Picnic Preview - Rob Hood

Rob Hood is techno. Along with Jeff Mills and 'Mad' Mike Banks, Hood is a founding member of the seminal Underground Resistance label. Their influential releases throughout the 90's helped to shape the modern face of techno by fusing elements of acid and industrial with Detroit and Chicago house. He is often credit with being the pioneer of hypnotic stripped down techno and released his Minimal Nation MP on Jeff Mills' Axis label in 1994. Birmingham's Surgeon once remarked, 'When Hood released his pivotal 'Minimal Nation' EP in 1993, it was like a bomb went off.' Clearly ahead of the game his current releases are described as taking techno music to new levels of musicality and sophistication. He plays hard and fast techno often at speeds of up to 150bpm. He is know for using custom altered Technics which can pitch up to +16%.

Hood has shyed away from the mainstream as much as possible due to his desire to remain underground, he prefers to place emphasis on soul and experimentation over flash and popularity. When he started his own label, M-Plant, in 1994 he did so with the desire to create the music "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"

The return of minimal into the hearts of the masses over the past few years resulted in Hood completing a mix for Fabric's legendary series. Released in March, Fabric 39 is a stomping run-through of what is pure in techno music. It's hard but it's stripped down to the bare essentials and you cannot help but be sucked into the distinctive Detroit drum loops. For those Stradbally bound at the weekend, I would prescibe a heavy dose of Fabric 39 to get in the mood for this one.


Rob Hood headlines the Bodytonic Main Stage on Saturday night at Electric Picnic.