Jeff Mills ‎– Sleeper Wakes

This won't be a real, proper album review, as my fellow reviewer here has more than adequately put down what one can expect from the music on "Sleeper wakes". This will be more like a confession, or a conclusion based on listening to Jeff Mills' work for quite some time...

Let me begin by saying that I have most probably listened to, and in some cases numerous times, every single release this man has recorded which had been transfered to the medium of the compact disc. In addition to that, throughout the years I've also acquired plenty vinyls from his Axis label, which eventually brought me to purchasing "Sleeper wakes".
Now, I have not been impressed by a Jeff Mills release to the extent this album stroke me with for a full decade. I mean, wow man, speaking of mr. Mills re-living his second youth. Speaking of producers who still have the golden touch... One would have thought that someone who has been in the business for as long as he has been can barely come up with a patchy album. And truth be said, at times "Contact special", "One man spaceship" and "Medium" left me wanting more, and even to this day, when I revisit those CDs, it's only certain tunes I like going back to.

But not "Sleeper wakes". This album exemplifies everything Jeff has been doing back from when he released his classic Growth track and collaborated with Hood and Banks on the X-102 project, through to the Metropolis soundtrack, and then right back to the new millenium where he took his experimental, sci-fi techno to whole new levels with releases I already mentioned. While at times people accused him of being overly geekish, pretentious or what not, once and for all he hopefully layed down that fatal blow.
"Sleeper wakes" has it all: from the eerie, hypnotic spaced out sequence on Crab Nebula, beatless passages where the listener can get completely lost within endless soundscapes Mills moulds and combines to give that perfect outer worldly experience right there in your living room, potential dance floor stompers, regardless of the fact nothing on this album is crafted with the clubs in mind, classic hypnotic Axis stuff which gives a heavy nod to his timeless 12"-ers (such as "Humana", "The other day" and maybe even "Tomorrow"), and absolutely no-nonsense Detroit techno which takes the best elements of his last couple of albums and gives it a fresh new look for the upcoming decade!

Now, I know it will always be a matter of public debating and personal feelings and/or emotional attachments, but as much as I have been holding the first installment of "Waveform transmision" right under my pillow for approximately fifteen years now, it is only natural masterminds of the genre such as Jeff Mills reinvent themselves and their sound, leaving some of us behind, taking some with them, and maybe picking up newly found followers on the way. I have been off the Mills band wagon for a certain period of time, but this has got me convinced. I don't know how you'll feel about it, and I don't know if you'll hop on for a ride around the galaxy, but if you've been feeling what Jeff Mills has been doing lately, you seriously need to hear this. To avoid repeating the benchmark tracks here, as techsoul has already done that, I'll try and recommend some similar stuff. Firstly, Mills has recently kick started a new label called Something In The Sky, and up to now has released three vinyls under its flag. I should strongly urge anybody who identifies themselves with this album to check those out as well. Then, last year, Tresor Records has given "Discovers the rings of Saturn" an opportunity to enter this new and exciting decade through an improved version of that classic, aptly titled "Rediscovers the rings of Saturn". Needless to say, that is essential as well. Lastly, if you have remotely enjoyed Jeff Mills' "Actual", "One man spaceship" or "Contact special", then "Sleeper wakes" should be your next stop regardless of where you're heading. I know it's a bold statement, but in my opinion, this one on its own beats the three I mentioned above combined. But then, what do I know? It's not like I'm one of the world's most highly acclaimed personas on the techno scene, who has recorded enough material to last another four careers - whatever. Do check this out, however, while it's still in stock. My opinion is that this could become a highly sought after and collectible item, and in no time too. Excellent, but really remarkable work you have pulled off here Jeff! And to think he doesn't even consider quitting...

One final comment: Jeff Mills has recently released "The occurence", an album in mixed format, which combines tracks off "Sleeper wakes", material from the Something In The Sky 12"-ers, plus some new music thrown in for good measure. So if you were wondering where all that great stuff comes from - right here!

Quite a stunner of an album, actually. Jeff Mills takes his distinctive styles one step further with this one.

"The Sleeper Wakes" has the word "tension" written all over it. Even tunes like "Oxide Garden", "From Beyond The Star" or "Mysterious Stars" which only give well known schemes another go (think Mills trademark sparse and straight 909 beats plus minimalist synth signals with eerie atmospheric sounds on top - similar to some tunes on "Contact Special") have a certain extra quality and manage to keeps things slightly below the boiling point for the listener.

Beyond the boiling point however, Jeff Mills is up for new experiments. "Space Walk" combines UR-like 909 harshness with bubbling bass toms and thick layers of drama - astronaut suit claustrophoby meets infinite space. "Burn Off" is a cool synth workout, paving the way for "The Visitor" - quite simply the heart of the album and a future classic. "The Visitor" rides fast paced synth bass staccatos, with a few drum sounds working against them and making the groove literally turn around itself - with some extreme frequencies building and disappering along the way. And lets not forget "Radiation Storm", "Satellite Retrieval" or "Diametric" running on broken 909 beats.

Unlike "One Man Spaceship", this is not just an assembly of great tunes under a half hearted plot which was obviously created after the music. One can tell by listening that both concept and music were developed at the same time. The result is a remarkably dense audio trip which has a place among Jeff Mills best work to date.