M Plant US

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: 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: ** FLOORPLAN REPRESS ** It's fair to say that this was one of the best Robert Hood moments in a while! Just two tracks but boy do they hit hard - "Altered Ego" is more brakey than the usual Hood bombs but he's kept the inimitable chords, all wailing and weaving their way through the beat. The real heat is on the flip however, where the nostalgic, rave-infused piano keys of "Confess" make for a certified classic! Is it Hood who influenced Shed on this sort of beat or the other way around? Who cares, it's bloody amazing!

Review: The latest transmission of M Plant's 20th Anniversary celebrations sees label boss Robert Hood come through with some self styled 'replants' of recent Floorplan material. "Never Grow Old" of course originates from Hood's triumphant 2013 Floorplan LP Paradise, arriving midway through and impressive enough to feature in Ben Klock's Fabric mix. Here the gospel vibes remain but they are complemented by a searing Motor City key line that is really quite hypnotic over it's seven minute duration. Complementing this is a replant of "Phobia", one of Hood's last releases of 2013 which evens out the hoover rave overtones of the original in favour of some trippy synth loops that prove just as effective.

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.

Review: Following last year's full-length outing on Dekmantel, Robert Hood returns to his long-running M Plant label with a typically forthright three-tracker. Given that he's not released anything on the imprint under his given name since 2014, it feels like a significant release. Opener "Low Life" is certainly a slammer in the legendary producer's typical style, with a creepy, mind-altering organ line looping away over bombastic beats and a rumbling, sub-heavy bassline. "Go" is more tribal in feel despite the presence of a bleeping synth motif, with Hood adding and removing different percussive elements throughout to keep excitement high. As for flipside "Clocks", it's dirty, druggy, alien sounding and insanely weighty.