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Music

Robert Hood's Daughter Lyric Explains How Floorplan's Heavenly House Became a Family Affair

Read an interview with Lyric while you lose yourself to their new track "Tell You No Lie."

If you're a fan of the Detroit minimal techno pioneer Robert Hood, you've surely been lost in the magic of his disco and gospel-inflicted house alias Floorplan that's been churning out transcendent jams since the 90s. While his give-name work thrives in the ingeniously sparse, his Floorplan excursions exudes the grandiose, uplifting, and celebratory—it can't be a coincidence that over the same period he's been working as an ordained minister at home in Alabama. In 2014, a year after the release of the long-awaited debut Floorplan album Paradise (released on his own iconic M-Plant), Hood's project took another mythic twist by enlisting his then 16-year-old daughter Lyric to play alongside him at Floorplan DJ sets—including a moving closing set at Dekmantel's Boiler Room stage last year.

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Now, the father/daughter duo has finally brought their team-up from the DJ booth to the studio. In February, Hood announced that the Floorplan project would henceforth be a collaboration with Lyric, and that they had co-produced a new album entitled Victorious (out June 17th on M-Plant). Today, the duo have released "Tell You No Lie," the first full-length taste from that record, which will be also released on a 12" that will drop April 29. As if we could expect anything less, it's a gospel-inflicted disco belter whose brimstone basslines will ignite the hairs on the back of your neck—a testament to the glorious alchemy of what has to be one of the few (if not only) father/daughter DJ and production duos in dancefloor history.

Listen below, alongside a chat with Lyric about joining forces with dad, how she got into DJing, and what producers she listens to in her spare time.

THUMP: Were you introduced to techno and dance music from a young age? What did you like to listen to growing up?

Lyric Hood: Early on, my dad was just the guy who killed the spiders, played with me, and took me to the park. When I was about 12, I started to realize my dad was not like any other dad. That's when it hit me. I listened to Crystal Waters, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Prince, James Brown. I was surrounded by this type of music as a kid, so you can say I didn't have a normal childhood. And traveling with my parents exposed me to dance music as well.

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When did you personally start becoming interested in DJing and production—how did you dad foster that desire, or add to it?
I showed an interest in DJing at 16, and my dad exposed me to early electronic music like Planet Rock, Fast Eddie, and around that time I also got a strong interest in Michael Jackson and Frankie Knuckles. And after that, it was lit!

What is it that you love about Floorplan, versus you dad's solo work, and why is that project you ended up getting involved in?
I love them both, so I really can't decide or choose. It's something about the groove in the Robert Hood and Floorplan tracks; same artist, different vibe. That's one thing I like about my dad, he's a chameleon. As far as how I got involved, it's a family affair.

You played an incredible set with your dad at Dekmantel, can you tell us more about how it came together and what it was like?
At first it was scary—it was so many people—but once I put on the first record, I felt like myself again. I got into it and it ended up being a great set; one of my favorite sets actually. We're touring together this summer, as we did last summer. We played unforgettable sets in Dublin and Ibiza too, and we can't wait to play there again this year.

How did Floorplan become a production duo?
I've been learning the craft by watching my dad in the studio, and he'll give me advice, tips and tricks as well. The duo evolved from my DJing and it was inevitable after I started looping and making beats on my mixer. I played some of my ideas to my Dad and before I knew it we were in the studio together.

What sounds are you interested in as a producer—who do you like?
The type of sounds I like are mainly house, old-school house, Chicago, and minimal Techno. As for artists, I love Gary Beck, Ben Sims, and I'm getting into artists like MK and Hannah Wants and so on. As for my career, I'm also attending college. STAY TUNED.

Floorplan are performing at RBMA's "Last Night a DJ Save My Soul" on May 22nd at 257 Washington Ave, BK. More info here.