Robert Hood is among the most important names in the history of club music, from his early work with Mike Banks and Jeff Mills under the banner of Underground Resistance, to his more recent contributions in Floorplan and M-Plant, he has paved the way for what we know today as minimal techno. An EP back in October saw Hood revive his Monobox alias for the first time since 2014, he then closed out the year with the projects first full length album since the 2013 release of Molecule. It comes
via his own M-Plant imprint, a label where alongside releasing music from himself, his daughter Lyric, and their Floorplan moniker, he has also welcomed productions from some of minimal techno’s most iconic names, including James Ruskin, Ben Sims, and Mark Broom. As with everything else he has released up to now, Regenerate provides a straight forward and no thrills engagement with minimal, bare bones techno. There are no flashy vocals or over the top arrangement techniques, just a well mixed, well produced, and well measured array of club sounds. At just 7 tracks in total, there isn’t much room for filler, and it has virtually none, every track brings something to the table in one way or another, and as a whole it leaves you wanting more when things come to a close.
Where to start:
Wargames: Hammering kick drums and bubbling filtered synth bass
Regenerate: Explosive stabs cut through a mix of constantly evolving textures
Exoplanet: Deeply hypnotic and highly energetic techno anthem
Previous from Monobox:
Molecule LP (2004, Logistic Records)
Forwardbase Kodai EP (2014, M-Plant Music)
If you like this then check out:
Planetary Assault Systems – Sky Scraping LP (2021, Token)
Sleeparchive – Trust LP (2020, Tresor Records)
Monobox – Regenerate LP is out now on M-Plant Music.