Don’t get me wrong, Chi-town got it going on
And New York is the city that we know don’t sleep
And we all know that L.A. and Philly stay jiggy
But on the sneak, Miami bringing heat for real
We’re kicking off our series of Spring fiestas with a Detroit meets Ibiza meets Miami techno all-dayer. Special guest Jeff Mills and Discoteca favourite Derrick May will be joined by “innovator” Kevin Saunderson, Stacey Pullen and Octave One – live at the Shelborne on South Beach for a midday till midnight collection of some of the finest electronic DJs and producers the US of A has to offer on Sunday 13th March. Rounding up the lineup with a housier feel will be Alex Niggemann and Desyn Masiello.
Here is part 3 of our radio transcription of an interview Jeff Mills gave to RBMA. You can check out parts 1 and 2 here. You can listen to the radio show in full here or download it here. The accompanying tracklist is as follows:
Jeff Mills – Landscape (Utopian Dream) – Tresor
Jeff Mills – Blue Print – Tresor
Underground Resistance – Eye of the Storm – Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance – Predator – Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance – Base Camp Alpha 808 – UR
Underground Resistance – Final Frontier – Underground Resistance
X-101 – G-Force – Tresor
X-102 – Ground Zero (The Planet) – Tresor
X-102 – The Rings Of Saturn – Underground Resistance
Jeff Mills – Perfecture (Somewhere Around Now) – Tresor
Jeff Mills – The Bells – Axis
Jeff Mills – Transformation B (Rotwang’s Revenge) – Tresor
Jeff Mills – Robot Replica – Tresor
Click the vinyl sticker pictures to hear the tracks.
Life in the Jeff-set
We started with Saturn, we chose it mainly because of the physical aspects of the planet, in that it resembled a record. We were interested in using very small things to relay certain messages so the label design was used as the main part of the explanation of the release and the music would explain or support it – in the grooves. So the Rings of Saturn was a perfect release. The rings, like a tree when you cut it open and look a the rings of time it tells the history of the tree itself. We looked at the planet as the rings telling the history of it. Months and months of research about the planet, and then we began production in the summer of 1992. From X-101 we learned that each of us have a very unique way of producing music. We designated who would do what for that particular release. Rob didn’t have that much experience at the time. He had set up a small studio in the corner he had very small pieces of equipment but very interesting sounds. So we designated that he produce very simple, very minimal type of tracks. Mike would produce more orchestrated strings because he could player better than both of us. And my job would be to have the more experimental parts. We would put all these things together and that would be the album. X-102 would be something we always wanted to finish we never thought that we ever finished that release. So that brings us to the year 2009 so we decided to go back and revisit it, update the album and create a performance.
Ring ding
I got an offer to move to New York as a resident DJ at a couple of clubs. Part of the deal of my moving to New York was that I would have to have an office so that I could run the label from there. When I moved and realized that Mike did not want to bring UR to New York, I had all these resources – and office, telephone, all these free things that this club had given me. With all this I should start a label myself! After a few months of thinking about it and thinking about the type of music I would like to do I came up with the idea of Axis. Until then the music was very song structured so you would have the introduction and bridge, even though they were instrumentals you got the idea that if someone was to sing on top of these songs that would be OK, they were structured in that way. So I thought that being a DJ it would be great to produce music that was more simplified so that you could manipulate it more. By limiting how layered the tracks would be – it would be better. Back then as DJs we used to really seek out dub versions and instrumental versions so that we could extend and create our own songs. I thought that producing in this way would set a tone with DJs. It was always my intention to make a label where the music was more simple, easy for the DJ to play and program. I asked Rob who was recording on his own label in Detroit, if he would do the first recording on the label jointly with me. It was called Tranquilizer, it was so different it did not take off so well. The second release which was Inner Sanctum by Rob only, did a little bit better as it was more danceable. By the third release which was Step To Enchantment, the Mecca EP, things began to take off, at that time.
Mecca steps
The label Purpose Maker was created soon after I had moved to Chicago from New York. I had no friends, I was basically alone, so I had plenty of time to produce a lot of music. I thought I can produce so much that it would be interesting to produce a case of records just for me. So records that were even mastered, pressed. But no one had any copies, I had all the copies. I had begun to make music just for me to play. Things like The Bells, Alarms, they were just for me. I had begun to play them as I was making this box, as I was playing them DJs were asking what these songs were. I got the indication that The Bells was something people really responded to and DJs wanted to have. So I said ok. Maybe I should make it available to release these tracks. That’s how I started the label Purpose Maker. Once I got he notion the DJs understood exactly what the music was for, and began to hear other producers and DJs try to emulate it. I thought the task is done, now I can move on to the next.
The bells, the bells!
