladus]
Obscurum - Syncopate - E-COM
The Mathematic Assassin - Snakes & Politics - Hardwax
Robert Hood - Wire to Wire - Peacefrog [Track: Interior Suspect]
Robert Hood - HoodMusic 2 - Logistic [Track: Still Hear]
Robert Hood - Minimal Nation - Axis [Track: Self Powered]
Robert Hood - Minimal Nation - Axis [Track: SH 101]
Robert Hood - Minimal Nation - Axis [Track: Station Rider E]
Jeff Mills - Contact Special - Axis [Track: Revealing the Infinite]
Infiniti - Flash Flood - Tresor
Jeff Mills - Contact Special - Axis [Track: A Universal Voice]
Jeff Mills - Metropolis - Tresor [Track: Flood]
Robert Hood - Internal Empire LP - Tresor [Track: Rek]
Claude Young - The Dexit EP - Elypsia [Track: Prance]
Claude Young - Nocturnal EP - Djax-Up-Beats [Track: I Am Nothing]
Jeff Mills - Our Man in Havana - Purpose Maker [Track: Sugar is Sweeter]
Claude Young - Nocturnal EP - Djax-Up-Beats [Track: Concentration Factor]
Minimal Nation mispress - Axis [Artist: Jeff Mills Track: Untitled]
Claude Young - One Complete Revolution - Utensil [Track: Time Distortion]
X-103 - Tephra EP - Axis [Track: Tephra]
Robert Hood - Satellite - Hardwax
Robert Hood - Technatural EP - M-Plant [Track: Tactel]
The Vision - Waveform Transmission Vol. 2 - Tresor [Track: Weapons]
Millsart - Humana - Axis [Track: Gamma Player]
Jeff Mills - AX-009 B - Axis
Millsart - Humana - Axis [Track: Untitled]
The Vision - Waveform Transmission Vol. 2 - Tresor [Track: Chrome]
X-103 - Tephra EP - Axis [Track: Hagia Triada]
The Vision - Waveform Transmission Vol. 2 - Tresor [Track: Projectile Darts]
Robert Hood - Internal Empire LP - Tresor [Track: Minus]
Enjoy!
