M Plant US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: M Plant's 20 Year anniversary celebrations are set to end on a high with a triple CD compilation featuring a wealth of new, remastered and unreleased material alongside some classics from the Robert Hood canon. Before then, the latest in an ongoing series of celebratory 12" releases sees Hood look to the classic Protein Valve, which was the first 12" issued on M Plant back in 1994. The title track has already been subject to some edits as part of this M Plant 20 series, but it's nice to see three tracks from that original 12" reissued here as a reminder how Hood's pioneering minimal approach first took shape. Look out for new Hood production "Analog Track (Ghost)" wedged in amongst the protein too!

Review: When Broom met Hood! To celebrate M Plant's 20th anniversary, Robert Hood is planning a whole host of events and releases including a sequence of 12"s that see classics and rarities remixed and edited. Who better to inaugurate the series than Hood's UK contemporary Mark Broom? Here Broom digs deep into the M Plant archives, choosing to work with "Untitled 1" from Hood's Moveable Parts series and "One Touch" from the Minimal Nation album. Canvas Hood fans and the majority will probably nominate the first edition of the Moveable Parts series as one of their favourites, so it's little surprise that Broom elected to add his own signature dirty funk to the opening track for this 12". His edit of Minimal Nation opener "One Touch" proves to be just as effective, playing toyfully with the bassline whilst dicing the beats with undoubtedly dark results.

Review: Detroit techno innovator Robert Hood and Afro beat king Femi Kuti is not a pairing we thought we would see but it is one we are glad we have. They join forces on the former's M Plant label for this superb collision of musical worlds. It is unified by Afro beats and a unique mix of futuristic ideals with Femi's improvised jazz sax leading the way over Hood's cosmic synth sounds. The album was recorded in just one 30 plus minute take which is all the more of a testament to each artists's abilities. Femi's exquisitely free-flowing playing and Hoods signature grooves are perfectly intertwined in this great coming together of two avant art forms.