Techno Legend Jeff Mills: "Always Play Like It's Your Last Set"
The techno music legend is usually associated with Detroit, where he was born and became a member of an underground resistance group. He also lived in Chicago for many years in the 1990s, but returned Midwest winters are what they are, and after numerous visits to Miami since the 1990s, he and his wife decided to make the move permanent.
“I think I spend more time here than I do in Chicago,” he says from his home in Miami Beach. -We've been here almost seven years.
Legendary musicians moving to Florida is nothing new. Iggy Pop, a Michigan native, lives in South Florida. But both artists try to maintain their privacy and rarely perform in the region. That's what makes the next two sets at III Point on October 20 and 21 at Mana Wynwood so exciting.
Few figures in the techno music scene are as legendary as Mills, whose influential DJ style is widely recognized around the world. Even his equipment (four turntables or CDJs and a Roland TR-909 drum machine) is recognizable and familiar. The DJ began playing a mix of musical genres including hip-hop, synth pop and early techno on local Detroit radio under the name "The Wizard".
Ultimately, the underground resistance group, which blended the hard, mechanical, funky sound of Detroit techno music with extreme anti-corporate politics, led to the style for which they became known and defined in the 1990s. Always more brutal and energetic, weapons pack up quickly and don't stay on track for long.
He explained, "The United States adopted it, but not to the same extent as it adopted it outside the country." "There are offers, but not as many or to the same level abroad, so it keeps me away from the US for most of the year. I do have some opportunities to return to the US during the year, and it's been that way for decades."
Watching DJ Jeff Mills in Miami is a unique opportunity to witness a true master of style in action in a setting rarely seen. But it's worth the trip to see him perform. Earlier this year I went to Amsterdam to see him perform with the jazz band Tomorrow Comes the Harvest. The band was founded by Mills and his friend Tony Allen, a Nigerian drummer known for his work with Fela Kuti. When Allen passed away in 2020, Mills decided to continue the band in his spirit. The current band includes French-Indian percussionist Prabhu Edouard and Guyanese keyboardist Jean Vi Dare, among other guest musicians, and Mills, who plays and programs the TR-909 drum kit.
"Before I started DJing, I tried to be a musician, a jazz drummer. I don't think I ever lost that feeling nor wanted to be one, not even as a techno DJ in the '90s," he says. . “I still want to play with other musicians, and if not play with them, at least talk to them, and work together to achieve something.”
Mill's project arises from this desire. He found himself wanting to combine his experience in techno music and live instruments "in a no-compromise environment, where musicians don't have to be tied to a MIDI clock or computer-generated beat." He wanted to work with musicians who he could connect with musically and literally. Look for musicians who are “good communicators and always have something to add or say.”
“The more we talked, the more we got to know each other, and the more interesting our performances became,” he says. "And this comes from my interaction and relationship with Tony Allen. Before shows, during rehearsals, when we get together, we often have very long, complicated conversations about everything. And then, just a few minutes before. Let's go on stage, we still talk when we get close." “From the stage, and then when we’re behind our instruments, it’s just a continuation of that.” It may not seem like it has much to do with electronic music. But in Mills' DJ set and his work on "Tomorrow Brings the Harvest," something indescribable can be felt between the performers and the enthusiastic audience. In interviews, Mills sometimes describes his experiences as a DJ as an out-of-body experience or fugue state from which he does not emerge until he returns to the hotel. The otherworldly spirit of community that only music can provide enters our conversation when he urges fellow DJs to "always play it like it's their last set."
“It's not about the audience or you, it's about this ,” Mills explained. “It's true, that's why people are here, and that's what I became a DJ for .” “The financial part of the dance music and dance music industry often becomes this barrier and makes people think that you have to be or do a certain thing in order to be recognised, which is true to an extent. But what is more important is the atmosphere that the DJ will create, not through the dancing.” It's what he's going to do with the music. And if you take it seriously and don't compromise on it, and try not to be intimidated by it, and stay focused, and just stay focused, then you start to understand why. I mean you really start to understand why this music is so special and why it should Always be taken seriously. When people give you a few minutes of their time to play music for them, you should always respect that. :
Well, one more thing. "Listen to other types of music. It's that simple. Listen to as many different types of music as you can and you'll realize how special electronic music is."
Section III 2023: Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21, Manna Wynwood, 2217 NW 5th Ave., Miami; iiipoints.com . Tickets range from $169 to $599 at iiipoints.frontgatetickets.com .
