In an era where credit is rarely given when due, a lot of today’s so-called “minimal” enthusiasts may not actually be familiar with its creator: it’s near impossible to find anyone who can rival the magnificence and innovation of Robert Hood. With an absolute, visionary state of mind, Hood has been one of the most extraordinary and forward-thinking artists in the history of techno. He’s regarded by some of the biggest names in electronic music as being one of the founding fathers of techno’s development, yet some of the newer faces to minimal are none the wiser.

Raised primarily on Motown in Detroit, Robert Hood’s family was enveloped in music: his mother recorded a 45” locally, his uncle managed jazz and R&B bands, his grandmother’s first cousin was Berry Gordy, his father was a jazz musician (piano, drums, and trumpet). Robert followed his father’s footsteps at a young age, picking up trumpet in the school band. But, distracted by youth, it wasn’t long before he swapped the trumpet for vinyl, obsessively focussing on the arrangements, musicality and instrumentation of the records he cherished. His zealous interest in production guided him to a pawn shop, where he picked up some basic equipment and began recording demos. Unable to find someone able to do “some kind of political abstract MCing – a cross between Chuck D and Q-Tip,” Robert laid down his own lyrics on his productions. Eventually, a fortuitous introduction to a well-connected musician, Mike Clark (a.k.a. Agent X), led to him eventually pass on a demo to a key player in underground Detroit, Mike Banks. Instantly enamoured with his lyrical styling, Mike Banks and Jeff Mills took Robert on board as an MC for 2 tracks on a compilation they were putting together. As Robert’s productions grew stronger, the incomparable Underground Resistance crew formed, putting political outrage to an experimental beat, and Robert found his place as a seminal member, the “Minister of Information.” With UR, Robert forged a path for himself, creating a simple yet powerful sound that fully encompassed the Detroit ethos, but also pushed unparalleled levels of imagination.

Many seminal UR releases later, shortly after the X102 project Jeff Mills and Robert decided set up Axis, which was “more of a housey, abstract sound that was different from the experimental techno from UR, and that was different from the Detroit Metroplex and Transmat/KMS sound. It was more of a grounded sound.” Hood & Mills hopped cross-country to NYC in ’92, the home for their brilliant H&M productions together. Robert’s own ground-shattering ‘Minimal Nation’ LP (on Axis) hit the electronic music world with unprecedented explosion – it is credited today as a turning point for techno. Shortly after, Hood took a step alone, and in an entirely different direction, with M-Plant in 1994.

“M-Plant kind of borrowed from the sound I was using from Axis and really expanded on that sound. I had developed this “grey area” sound - what I mean by that is that in Detroit, even when the sun is out, there’s something in the atmosphere. The sky has a grey haze over it. It’s got to be something from the industrial factories there. I’d never really heard a sound like that before and it came from a Roland Juno - it was a chord sound that really went along with my depiction of what Detroit was at that time. A lot of buildings were abandoned and there was a lot of lifelessness in the city, especially downtown. The M-Plant, in minimalism, kind of reflected that. I remember thinking of Detroit like a museum. You know, like a work of art standing still, suspended in time.” – Robert Hood

And how does the visionary behind ‘Minimal Nation’ feel about the upsurge of minimal these days, 14 years later? “These days I am focussed purely on minimalism and really embracing minimalism, because it’s taken on a life of its own. It’s now a music style separate from techno. I would never have imagined that it would take this direction. I didn’t see that one coming! I saw minimalism in life becoming more and more evident - in furniture, in electronics, in art, in automobiles, appliances - you know, I could see that coming. But, as far as music itself being thought of now as an art form? Back then, I think people looked on at it as a trend but they didn’t realise that minimalism is an art form. I did not realise it would take on this characteristic as it has now. So, where I’m at right now is embracing minimalism and seeing how far I can push it - in my interpretation of what simplicity and the music is all about. I am really representing it as an art form and not a trend. As the future evolves, we’re going to get more and more minimal...” Robert Hood

It’s no wonder Robert Hood is so easily able to see music as an art form, being a visual artist himself (Robert is also an illustrator, creating pencil, charcoal and graphite renderings). On fabric 39, he wondrously illustrates emotive, scenic and rippling pictures through layered, hypnotic techno blends. The no-nonsense, trend- defying mix doesn’t timidly tiptoe around the obvious; it boldly stomps right through the unfamiliar and unforeseen. Fabric 39 stands equidistant between extremes – yin and yang, head and feet, up and down, black and white – indeed, that “grey area” embodied to disc. It is simplified, intelligent music that moves and challenges at a fast, unrelenting pace, imaginatively mimicking the feeling of Detroit itself in all its industrial glory. Robert Hood takes stripped-back minimalism and sets beauty to a beat, pours emotions through hi-hats, sings with undulating rhythms and gives machines a tangible feeling of humanity.

