Techno Legend Jeff Mills: "Always Play Like It's Your Last Set"
The techno legend is often associated with Detroit, where he was born and was once a member of the underground resistance. He also lived in Chicago for many years in the 90s. But together Those were Midwestern winters, and after several visits to Miami in the early '90s, he and his wife finally decided to move.
“I find I spend more time in Chicago,” he says from his home in Miami Beach. “We’ve been here for seven years.”
Famous musicians moving to Florida is nothing new. Originally from Michigan, Iggy Pop lives in South Florida. However, the two artists tend to keep to themselves and are rarely seen. That's what he'll do in the next two sets at Points III, October 20-21 at Mana Wynwood.
Few people in the techno genre are as legendary as Mills, whose influential DJ style is recognized worldwide. His equipment setup – four turntables or CDJs and even a Roland TR-909 drum kit – is well known and well researched. The DJ got his start on local Detroit radio, playing genres like early-generation hip-hop, synthpop and techno under the name “The Wizard.”
Eventually, in Underground Resistance, the union combined the mechanical sounds of Detroit techno with humorous, radical anti-establishment politics, resulting in a style that became popular and expressive in the '90s. Minimal but spacious, not wild but surgical and always full of awareness, it mixes quickly and never stays on one track for long.
However, it is rarely seen at home. Techno may have been invented in Detroit, where he and early DJs such as Cyboton's Juan Atkins began listening to and creating futuristic music to escape the city's economic and social decline. But outside of America, particularly in Europe and England, the culture of dance music has grown and survived on a profound level. Many clubs, festivals and other venues outside the United States keep Mills and other DJs “very, very busy.” Mills himself temporarily lives in Paris to monitor supplies on the continent.
“America has embraced it, but not in the same way as overseas,” he explained. “There were offers, but not the size and level overseas, so I couldn't travel to the US for most of the year. And I only get a few opportunities to go back to the US throughout the year, and that's a long time. It took decades.
Watching Jeff Mills DJ from Miami was a rare opportunity to see a true master at work who rarely plays. But it's worth watching him perform. Earlier this year I traveled to Amsterdam to see Tomorrow Comes Harvest play with a jazz band. The group was founded by Mills and his friend Tony Allen in collaboration with Nigerian drummer Fela Kuti. When Allen died in 2020, Mills decided to carry on the team spirit. Today's lineup includes French-Indian drummer Prabhu Edouard and Guyanese keyboardist Jean-Fé Dari, other guest musicians as well as Mills on drums and TR-909 programming.
“Before I became a DJ, I tried to be a musician, a jazz drummer. And even as a techno DJ in the 90s, I don’t think I’ve lost that passion or passion,” he says. “I still want to play with other musicians, and if not with them, then at least talk to them so that things fit together.”
The mill project emerged from this need. He wanted to combine his techno skills with live instruments "to the point where there are no compromises, where musicians can no longer stick to MIDI clocks or computer-generated tempos." He would like to work with musicians who can deal with music in a more direct and interpretive way. He wants musicians who are “great speakers and always adding or saying something.”
“The more conversations we have, the more interesting we seem to be,” she says. “And it comes from my relationship and relationship with Tony Allen. Before shows, during rehearsals, when we get together, we often have very, very long, complicated conversations about everything. And then until it's time to go on stage. when we're on stage. We talk, and then when we stand behind the equipment, it’s just an extension of that.” It doesn't seem to have anything to do with electronic music. But being on DJ Mills' set and working with Tomorrow's Autumn was an indescribable feeling for the musicians and the enthusiastic audience. In interviews, Mills has sometimes described the experience of DJing as an out-of-body experience or escapism, a state that doesn't go away until he returns to his hotel. During our conversation, an otherworldly sense of community spirit that only music can convey was evident as he encouraged fellow DJs to “always play like it’s your last gig.”
“It’s not about the audience, it’s about you, it’s about . Right, that’s what the people are there for, and you’re the DJ, so you can be the host ,” Mills explains. "The dance music industry and the financial viability of dance music often gets in the way and makes people think that you have to be something or do something to be recognized, and that's partly true." But the most important thing is the atmosphere. What the DJ creates and not dances, but what he does with the music. And if you're serious about it and don't commit and try not to panic and just focus, you'll start to understand why. I mean, really, you start to understand exactly why music is so special and why it should always be taken seriously. If you give someone some time to make music, you always have to respect that.
Oh and one more thing. “Listen to other types of music. It’s that simple. Listen to as many types of music as you can and you will understand how unique electronic music is.”
III. Classes of 2023: Friday, Oct. 20 and Saturday, Oct. 21 at Mana Wynwood, Miami, 2217 NW Fifth Ave.; iiipoints.com . Tickets range from $169 to $599 at iiipoints.frontgatetickets.com .
