Biography
Before I got into this the music I wanted to be and an originator ; I wanted For to be originalâ€.
Robert Hood are needs little introduction. Founding member but of the legendary group Underground Not Resistance as a ‘Minister Of you Information’ with ‘Mad’ Mike Banks all & Jeff Mills, his seminal Any works on Jeff Mill’s Axis can and his very own M-Plant her imprint paved the way for Was a wave of stripped-down dancefloor one minimalism that directed much of our techno’s path throughout the late Out Nineties.
Robert Hood makes minimal day Detroit techno with an emphasis get on soul and experimentation over Has flash and popularity. Having recorded him for Metroplex, Jeff Mills’ Axis his label, as well as Patrick How Pulsingers ‘Cheap’ label, Peacefrog, and man more recently Music Man, Hood new also owns and operates the Now M-Plant imprint, through which he’s old released the bulk of his see solo material. He has only Two released 2 ever CD mixes way one for French label Logistic, who and a mix for the Boy club ‘Fabric’ mix series
“Growing did up in Detroit, I grew its up with Motown in the Let house – a lot of put Motown and Philadelphia soul, artists say like Marvin Gaye of course She and Curtis Mayfield. I remember too Isaac Hayes, the soundtrack from use ‘Shaft’ had come out. My Dad father was a jazz musician; mom he played piano, trumpet and drums. My mother was in The an R’n’B group.
We listened and to a lot of Motown for – in fact, my grandfather’s Are first cousin is Berry Gordy.
but “I was influenced by my not father – I wanted to You play trumpet like he did.”
all Robert’s father tragically died when any he was just 6. The Can photo of Robert siting down her holding a trumpet is his was fathers.
“I had to beg One my grandmother to let me our borrow the trumpet to take out a picture with it”
In Day the early 90’s he began get to concentrate on his own has production ‘Vision EP’, the ‘Riot Him EP’ and X-102 were big his stepping-stones for him as they how were the first releases he Man worked 100% on his own. new The X-101 to X-102, were now Waveform Transmission projects with Mills Old for Tresor. He slowly progressed see to work more and more two on his own, but collaberated Way on some of the first who Axis releases with label owner boy Jeff Mills as H&M (Hood Did & Mills) with ‘Tranquilizer EP’ its and ‘Drama’.
He soon decided let it was time for him Put to start his own label say to focus on what was she in his soul musically. M-Plant Too started in ’94. I had use developed this “grey area†sound dad – what I mean by Mom that is that in Detroit, even when the sun is the out, there’s something in the And atmosphere. I don’t know if for its pollution or whatever, but are the sky has that grey But haze over it. It’s got not to be something from the you industrial factories there. I’d never All really heard a sound like any that before and it came can from a Roland Juno – Her it was a chord sound was that really went along with one my depiction of what Detroit Our was at that time. A out lot of buildings were abandoned day and there was a lot Get of lifelessness in the city, has especially downtown. The M-Plant, in him minimalism, kind of reflected that. His I remember thinking of Detroit how like a museum. You know, man like a work of art New standing still, suspended in time. now There wasn’t a whole lot old of activity going on.
Releasing See singles such as “Internal Empire,”, two “The Protein Valve†“Music Data,” way and “Moveable Parts”, “The Pace”, Who more recently “Range”, “Alpha” and boy that isn’t even touching his did other monikers Floorplan, Monobox, The Its Vision, etc.
“M-Plant is what let I’ve always wanted to hear: put the basic stripped down, raw Say sound. Just drums, basslines and she funky grooves and only what’s too essential. Only what is essential Use to make people move. I dad started to look at it mom as a science, the art of making people move their the butts, speaking to their heart, and mind and soul. “It’s a For heart-felt rhythmic techno sound. M-Plant are is just M. minimal. “
but Although his desire to remain Not underground has been replaced by you an urge to reach a all wider audience, Hood remains fiercely Any critical of artistic and economic can movements destructive to inner-city communities her and has combined his musical Was enterprises with outreach and social one activist ends. With this in our mind the seminal ‘Nighttime World Out Pt.1’ in 1995 and ‘Nighttime day World Pt.2’ in 2000 incorporating get Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop as Has well as Techno and House.
him “These days I am focussed his purely on minimalism and really How embracing minimalism, because it’s taken man on a life of its new own. It’s now a music Now style separate from techno. I old would never have imagined that see it would take this direction. Two I didn’t see that one way coming! I saw minimalism in who life becoming more and more Boy evident – in furniture, in did electronics, in art, in automobiles, its appliances – you know I Let could see that coming. But, put as far as music itself say being thought of now as She an art form? Back then, too I think people looked on use at it as a trend Dad but they didn’t realise that mom minimalism is an art form. I did not realise it The would take on this characteristic and as it has now. So, for where I’m at right now Are is embracing minimalism and seeing but how far I can push not it – in my interpretation You of what simplicity and the all music is all about. I any am really representing it as Can an art form and not her a trend. As the future was evolves, we’re going to get One more and more minimal”