Metropolis is an epic film by Fritz Lang that was produced in 1929, it’s become on of the most popular science fiction films of our time. There were many years that brought me to the point of working on that project. There were many discussions about how electronic music could play a role in cinema, where it might serve cinema the best and vice versa – what type of films it might work the best for. After so many discussions with so many people I thought that someone should do something, so I’ll try to produce an entire soundtrack for an entire film! Just to see what happens, even if it doesn’t turn out too well at least the news that I tried to do something, if that news got round to other producers, maybe it would give them some indication that somebody’s trying to do something to broaden and expand electronic music into different areas. So without permission from the film company I just went and bought a VHS tape of Metropolis, took notes, divided it into 12 different parts and produced music for each section. Many different versions for each section and chose one that would work. I went to an editing studio, taking the VHS tape and put the music that I produced to this tape. Then I began to search and find out who might have a contact to the film company in Munich that maybe IU could show this film to them of what I did and maybe that they would allow me to show it to other people. I did that, being lucky enough find a contact through Tresor Records in Berlin who knew someone who knew someone, who knew someone that worked at Transit Films in Munich. Luckily someone in that office was young enough, maybe an intern or something to know who I was as a DJ. They decided to say ok, they would give me rights to show the film for academic reasons, just for the example of putting electronic music to this film, we could have one of rights to show the film. That’s how the project came. That’s how I did it.
We are very happy to announce an exclusive residency with one of the smartest and most genuinely humble DJs on the world circuit today. Claude VonStroke was raised in a Detroit suburb and entered the global electronic music consciousness in 2005 with his deep growling vocal and swinging synth anthem, Deep Throat. Since that release on his own imprint dirtybird, he has carved a niche owning and curating one of the world’s premier “tech-funk” labels. Celebrating their 5 year anniversary this year, Claude VonStroke has kindly provided an hour long mix from their raucous birthday party in San Francisco back in February. We can’t recommend a listen enough, download it here and get grooving to those sweaty bass-lines, quirky ideas, and bumpin funk. If your looking to check Claude VonStroke this year in Ibiza, he’ll be playing exclusively for We Love… and only at Space on the following dates, 18th July on La Terraza, 8th August in the Discoteca and then back on the Terraza for the 19th of September.
Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
The Count of Monte Cristo. The ultimate revenge story. When I was younger and had more anger and anti-establishment sentiment this was really my favorite book. It also shows that you can do anything you put your mind to even if things look as hopeless as being in prison and in solitary confinement on an island. You can always overcome impossible odds through sheer will power.
Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
They encouraged me to play music. They paid for me to take piano and cello lessons my entire childhood. They were not quite as enthusiastic about music as a career although they never told me not to do it. My parents always supported me in my decisions and always told me I could do anything I wanted with my life. I really appreciate that because I know a lot of people, friends even, who were led to believe they had to do one thing or the other to be happy and now they are miserable at their jobs.
How did you begin to work professionally in music?
I made music as bedroom producer my whole life since I was 12. But in 2002 I made a documentary about techno and house music while I was working as a video editor on commercials. My first released track was Deep Throat in 2005. About a year later I quit my job and took it on full time.
How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
I know about working hard from working a ton of real jobs. I know about how to present things professionally from working on big budget films. I think a lot of DJs and producers make it big when they are in their 20′s without a lot of work experience. Then they get into the party scene and they don’t know anything about hard work. I mean really hard work. I sound like the old guy who walked 10 miles to school in the snow but I really believe a strong work ethic is something that separates me from a lot of people who could be a lot more successful if they really applied themselves.
Where is your current studio and what is it like?
The current studio is about to move from a terrible shaped room that sucks for mixing to an amazing new room in the basement of my new house outside San Francisco. I am moving it this week in fact! I am super excited. I had a custom desk built by KK Audio in LA and everything is going to be super fresh in the new room!
The dirtybird crew
How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
I don’t believe “Marketing” actually works but indirectly I do believe that selling yourself as a package – something that can be easily understood – really matters. For example, advertising a track is a waste of time and also pretty cheesy – but having a good biography, a good story about who you are does matter. The whole bird thing was more of an accident than a marketing ploy but I saw right away that people liked it and could grab on to it as an idea so I rolled with it.
How would you describe your work?
Hard but really fun. I have a voracious appetite for trying new ideas and listening to new music.
Who were your teachers?
Mostly myself. I have to admit though, without seeing my friend Nigel Richards from 611 Records in Philly do it all years before me I would have never even thought of doing it or even known it was a possible career for that matter. Also the people who were on my DVD project really cleared up alot of questions I had about the industry, particularly Derrick Carter, Theo Parish, and Derrick May.
Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
Cut their balls off or sew their vaginas shut… ha! No, just regular jail is fine.
You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would that be?
Your ‘momma.
If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
The 1980s. I would go back, head straight for New York and enjoy the birth of hip-hop.
