July: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Robert Hood 'Paradygm Shift' (Dekmantel)

Despite Robert Hood’s revered status among peers and fans alike, last year’s house-centric collaboration with his daughter Lyric saw the Detroit legend receive some of the most glowing notices of his career so far (not to mention the cover of Mixmag). But Hood’s not a man to stand still. On ‘Paradygm Shift’, he returns to the stripped-back techno that earned him a rep as the producer’s producer. Here, he’s on a mission to fly the flag for the restorative powers of minimalism. There’s little time for niceties – instead, tracks such as ‘I Am’ and ‘Nephesh’ jump straight in, twisting your mind with coruscating, pounding beats and fidgety percussion. Focused, driven, singular: it’s music that reflects the man who made it. Stephen Worthy

8/10