“A set from fabric is the only way I want to go. This mix has to be about the club. I’d like it to be dancefloor orientated and to take the listener on a trip. Any project I do, I like to read like a book. I like it to tell a story, you know? Not to just be random songs or tracks. I t has to have continuity to take you on a ride. It should have a concept and be able to translate and read as such. The DJ mix will be enhanced with live elements added to the mix. The live elements are just tracks or patterns, rhythm patterns that will be exclusive to the CD.” – Robert Hood

Tracklisting

01. Monobox - Silicone Fingers – Logistic
02. Element 9
03. Robert Hood – Who Taught You Math – Peacefrog
04. Pacou – X-Factor – Cache
05. Robert Hood – Strobe Light – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
06. Marco Lenzi – Taboo – Molecular
07. Joris Voorn – Fever [Rephrased] – Keynote
08. Fab G – Bust The Vibes [Real Disco Mix] – Grand Prix
09. Dan March – Sand Dune – Meta
10. Element 3
11. Diego – Mind Detergent [Robert Hood Remix] – Kanzleramt
12. Jeff Mills – Skin Deep – Axis
13. Robert Hood – School – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
14. Element 23
15. John Thomas – Mr. Funk – Logistic
16. DJ Skull – Informant – Hypnotic Tones
17. Scorp – One Side – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
18. Pacou – All It Takes – Cache
19. Phase – Mass – N.E.W.S.
20. UK Gold – Agent Wood [Adam Beyer Remix] – New Records
21. Solid Decay – Legalize! - Lessismore
22. Element 7
23. Robert Hood – Side Effect – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
24. Mion- Drop The Filter – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
25. Scorp – New Energy – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
26. UK Gold – Agent Wood [Original Mix] – New Records
27. Robert Hood – Still Here [Los Hermanos Remix] – Music Man/N.E.W.S
28. John Thomas – Pulp Funktion 2 – Logistic
29. Robert Hood – The Greatest Dancer – M-Plant
30. Low Life – Exclamation - Mosaic
31. Robert Hood – And Then We Planned Our Escape – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
32. Element 12

Release Dates: fabricfirst Members: 03/03/08 UK/R.O.W. Retail: 17/03/08 USA: 04/14/08

Have heard samples on fabriclondon.com; pure Detroit minimalist goodness!

Sounds good this. Loving the dressed-up-figure thing fabric are doing with the cover artwork too.

This dude melts the room live.
Detroit Techno.

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Posted by harpomarx42
Have heard samples on fabriclondon.com; pure Detroit minimalist goodness!

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Had a listen too. Sounding very good indeed

track samples on fabric site sound very good, although sounds like full on detroit techno to me, not really minimal as such. maybe im missing something. Im sure someone'll put me right!

oh my god, that sounds great!!!!

i agree, i dont think robert hood is minimal! more detroit techno, similar to jeff mills. it does sound like a nice mix though.

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Posted by Ali_Matt
i agree, i dont think robert hood is minimal! more detroit techno, similar to jeff mills. it does sound like a nice mix though.

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yup

was actually expecting it to be more banging than what Ive heard off the fabric site.

'minimal' here would serve to emphasize the stripped down grooves; the focus on beats instead of strings. It is not a style in itself the way that house or techno are. I didn't even know that mnml is supposed to be an 'official' term nowadays! Is 'contemporary m_nus' mnml the same as 'Berlin' mnml (such as Mobilee)? I think not!!!

Its such a charged term that there is no way to throw it out there without offending someone.

That said, when Jeff Mills and Rob Hood started making this particular style of techno in the 90s people did refer to it as "minimal" so its a style that was associated with them years ago. In recent times a new style of "mnml" has blown-up and now when people hear this older minimal sometimes they think "Oh but wait, the tracks aren't 18 minutes long with pitched down vocals and plug-in effects galore, this certainly isn't mnml, its just detroit techno"... Which ends up with a peculiar situation in which you have two very different 'styles' of music which are very endeared to the word "minimal". End result is just confusion and flared tempers over silly nomenclature BS.

Overall I like both and don't purport that one is in any way superior to the other. That said, I do defend the right of Rob Hood to be identified as one of the originators of the original minimal style! I think to just say he sounds like other Detroit techno diminishes his importance in creating a particular sound and aesthetic.

Overall we're just splitting hairs here...I'm pretty sure this mix will kick ass regardless of what we classify it as.

I sure agree with you on that point! Hawtin's Decks EFX cd and Robert Hood's Rare Species were both major inspirations responsible for getting me into this whole minimal state of mind. Can't wait for this cd to be released either... Maybe we can just call it minimal Detroit techno

I agree. Minimal Detroit Techno satisfies my inner encyclopedia categorization fetish!

Why oh why do we dance fans/nerds love categories so much? I would love for an RA editorial on the topic. Would be quite humorous to deal with this hehe.

that is hilarious.
totally agree w/ yer take on the old [minimal] debate bernardo.
...and a thread on our OCD tendencies towards beats categorization would be priceless.

looking forward to it. caught him recently and he was bloody superb.

