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12"
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MPM 042EP
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Originally released on M-Plant subsidiary label, Duet in 2002. 20 years later sees these hypnotic grooves remastered by Thomas Heckman for a highly demanded re-release.
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12"
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AUS 147EP
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Not content with defining the sound of minimal techno in the nineties, Robert Hood has more recently fine0tuned his own gospel-tinged take on the genre. It comes under the Floorplan moniker, the genesis of which is said to have come to him when awakened by a late-night vision. Since 2016, it has been a collaborative duo between Hood and daughter Lyric, and never fails to lead to religious experiences on the dancefloor. With roots in the Detroit techno scene in which Hood first emerged, Floorplan's sound is embellished with the heartfelt emotions and unbridled passions of Chicago house music. It is heavy and analog and filled with vigor thanks to the expert drum programming and ever rising sense of euphoria that comes from the well sculpted synths. But it also speaks to the heart and soul and has done since first standout cut "We Magnify His Name". The pair's endless quest for the perfect groove continued through albums like 2013's Paradise (MPM 016CD/LP) -- which spawned anthemic singles like "Let's Ride", "Baby Baby", and the massive "Never Grow Old" -- and 2016's Victorious (MPM 028CD/LP). The same year saw Hood's daughter Lyric officially become part of the project. Since then they have taken Floorplan to endless headline shows at high profile clubs and festivals everywhere from New York City to Ibiza, London to Amsterdam. Their electric sets leave crowds feeling uplifted, spiritually awakening and totally in awe. Part of the success of Floorplan is the combination of Robert's old school excellence and Lyric's new school innovation: their music, with its big chords and even bigger vocal samples, could be 30 years old or fresh from the pressing plant, such is its universal sense of appeal. It is rare to make music as stripped back yet emotionally enriched as Floorplan, but this pair do it with ease and a firm focus on durable grooves. Functional but full of form, tense but atmospheric, loopy but ever evolving, Floorplan truly transcend the dance music spectrum. Features Carol Otis.
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12"
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MPM 029EP
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Floorplan, the father-daughter duo of Robert and Lyric Hood, return with their first new productions since 2016's Victorious (MPM 028CD/LP). stripped-back "Let The Church" straddles the realm between tough house and raw techno with its hefty bassline, infectious claps, and vocal cry, while "Made Up In My Mind" focuses on a looped piano refrain and funked-up drum work under a joyous gospel vocal. Also included is a hypnotic Robert Hood remix of "He Can Save You" from Victorious, and Lyric Hood's mix of the future classic "Never Grow Old" -- a deep mix that shows her love of house grooves.
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3LP+CD
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MPM 028LP
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Triple LP version. Full color outer and inner sleeves. Floorplan is already well known as Robert Hood's house outlet, which this year evolves into a family affair with co-production alongside his daughter, Lyric. Victorious is the second Floorplan album and follow-up to 2013's Paradise. The new album itself is preceded by the double-headed single "Music"/ "Tell You No Lie". As Robert once again extends his minimal techno sound, he also returns his focus to house, disco, funk and gospel to the Floorplan show, which now takes a surprising twist. Having watched her father DJ the world, Lyric Hood comes center-stage alongside her father. "Hear my soul speak, is the only way I can describe the way I feel about Floorplan, (Victorious) music is in my soul, my blood, I eat and sleep beats, music, rhythms, it's in my DNA. So please, hear my soul speak." The Floorplan project first came to light in 1996 when Hood used it to announce his Drama imprint with the highly sought after Funky Souls EP. Launching with the heady house swirl of "Spin", Robert and Lyric then drop the deeper stylings of lead single "Music" which builds into a hypnotic, bass-driven anthem. Picking up on Hood's trademark razor-sharp percussion "The Heavens & The Earth" brings the Bible to the floor (with added funk) and "Good Thang" shows the strong influence of Chicago as a simple refrain turns into a house missile from the pulpit. "He Can Save You" continues the Chicago/gospel theme but with a more driving techno edge whilst "Mmm Hmm Hmm" marries powerful chords to trumpets, dynamic bass, booty refrains and skillful sampling creating yet another hands up anthem. "Ha Ya" has that stripped back minimal feel we all know and love and perhaps the closest we get to touch on the classic Hood sound whilst "Tell You No Lie" is pure, un-adulterated disco-string drenched fun(k) and already tearing down dancefloors as we speak. "Push On" takes us back to the tight, knife-edged percussion of Chicago's house vanguard, reminding of the tougher sounds of DJ International and DJ Deeon, DJ Funk and Boo Williams. "They Can Tell" kicks in with a no-nonsense, foot stomping kick drum as Floorplan chop up the vocal refrain into what becomes the main hook of the track and finally "Sun In the Sky" brings the disco back with yet another string-laden anthem to bring the Floorplan show to a fittingly, uplifting end.
