Title: Spectra
Artist: Robert Hood
Label: M-Plant
Cat Number: MPM52
Genre: Techno
A1: Spectra
A2: E. Dark
B1: Untitled (Spectra)
B2: Fiend
Even though it was released back in 2001, ‘Spectra’ may be a new tune to me as, although I bought a lot of the M-Plant stuff on sight, I think I’d stopped by 2001. Why, I have no idea. I mean I’ve got a lot of records so it could be in there, somewhere. In any case, in his heyday Hood was the innovator, alongside Mills. They both followed different paths though. Both onto their own specific artistic vision and while Mils pursued a sort of sci-fi aesthetic, Hood was gazing more inward. His minimal vision has always been a singular one and his production so crisp and physical that it is still amongst the most forward thinking music of its type today. On the face of things that may not be immediately apparent. However, once you’re locked onto the demented machine funk accordion of ‘Spectra’, you soon realise that this isn’t just any old process. There are myriads of different layers and inflections laid out which mutate with every different listening. It’s not all like that though. Both ‘E. Dark’ and ‘Fiend’ loop the loop and plough a relatively one dimensional furrow. They’re great at what they do however. And the quality of the production as well as the measured way that they let off steam means that they aren’t to be categorised with the normal fare enjoyed by the sweaty techno masses. ‘Untitled (Spectra)’ has a lot more about it. There are swirling phantom noises, for example, and even though it feels linear, there are small indentations which emphasise the fact that it is a coalition of off-beat chaos. The keys are pure Detroit, and then there’s a violin. This isn’t an easy thing to imagine, let alone make. No problem for Mr Hood though. The devil in the detail.
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