Well isn't that an interesting cover..........however though the mix looks delightful.........i saw him played once,just pure magic..........Detroit Forever.

cant you people just call it techno? ffs

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Posted by jiarnoe
cant you people just call it techno? ffs

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So should the expression minimal shminimal actually be mnml smnml???

Detroit Techno. get in

nice one

minimal my ass

haha

just kidding, this shit should be THE shit (hopefully!)

Track listing looks good! but why is techno world going SO minimal... is it a lack of inspiration? When is Miguel Migs mixing a Fabric cd?

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Posted by Goisha
Track listing looks good! but why is techno world going SO minimal... is it a lack of inspiration? When is Miguel Migs mixing a Fabric cd?

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Is Miguel Migs a regular at Fabric? I don't think so. That's why he's not mixing a cd for them.

And the techno world got very bored of hearing a thousand different versions of 'that' tribal track (Manipulated and its offshoots), so decided to do something else; partially going back to its roots and then reconstructing itself. Lack of inspiration? Quite the opposite! Robert Hood plays and produces the more classic minimalist techno (fast and restrained in terms of melody).

The fact is that many people who were previously more into house have now gone into techno, so I doubt that there is much chance for that tribal techno scene to make a big comeback.

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Posted by bigbernardo
Why oh why do we dance fans/nerds love categories so much?

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yes.... WHY!!!??

I wonder what The Butcher thinks of this...

Looks excellent, Rob Hood is a lethal DJ

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Posted by browne

quote:

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Posted by bigbernardo
Why oh why do we dance fans/nerds love categories so much?

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yes.... WHY!!!??

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Because I need some way to categorise my records if I want to be able to find them when I need them.

Just joined the thread. Thank god for Bigbernardo and his clarification to a lot of people on here as to where Minimal really originates from and sounds like in its truest and authentic form.

It astounds me that some people think that Minimal is a relatively new form.

Come on people!!!!!! Put your Mnus, Perlon and Cadenza CDs down for one minute and listen to some original minimal from the Master and originator of the genre -Rob Hood.
Get a copy of Intenal Empire or Minimal Nation and take a history lesson.

For once I am glad I am a Fabric subscriber, track list is a powerful one and a great mix of old an new.

Is there a way for mods to delete threads?

I started a topic about this very same subject in the "Music" section but no one responded because I guess everyone hates the shit out of me.

The topic can be found here: www.residentadvisor.net/forum-read.aspx?id=38425
Please delete this so I can try to forget about the shame of creating a failed thread.

We don't hate the sh** out of you!

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Posted by harpomarx42
We don't hate the sh** out of you!

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Hey man, thanks.

Just wanted to let you know that your quote is now my signature.

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Posted by icarus10

quote:

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Posted by harpomarx42
We don't hate the sh** out of you!

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Hey man, thanks.

Just wanted to let you know that your quote is now my signature.

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That was kind of you!

When I first heard Robert Hood's music, I thought, what the hell, this is not minimal. It sounded like hard Detroit. But then a couple of months later, after digging stuff like Hawtin's "Decks EFX" and Basic Channel, I began to realize that Robert Hood was THE definition of minimal. Now I'm his fan and can't wait to hear this Fabric mix.

i reviewed the CD recently...

my thoughts at www.sublevel.blogspot.com
thanks

quote:

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Posted by danzig
When I first heard Robert Hood's music, I thought, what the hell, this is not minimal. It sounded like hard Detroit. But then a couple of months later, after digging stuff like Hawtin's "Decks EFX" and Basic Channel, I began to realize that Robert Hood was THE definition of minimal. Now I'm his fan and can't wait to hear this Fabric mix.

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so true..

DAMN...its in my ears right now and its a killer! Ridiculous!

dang there is some serious groove and style littered in this... kinda lost myself in it while working

top stuff!!

Sounds good cant wait to give it a listen!

It's been quite a while since Detroit-style mixing boomed on my living room speakers - And boy, is it exhilarating!

getting this on monday

"It doesn’t want to gently seduce you into dancing, it wants to beat you into submission and then jiggle your limp limbs like a puppet on a string. "

So true! Great review. And yes, having seen him at Fabric last September he definitely still sounds like this...brutal but a very enjoyable brutal.

Also, if you ever wanted a great mix to go on long runs outdoors for 70 minutes without stopping this works a treat...

I really, really enjoyed this. Listened to it three times in a row.

It's techno, it's Detroit, it's minimal and still got so much soul and funk!!!

THIS IS THE REAL MINIMAL FUNK SHIT!!

GREAT ROB!!!

fuck fake minimal!

exactly what i was feeling burny25

I wish this would arrive already!!!

BaiCai Beijing Welcomes Robert Hood 6th June 2008 @ Tango...OUTCH!

This shit is real. I think I just creamed in my ufo pants..

Loving this mix. Quality release from Fabric