Jeff Mills

maroko, Jun 17, 2008

On May 30th 2008, in the legendary Rex Club in Paris, I last saw Jeff Mills pull an 8 hour plus all nighter for the clubs twentieth anniversary. The reason for writting is that, despite the fact it wasnt the first time I saw him spin live, this was kind of a special night for me, and I hope for the others present there as well.

Frankly, it wasnt the greatest set Ive heard or anything, but that is just Jeff. Period. He dropped everything from his all time calling card The Bells to some hard n heavy on the nerves experimental minimal techno, to some cerebral acoustic terror courtesy of his once brothers in arms from Underground Resistance to some vintage old school european techno classics, finding time and space for some surprisingly cheesy and poppish house tracks more suitable for a Freemasons set (no disrespect intended, though) only to close the night with funk and jazz inspired tracks by James Brown and Thelonious Monk, and some pure old school NYC hip hop courtesy of The Sugarhill Gang & Grandmaster Flash. Just when we thought it was over, the crowd scremaed "encore" until he dropped, for the second time during that night, Laurent Garniers The Man With The Red Face, rounding off an unforgettable night only like a true legend can, and should.

Anyways, that is how Id sum up his entire career: he wont always please everybody, and not everybody will always understand right off why hes as venerated as he is. But, hearing him do his thing live, you get to feel the vibe of looking at a true pioneer cut n paste like very few can, dare to mix styles and tunes others wouldnt even consider thinking doing. Whatever, I dont feel like explaining, the fact is you can ask anyone from the biggest psy trance freak, from the french house lover down to the biggest candy raver back to the most underground industrial heads, aspiring DJs and established spinners alike, Detroit techno geekish nerds and modern minimal tech house bleepers and blopers, and theyll all tell you the same thing: Jeff Mills is a legend. It wont mean youll fall in love with his work, and you dont have to either, just as you dont have to feel guilty if thats the case, but you just have to pay respect where it is due. Thats it. I reckon that would be enough.

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