To Fabric Records, the album also needs to be regarded as a belated tribute to one of techno’s underground forces, whose name has often been overshadowed by the work of more extrovert colleagues. He does not seem to hold a grudge against anyone, though. His partnership with Jeff Mills in particular has developped from Robert Hood MC-ing on early Mills’ tracks to their business liaison and even collaborative works at a later stage. There are none of these to be found on “Fabric 39”, but the inclusion of Jeff Mills in the track list can be seen as a sign that they are still very much a team.

“Fabric 39” passes on some of the bigger insider hits by Hood, but then again, the record does not aspire to be a “Best Of”, but needs to make sense in its entirety. His own pieces structure the CD, which runs through various forms of minimalism and allows listeners to focus their attention on various musical elements. The overall tone, remarkably, is never dark and always playful, despite its serious aspirations. Or, as Fabric put it: “Robert Hood takes stripped-back minimalism and sets beauty to a beat, pours emotions through hi-hats, sings with undulating rhythms and gives machines a tangible feeling of humanity.”

Homepage: Fabric London