Jeff Mills - Exhibitionist

Having seen this DVD advertised when it first came out, at the time I wasn't as interested in Techno as I am now. Admittedly, I've filtered out a lot of the garbage I used to listen to, and have picked up on a much more worthwhile selection of music. This DVD certainly deserves a watch from anyone remotely interested in Techno, or even DJ'ing to that matter.

It is without doubt that Jeff Mills will go down in history as one of the Pioneers of Techno. One of the modern masters, responsible for some of the defining records of the past ALMOST two decades. The Exibitionist DVD shows everyone who watches it exactly why this is.

Three decks, one mixer, a lot of black cloth and a certain Mr Mills is what youre looking at pretty much the whole time, but the music comming from the speakers is some of the best techno you're ever going to hear. From Obvious big ones like The Bells or Alarms to the unreleased gems we never got our hands on, each track is put together in the way only Jeff Mills can. Don't get me wrong, there's mistakes here and there but personally I feel that makes it better, more real.

Perfect for a party, you can put the DVD on and just let it play through for a couple of hours, start it again and play for another few hours, start it again. Well you get the idea! All in all, one of the more important electronic music DVDs of the past few years as it shows exactly where it all came from, and it showcases one of the masters doing what he does best - 3 deck Techno Wizardry.

This DVD is such a wetkiss, so generous of him to put it out there. It's pure porno for techno fans, watching his long graceful fingers flit over the mixer like hummingbirds, sometimes touching it, sometimes just flirting. Records go in his hand and a few seconds later they're in the mix. And it's great that technically it has a couple sloppy moments, which he pounces on and fixes and moves on; dude, he's Jeff Mills, he doesn't need to care what you think of him, and more power to him for walking that.

And those eyes, big and opiated, so intelligent, so sultry. What a treat.

Makes a great gift for sure, especially for someone who didn't even know it existed. got it for a buddy who's a big detroit techno fan and he almost fell out of his chair.

This DVD is indeed not suitable for educational purposes. With or without image, the technique for spinning is not explained, just very good mixing registered on audio and film.

It's a great commercial/marketing tool for AXIS, but who can blame them. Producing is not a simple matter of entertaining the crowd, just as banks are no charity organisation, yet we need them.

Nevertheless, I love watching and hearing this disc. It will not set his mark as the Mix-up did, but everybody that has been following Jeff Mills' music will enjoy this ride.

It's easy to be wowed when a DJ/producer of Mills' caliber puts forth a DVD showcasing his aggressive, raw, 3-deck mixing style. A project like this also places itself under even heavier scrutiny, having claimed that it can serve as an educational tool. Comments about loose technique aside, there is little doubt that Mills' efforts are impressive, if ambitious. However, the DVD mixes largely fall short on two fronts. The first is that if this is indeed to be an educational tool of sorts, the technique encompasses only a very small range of what DJing could be. If one actually sits through the entire sets, one would find out that much of Mills' work with the mixer consists of florid, superfluous hand movements. Sure, the mixing is fast, but almost at the expense of the music. Live at the Liquid Rooms is probably a better example of Mills' prowess at piecing together heavy-duty techno on the fly. Here, it's a bit premeditated, and the excessive DJ-like movements have to fill in the gaps. The second (and more important) shortcoming is the heavy emphasis on rather uniform, Latinesque tribal techno. Yes, this is Mills' signature style, but Mills' own work on Axis--the more adventurous and even eerie efforts--is infinitely more intriguing than the tracks featured in the Exhibitionist portion and even the Purposemaker portion of the DVD. in the end, this DVD is probably essential for fans of Mills only. It's good, but not stunning.