As with previous Monobox releases, the EP affords Hood the opportunity to explore a more cinematic style than the loopy techno encapsulated in Minimal Nation (which he rereleased in August). Included is a remix of the title track by London producer Ø [Phase] with more traditionally repetitive elements, however. Rounding out the effort is a “Robert Hood Re-Plant” of said single as well as a more serene soundscape titled “Homestead.”

Black Box

Robert Hood followed up the 1996 release of Realm with Monobox EPs like Downtown in 1997 and Population in 2001. 2003 marked the project’s debut studio-length album Molecule – also its first release on Logistic Records as opposed to M-Plant. After several remix packs via Logistic, Hood brought Monobox back to M-Plant with the 2014 two-tracker Film / Rectangle.

Hood, whose indelible work in Detroit techno extends back to his history as a co-founder of Underground Resistance, spoke about Monobox in a Red Bull Music Academy interview coinciding with the latter release. “Monobox was an alien project,” he said. “I read this book when I was probably around 13 or 14.  It was this ominous black box that came from some other universe, and it was just sort of hovering over the planet, over a cornfield somewhere.”

“After maybe a few weeks it began to open up and objects and these creatures from another world began to emerge from this box,” he continued. “The whole thing about Monobox was that it was an alien life form. To approach minimalism from an alien futuristic perspective.”

The Forwardbase Kodai EP and Regenerate follow Mirror Man, a full-length album Robert Hood released via Rekids in November 2020.

The seminal minimal techno album will be repressed as a triple white vinyl via Hood’s M-Plant record label nearly 30 years after its debut on Jeff Mills‘ Axis Records imprint. It will also release as a CD, and both formats will feature remastered versions of all eight original tracks. Among them are the immortal “Rhythm Of Vision,” plus the unreleased “SH-101” from the Minimal Nation recording sessions, as well as the ultra-rare “Self-Powered” from the album’s test pressing.

The reissue follows two prior releases; in 2015 Minimal Nation was reissued via Hood’s imprint, and before that in 2009.

“I was fooling around with a [Roland Alpha] Juno 2 keyboard and I came across this chord sound,” Hood explained to Resident Advisor when Minimal Nation was reissued in 2009. “Once I had that chord sound and a particular pattern I realized I didn’t need anything else.”

Hood described his sound to FADER in 2013 as “minimum structure” and “maximum soul.” “At the time, I really didn’t understand the purpose and the vision and where it was emanating from, but I knew it was spiritual,” he told the publication.

The repressing of Robert Hood’s Minimal Nation will be released this August via M-Plant.

Both songs on the record reflect Floorplan’s time-tested style, with simple yet dissonant lead synths repeating over minimal grooves. The Thomas P. Heckmann-remastered versions make for valuable weapons in a DJ’s arsenal, injecting the intelligent grit of Detroit techno into a DJ set.

Robert Hood made a name for himself as a member of second-wave Detroit techno collective Underground Resistance alongside Jeff Mills and “Mad” Mike Banks. After helping define the minimal sound with the 1994 album Minimal Nation, he inaugurated his Floorplan project with the single “Funky Souls” in 1996.

Lyric Hood joined Floorplan in 2014 at the age of 16 – first as a DJ, and then as a collaborator on recorded works. Most recently, the father-daughter duo delivered Right There / Holy Ghost via Classic Music Company.

A Robert Hood single titled “Shadows” will also appear on the first installment of EPM Music‘s EPM20 series at the end of May.

With an updated master, Underestimated serves as the first release of 2021 on his M-Plant imprint. Retaining all of its clean grooves and no-nonsense approach, Underestimated is just as strong now as it was in 1998. Side A features classic anti-establishment cut “Black Man’s World” as well as “Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death.” On the flip, “Hard To Kill” still delivers on its namesake nearly 23 years later.

The Perpetual Masters series features remastered versions of classic cuts from Hood’s back catalogue, including The Pace / Wandering Endlessly, Stereotype, The Greatest Dancer, Protein Valve, and more. Underestimated will follow up Hood’s full-length 2020 album, Mirror Man, and the EP The Struggle / Save The Children, which centered around the Black Lives Matter movement and featured a sample from a speech by activist Tamika Mallory.

Last year, Hood also released music from the Floorplan project, which sees Robert produce alongside his daughter, Lyric Hood.

Underestimated will be released March 12th via M-Plant.

“The Struggle” sees Hood pair acid techno with a sample of a speech given by Black Lives Matter activist Tamika Mallory in the wake of George Floyd‘s murder. “Save The Children,” on the other hand, incorporates audio from the late civil rights activist Dick Gregory. The effort will include a “Detroit Mix” of the latter track.

Techno Rebel

Robert Hood is certainly no newcomer to using techno as a social commentary tool. Alongside Jeff Mills and “Mad” Mike Banks, he founded a collective called Underground Resistance greatly responsible for the genre’s history as protest music.

Social issues aside, Hood has also provided commentary on the artistic direction taken by techno artists. “We have to be careful with the direction we’re taking,” he said in a 2017 interview. “Right now is a good time to break out and do something different and groundbreaking. It’s going to take new energy and young producers to be brave enough to do something extreme and radical.”

Lyric Hood also released a solo EP titled Everything / Social Distance via M-Plant on Friday, July 31st.