Dj-Kicks

Robert Hood's installment of the long-running DJ-Kicks series offers no unexpected detours or twists -- it's simply 72 minutes of steady, alert techno chugging along like a freight train. Hood lets each track play for about three minutes before smoothly blending it into the next one, and there are no jarring transitions or overdriven effects, just plenty of precise EQ'ing and sweeps. That said, it's still a solid, highly enjoyable mix. Hood's mixing skills are flawless, and there's enough of a balance between more functional passages, where the beats just bang along with a minimal note sequence on top, and moments where the drama is elevated a bit via vocal samples or bigger melodies, such as the neon synth sequence that pops up halfway through Hood's own "Hall of Mirrors." One thing to note is that this a Robert Hood mix and not a Floorplan mix. There are no overt references to Hood's devout Christian faith here, and barely anything resembling gospel, soul, or disco, apart from the looped vocal samples on Adrian Hour's "Make You Feel Good." While Hood is responsible for roughly a third of the tracks, most of the rest are by European producers, including Berghain favorites such as Truncate and Marcel Fengler, in addition to U.K. techno mainstays like Slam and Mark Broom. Still, it's true to Hood's pioneering vision of minimal techno, which focuses on stripped-down, funky machine rhythms, with the overriding goal being to make the crowd move. Hood's DJ-Kicks isn't quite as wild or personality-driven as his Fabric 39 mix from a decade earlier, but it's undeniably focused, and it clearly reaches its intended goal. ~ Paul Simpson

デトロイト・テクノ先駆者のひとり、ロバート・フッドが〈DJ-Kicks〉に登場。ミニマルに徹した内容ですが、前に出していた〈Fabric〉のミックスよりはいくぶん現代寄り。マルセル・フェングラーやゲイリー・ベックを使っているあたり、オッと思わされます。とはいえ、ストイックでヒリつく世界観は変わらずで、いまなおこの90sミニマル感を出しているDJはなかなかいないはず。
bounce (C)池田謙司