J. Mills

Jeff Mills is a genious. To call him a DJ is very limiting. He is a talented composer who creates scores that generate emotions beyond what any record-spinning club performer can do. Check out Metropolis, From the 21st, or Contact Special... The Other Day compilation, One Man Spaceship... the list goes on. Amazing, and it never gets old. He is the Danny Elfman of techno. Dark, sci-fi out-of-this-world cuts. Thank you Jeff, for doing what you do!!

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 club's twentieth anniversary. The reason for writting is that, despite the fact it wasn't 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 wasn't the greatest set I've 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 Garnier's The Man With The Red Face, rounding off an unforgettable night only like a true legend can, and should.

Anyways, that is how I'd sum up his entire career: he won't always please everybody, and not everybody will always understand right off why he's 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 wouldn't even consider thinking doing. Whatever, I don't 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 they'll all tell you the same thing: Jeff Mills is a legend. It won't mean you'll fall in love with his work, and you don't have to either, just as you don't have to feel guilty if that's the case, but you just have to pay respect where it is due. That's it. I reckon that would be enough.

Jeff Mills (along with asrock) was the founding member of the industrial/techno outfit "Final Cut" from about '89 to '91. Asrock continued the "Final Cut" project including work on the LP 'Consumed' with Skinny Puppy's Ogre and (i think) Ministry's Chris Connelly (it has been a while). "Final Cut" is still around today. Jeff Mills continued on with a successful techno career. Mills is one of my favorite techno producers/artist. From hard pounding, to warm jazzy detroit, to funky tribalish beats, to spacey futuristic minimal ambience, Mills covers all corners of the techno genre. You could fit in one or two of his tracks in any techno set.

Jeff Mills set the standard for Detroit Techno. Minimal arrangements of selected samples give an unmatchable monotonous groove. 'Purpose Maker Compilation' shows, what Detroit classics is all about. His life-sets are among the best ever seen. Regular guest in 'Rohstofflager', Zurich's state of the art - location for electronic music.
Straight, smart, without any fancy supplements...Godfather of Detroit Techno.