Techno Legend Jeff Mills: "Always Play Like It's Your Last Set"

6 minute read

Recently, while Jeff Mills was taking a break from his schedule as one of the most popular and sought-after DJs in the world, he headed home to Miami.

The techno legend is generally most associated with Detroit, where he was born and was once a member of the core group Underground Resistance. He also lived in Chicago for many years in the '90s. but back Midwestern winters are what they are, and after many visits to Miami since the '90s, he and his wife finally decided to move permanently.

“I think I spend more time here than I do in Chicago,” he said from his home in Miami Beach. "We've been here for about seven years."

Legendary musicians moving to Florida is nothing new. Iggy Pop from Michigan lives in South Florida. However, the two artists try to close themselves off and rarely appear in this area. That's what makes the next two sets at III Points, October 20-21 at Mana Wynwood, so exciting.

Few figures in the techno genre are as legendary as Mills, whose influential DJ style is recognized around the world. Even the equipment (four turntables or CDJs and a Roland TR-909 drum machine) is familiar and well-researched. This DJ began his career on local Detroit radio playing a mix of genres including hip-hop, synth-pop, and early techno under the name "The Wizard."

Ultimately, it was Underground Resistance, a band that combined the loud, mechanical, but still terrifying sound of Detroit techno with radical, anti-corporate politics, pointing it in the direction of the style they would become known for and that would define the years. 90. Minimal but expansive, more surgical than brutal and always full of fierce vitality, it blends together quickly and doesn't stay on the same theme for long.

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But he is rarely seen at home. Techno was probably invented in Detroit, where he and other early DJs, such as Cybotron's Juan Atkins, began listening to and creating futuristic music to escape the economic and social collapse caused by the city's industrial decline. But outside the United States, particularly in Europe and England, the culture associated with dance music grew and deepened. The abundance of clubs, festivals and other venues outside the U.S. keeps Mills and other DJs "very, very, very, very, very busy." Mills himself lives part-time in Paris to keep track of orders on the continent.

"The United States has accepted it, but not as much as abroad," he explained. “There were offers from abroad, but not in quantity or level, so that kept me away from the United States for most of the year. And I only have a few opportunities to return to the United States throughout the year, and that has been going on for decades."

Watching Jeff Mills DJ in Miami is a unique opportunity to witness a true master at his job, where he rarely performs. But watching him perform is worth it. Earlier this year I went to Amsterdam to see him perform with the jazz band Tomorrow Comes the Harvest. The group was founded by Mills and his friend Tony Allen, a Nigerian drummer best known for his work with Fela Kuti. When Allen passed away in 2020, Mills decided to continue the group in his spirit. The current ensemble includes French-Indian percussionist Prabhu Edouard and Guyanese keyboardist Jean-Phi Darry, along with other guest musicians and Mills, who plays drums and programs the TR-909.

“Before becoming a DJ, I tried to be a musician, a jazz drummer. And I don't think I ever lost that feeling or desire, not even in the '90s as a techno DJ,” he said. "I still want to play with other musicians, and if not with them, at least talk to them, work together to do some things."

Mills' project arose from this desire. He found himself wanting to combine his techno knowledge with live instrumentation "to the point where there was no compromise where musicians didn't have to be beholden to MIDI clocks or computer-generated tempos." He wanted to work with musicians he could identify with both musically and in a more direct sense. Look for musicians who are "great communicators and always have something to add or say."

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“The more we talked, the more we got to know each other and the more interesting we seemed,” he said. “And that comes from my contact and relationship with Tony Allen. Before shows, in rehearsals, whenever we meet, we often get into very, very long and complicated conversations about everything. And then a few minutes before we went on stage, we were still talking while we were on stage, and then when we got to the instruments, it was just a continuation of that."
It seems to have nothing to do with electronic music. But both in DJ Mills' set and working with him on "Tomorrow Brings the Harvest", you can feel the indescribable feelings of both the artists and the enthusiastic audience. In interviews, Mills sometimes described his experience as a DJ as an out-of-body experience or fugue state, which would not emerge until he returned to the hotel. Our chat showcases the otherworldly community spirit that only music can provide, as he encourages his fellow DJs to "always play like your last set."

“It's not about the audience or you, it's about this . Yeah? That's why people are here and you become a DJ who is a dealer ,” explains Mills. “The dance music industry and the financial aspect of dance music often get in the way and make people believe that they have to be a certain person. thing or do a certain thing in order to know, that to a certain extent it is true. But the most important thing is the atmosphere that the DJ will create and not by dancing, but what he will do with his music. And if you take it seriously, don't compromise and try not to be afraid, just stay focused and focused, then you'll start to understand why I mean, you'll really start to understand why this music is so special and why it should always be. taken so well. Serious. "When people give you a moment to play music for them, you should always respect that."

Yes, one more thing. "Listen to different types of music. It's easy. Listen to as many different types of music as possible and you will understand how special electronic music is."

Unit III 2023: Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21, Mana Wynwood, 2217 NW Fifth Ave., Miami; iiipoints.com . Tickets range from $169 to $599 at iiipoints.frontgatetickets.com .