M Plant US

Review: Robert Hood's gospel house and disco referencing Floorplan project returns on his revered M-Plant imprint with these four fierce, funky and downright powerful dancefloor bombs. Starting off on the A side with the tough, rhythmic and rolling DJ tool "Let The Church" which is interspersed with the mandatory diva vocal for added hands in the air effect: this one really brings it! Next up the is the uplifting and life affirming church celebration (techno style) on "Made Up In My Mind" which utilises one woman's powerful preaching at a sermon to magnificent effect. On the flip is more typical M-Plant faire, with the hypnotic and cyclical adrenaline of "He Can Save You" which is more suited to dark and sweaty warehouse space His daughter and newly appointed DJ partner Lyric Hood's mix of "Never Grow Old" from 2013's tremendous Paradise LP is a fantastic reshape of the now classic tune.

Review: ** Repress For The Hood Fans ** This much anticipated EP on his own M Plant label sees Detroit legend Robert Hood continue to develop to his Floorplan alias after the recent Living It Up single. The A-Side explores euphoric 90s house tropes in "We Magnify His Name", a peak time piano driven anthem which is as religious an experience to listen to as its name suggests, complete with uplifting gospel vocals. On the flip, Hood explores his darker techno tendencies over two tracks. "Baby Baby" relies more on a cut up vocal sample and a slightly wobbling Motor City leaning bassline and a Model 500 style funk swing to it, provided in no small part by a particularly great guitar lick, while tension and release is offered in spades by a well placed horn sample. "Basic Priciple" meanwhile is a druggier affair propelled by its murky sub bass and techno stabs, the only melody coming from a particularly sinister two note organ line.

Review: A taster for Robert Hood's second Floorplan album, this EP puts a spotlight on the radical nature of his musical transformation. On "Music", the visceral rhythms of techno minimalism are gone; in their place is a rolling, tracky groove that boasts a repetitive vocal loop and which has shades of classic Relief /Derrick Carter. "Tell You No Lie" is even more impressive. It sees Hood use a gospel vocal over a stomping, funk guitar-sampling disco house workout. There is an audibly religious dimension to "Tell You No Lie," but Hood's knack for writing a great tune means that it sounds celebratory rather than self-indulgent or preachy.

Review: ** Repress For The Hood Fans ** Emboldened by the reception to his overlooked and revisited Floorplan project, Mr Robert Hood turns to a track of a similar nature for the latest release in the M Plant Perpetual Masters series. The main slinky hook from Sister Sledge's "He's The Greatest Dancer" may have been subsequently bastardized by Mr Will Jiggy Smith, but Hood's minimal sampling of the same source on the 1991 track "The Greatest Dancer" must have sounded thrilling then. It still does today, remastered and is complemented on the flip by "Dancer", a new Hood jam that is as close to outright disco without losing that trademark Detroit grit as you can get.