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CD
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MPM 028CD
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Floorplan is already well known as Robert Hood's house outlet, which this year evolves into a family affair with co-production alongside his daughter, Lyric. Victorious is the second Floorplan album and follow-up to 2013's Paradise. The new album itself is preceded by the double-headed single "Music"/ "Tell You No Lie". As Robert once again extends his minimal techno sound, he also returns his focus to house, disco, funk and gospel to the Floorplan show, which now takes a surprising twist. Having watched her father DJ the world, Lyric Hood comes center-stage alongside her father. "Hear my soul speak, is the only way I can describe the way I feel about Floorplan, (Victorious) music is in my soul, my blood, I eat and sleep beats, music, rhythms, it's in my DNA. So please, hear my soul speak." The Floorplan project first came to light in 1996 when Hood used it to announce his Drama imprint with the highly sought after Funky Souls EP. Launching with the heady house swirl of "Spin", Robert and Lyric then drop the deeper stylings of lead single "Music" which builds into a hypnotic, bass-driven anthem. Picking up on Hood's trademark razor-sharp percussion "The Heavens & The Earth" brings the Bible to the floor (with added funk) and "Good Thang" shows the strong influence of Chicago as a simple refrain turns into a house missile from the pulpit. "He Can Save You" continues the Chicago/gospel theme but with a more driving techno edge whilst "Mmm Hmm Hmm" marries powerful chords to trumpets, dynamic bass, booty refrains and skillful sampling creating yet another hands up anthem. "Ha Ya" has that stripped back minimal feel we all know and love and perhaps the closest we get to touch on the classic Hood sound whilst "Tell You No Lie" is pure, un-adulterated disco-string drenched fun(k) and already tearing down dancefloors as we speak. "Push On" takes us back to the tight, knife-edged percussion of Chicago's house vanguard, reminding of the tougher sounds of DJ International and DJ Deeon, DJ Funk and Boo Williams. "They Can Tell" kicks in with a no-nonsense, foot stomping kick drum as Floorplan chop up the vocal refrain into what becomes the main hook of the track and finally "Sun In the Sky" brings the disco back with yet another string-laden anthem to bring the Floorplan show to a fittingly, uplifting end.
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12"
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MPM 017EP
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Robert Hood delivers a new Floorplan release, comprising two brand-new Floorplan tracks, plus a remix of Paradise (MPM 016CD/LP) album cut "Higher" by Ben Sims. The opener is a driving, funk-fuelled track -- an unrelenting looped jam that immediately sets the tone. Sims takes the track further into techno territory for a storming remake that will keep fans of both him and M-Plant happy. Then it's time to hand back to Robert Hood for the release's closer. If "Phobia" displays the tougher side of Hood's Floorplan sound, then "Glory B" takes us back to where it all started, with its preacher samples and jacking Chicago house groove.
