Robert Hood ‎– Rare Species

Man! One of the finest mixes ever! Tough as nail straight forward minimal with awesome atmospheres throughout the whole mix and excellently mixed. Rob Hood is a king!

Who better than one of the minimal masters to prove that not all that is minimal in techno is boring. Hood utilizes a good number of his own records on this but it's none of the obvious ones. So instead of hearing Hood tracks that everybody has played out, he plays tracks of his that are a on the lesser known side. Throw that in with some clever mixing, a cool accapella intro/outro and the occasional doubling up on a track, and you've got the makings of a splendid techno mix!

Put this CD on, push play, and strap yourself in for one wild ride. If I had one word to describe this mix, it would be fast. But since I have more than one word...

I absolutely love (very) uptempo techno when it's mixed right. All too often DJs will let fast, minimal repetitive tracks run too long. This is not the case with this mix (or with Robert Hood in general). Running about an hour and covering 29 tracks, that gives an average of two minutes per track. But this glosses over the fact that since Hood is an extremely skilled DJ, he's often mixing the next track in before the previous track is even half over, which goes a long way in keeping the tracks from getting stale (which tracks like these can in a hurry in the hands of a lesser DJ). The mixing, of course, is impeccable. Mixing FX aren't utilized over much, and when they are used, it's to add to a mix or a track, not to their detriment. Also of great importance for a mix of this kind, the track selection is great, and Hood avoids dropping similar track after similar track, instead going for a wide array of minimal techno sounds that keep the mix fresh & engaging.

I've had this CD in my car for a long time and find I enjoy it best while driving on the highway at night. Certainly not a mix for any (or even many) occasions, but when you're in the right mood, there aren't many better suited.

This is one of the fastest modern techno mixes i have heard in a long time. Tracks are pitched are well over the 145 bpm which is just a bit too extreme for some of tunes used which are only 133 bpm on the original vinyl. Thats the way he likes it i guess, pitched up and very minimal. At least the mixing is pretty solid.