Title: Robert Hood DJ-Kicks
Artist: Robert Hood
Label: !K7
Formats: CD, Vinyl, Digital
Release Date: November 16, 2018

Robert Hood is a name you probably aren’t familiar with. If you know your Detroit techno scene, then the name will ring a bell. If not, then let me introduce him to you please. Robert Hood is a DJ who records techno tracks or, to use the more general term, electronic music. Hood has been flying under the radar for quite some time and his name is seldom mentioned when Detroit techno is the subject. Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Carl Craig laid the foundation, so maybe that’s the reason? Nevertheless, Hood has an extensive body of work and his latest is a straight up DJ mix.

!K7’s highly acclaimed DJ-Kicks series, in case you aren’t hip, has been ongoing for years. There was a brief pause in 2015, but the series picked back up with 4-6 releases per year from 2016 to present (including one devoted to Detroit’s legendary techno producer Moodymann, previously reviewed in Black Grooves).

Imagine you’re in a club or festival, and that’s the vibe you get from this CD: 72 minutes of instrumental techno. Not too hard, but if you are a first timer, you may not get it. Hood mixes track into track like he was in the DJ booth. He sneaks in a few of his own tracks such as “Greytype 1” and “Mirror Man,” just to name a few. Too old to be a raver or P.L.U.R kid? Ask one who was into that scene in the ‘90s. Hood’s mixes of good tracks will have you remembering those days. DJ-Kicks please don’t slack up. Give us more releases like this!

Reviewed by Eddie Bowman