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2LP+CD
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MPM 016LP
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Repressed; double LP version. Comes with a CD of the album. Paradise is Robert Hood's debut album release as Floorplan, a dancefloor alias he has used since he announced his Drama imprint with the highly sought-after Funky Souls EP in 1996. Taking Hood's minimal techno approach and embellishing it with elements of house, disco, funk, and gospel, Floorplan now realizes its full-length potential some 17 years since its inception. Good things, indeed, come to those who wait. The last five years have seen Robert Hood in astonishingly prolific form with an album release every year since the 2009 re-issue of the genre defining Minimal Nation. This was swiftly followed a year later by new artist album Omega, then Robert's first live album Omega:Alive in 2011 and 2012's highly-lauded Nighttime World 3 which graced end-of-year charts across the world. Now Robert Hood focuses his attention firmly on the dancefloor. Since the 2010 Funky Souls re-press on Rush Hour re-introduced the hibernating project, Hood has since released three Floorplan EPs including Living It Up, the Sanctified EP, and 2012's Altered Ego EP. The three EPs subsequently spawned the massive club hits "Baby Baby," "We Magnify His Name," "Altered Ego," and "Living it Up," taking Robert Hood's name across the techno/house divide. You could even say that Robert Hood could be a victim of his own success: Floorplan, which started off as a side-project, is starting to sound as vital as the searing minimal techno he releases under his own name. Paradise takes us through a heavenly mixture of house, soul, funk and gospel -- all underpinned by Hood's trademark driving minimal techno approach. "Altered Ego" is a perfect example of Hood's tough view of house music; over an insistent groove a building chord sweeps in, taking with it a repetitive vocal sample. But it's the nagging, relentless filtering of these elements, coupled with the deep resonance of the backing rhythm that make "Ego" so memorable. Tracks like the opening "Let's Ride" take a handful of elements such as a skittering drum pattern, vocal snippet and again that driving and relentless groove that drags you by the throat to the dancefloor. There is no break, there is no respite -- make no mistake, Floorplan is here to make you dance. "Never Grow Old" is pure and simply glorious gospel from the Deep South, a hair-raising vocal hook baptized at the altar of minimalism. Then there is "Confess," which is an entirely different proposition; the groove chugs along and the percussion is dry and steely but the keys are positively uplifting and wide-eyed, like they were borrowed from a long-lost rave track and reapplied to Hood's functional take on house. There are nods to Hood's minimal techno roots with "Change" and "Chord Principle," sounding like they could have been lifted from the Minimal Nation cutting room while "Higher" and "Above the Clouds" appear to be pointing to something new, as if Hood's take on house is as unique and essential as the techno sound he has pioneered for over 20 years. In a world full of generic dancefloor music, Floorplan could well be seen as Robert Hood's vision as seen through a house music prism. But there is never any doubt as to the music's creator.
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CD
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MPM 016CD
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Paradise is Robert Hood's debut album release as Floorplan, a dancefloor alias he has used since he announced his Drama imprint with the highly sought-after Funky Souls EP in 1996. Taking Hood's minimal techno approach and embellishing it with elements of house, disco, funk, and gospel, Floorplan now realizes its full-length potential some 17 years since its inception. Good things, indeed, come to those who wait. The last five years have seen Robert Hood in astonishingly prolific form with an album release every year since the 2009 re-issue of the genre defining Minimal Nation. This was swiftly followed a year later by new artist album Omega, then Robert's first live album Omega:Alive in 2011 and 2012's highly-lauded Nighttime World 3 which graced end-of-year charts across the world. Now Robert Hood focuses his attention firmly on the dancefloor. Since the 2010 Funky Souls re-press on Rush Hour re-introduced the hibernating project, Hood has since released three Floorplan EPs including Living It Up, the Sanctified EP, and 2012's Altered Ego EP. The three EPs subsequently spawned the massive club hits "Baby Baby," "We Magnify His Name," "Altered Ego," and "Living it Up," taking Robert Hood's name across the techno/house divide. You could even say that Robert Hood could be a victim of his own success: Floorplan, which started off as a side-project, is starting to sound as vital as the searing minimal techno he releases under his own name. Paradise takes us through a heavenly mixture of house, soul, funk and gospel -- all underpinned by Hood's trademark driving minimal techno approach. "Altered Ego" is a perfect example of Hood's tough view of house music; over an insistent groove a building chord sweeps in, taking with it a repetitive vocal sample. But it's the nagging, relentless filtering of these elements, coupled with the deep resonance of the backing rhythm that make "Ego" so memorable. Tracks like the opening "Let's Ride" take a handful of elements such as a skittering drum pattern, vocal snippet and again that driving and relentless groove that drags you by the throat to the dancefloor. There is no break, there is no respite -- make no mistake, Floorplan is here to make you dance. "Never Grow Old" is pure and simply glorious gospel from the Deep South, a hair-raising vocal hook baptized at the altar of minimalism. Then there is "Confess," which is an entirely different proposition; the groove chugs along and the percussion is dry and steely but the keys are positively uplifting and wide-eyed, like they were borrowed from a long-lost rave track and reapplied to Hood's functional take on house. There are nods to Hood's minimal techno roots with "Change" and "Chord Principle," sounding like they could have been lifted from the Minimal Nation cutting room while "Higher" and "Above the Clouds" appear to be pointing to something new, as if Hood's take on house is as unique and essential as the techno sound he has pioneered for over 20 years. In a world full of generic dancefloor music, Floorplan could well be seen as Robert Hood's vision as seen through a house music prism. But there is never any doubt as to the music's creator.
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