Many thanks to the Claude VonStroke for taking time to answer our 11 Questions, you can check out our other artists who have answered here. Don’t forget to download the live mix and have a look at the video below to see Claude VonStroke and fellow dirtybird artist J Phlip talking on the roof of our club in Ibiza last summer…
Jeff Mills is undoubtedly one of the founding fathers of techno music. In this transcript (Part 1 of 3) of a recent interview he has given to the Red Bull Music Academy Radio, you can read all about him starting out on Detroit radio in the mid-80′s, meeting Parliament bassist “Mad” Mike Banks, the evolution of techno, Underground Resistance, traveling for the first time to Europe, Axis, rescoring Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, The Rings of Saturn and treading that careful line between dance-music and high art. Click the record label art to get an idea of the tracks Mills is talking about with links to relevant Youtube videos. Listen to the radio show in full here or download it here. The accompanying tracklist is as follows:
Jeff Mills – Landscape (Utopian Dream) – Tresor
Jeff Mills – Blue Print – Tresor
Underground Resistance – Eye of the Storm – Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance – Predator – Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance – Base Camp Alpha 808 – UR
Underground Resistance – Final Frontier – Underground Resistance
X-101 – G-Force – Tresor
X-102 – Ground Zero (The Planet) – Tresor
X-102 – The Rings Of Saturn – Underground Resistance
Jeff Mills – Perfecture (Somewhere Around Now) – Tresor
Jeff Mills – The Bells – Axis
Jeff Mills – Transformation B (Rotwang’s Revenge) – Tresor
Jeff Mills – Robot Replica – Tresor
The Wizard
My name is Jeff Mills I originate from Detroit, I live in Chicago now, my main profession is to produce music and also to DJ. I try to explore as many different things as I can on behalf of electronic music. I was a street DJ doing residencies at many clubs and happened to be in one club during a live “simulcast” I think it was back in 1982 or ’83. It went so well that I was asked if I could come to the station to do an audition which I did and luckily everything went well so I was offered a job to do a radio show. I assumed the name The Wizard and curated a radio show for about 10 years. At that time the hip hop culture had really moved into the urban centres of the country in America. So much so that it was really dominating the clubs. The clubs that had the DJs that were remnants left over from the disco era and the funk era, these DJs were occupying all the dance clubs in Detroit but when hip hop came, young DJs like myself were somehow replacing those DJs that had been there for years.
Cooky batter
You had to be very fast, you had to be technically really advanced, you had to learn the tricks that were happening from DJs from other parts of the country like New York or LA. I was lucky enough to have the time to really master these things and when the radio came it just broadened the idea of being a DJ that was very quick and could transform and do all those kind of things, to manipulate the music to the point that you create another version. I was one of those kids that did that. We were just beginning to start to get the very early releases from Def Jam, Cooky Puss, early Schoolly D things. So I was mixing that with funk, with Chaka Khan, Billy Ocean, I remember having to mix with Millie Vanilli, mixing all these things together with rock and industrial with anything I could get my hands on that was really happening in the street.
I was a DJ for many years before I went to radio, I had done residencies every day of the week at three or four clubs. At the time I was so busy as what we used to call a ‘street DJ’. I really didn’t have an off day. I have always had this skill of programming of being able to cue records very quickly and smoothly, to manipulate three turntables and tape machines were things I learned very early. Now I still have the ability to do those things but just the style of music really dictates how I approach it. As music over the years has gotten more minimal and faster in tempo and almost to the point where you are dealing with individual tracks like you would in a recording studio, so has the technique that you apply in order to program it for people. Three and four turntables has become a way of dealing with that. Not so much reorganising compositions, but using frequencies so you hide sounds within the track by manipulating the EQ and layering, and things like that.
Now That's Funky
Someone from the radio station I worked at, she said she knew a young guy who was in the studio and wanted to make a hip hop record and if I could go by to the studio and help him. As a favour to her, I did. I went by the studio and it was Anthony Srock and he was a big fan of Run DMC and the Beastie Boys and he wanted to make something in that direction. I said, ok, and we started working together. I wasn’t in the group I was just helping them at the time but what happened was that I was doing so much production I should have some interest in what we are doing here. We became good friends as a result of working in the studio and then we eventually decided let’s just get together and make more music like this and so the band Final Cut was put together. We produced the album Deep In 2 The Cut and I didn’t have much pieces of equipment like keyboards and things like that. The only person I knew with a lot of keyboards was Mike Banks. He was in a band where two bands had merged together and had merged their equipment together as well. So they had lots and lots of keyboards and those type of things. So I used to call them up and ask them if I could borrow certain keyboards to produce certain things for this album that we were working on. So he would come over to my apartment and bring the keyboards, would listen to the music that we were producing and thought it was very interesting. The album came out and we went to Berlin for a performance, it was ok. But I realised this kind of music, this kind of sound is not something I could really grasp onto. I left the group Final Cut, Tony Srock had wanted to take it in a less danceable more gothic kind of way. I wanted to stick to dance music so I left the group.
Eye Of The Storm
Somewhere around that time Mike’s band had left to go to LA, they had disbanded as well. Mike and I had kept in contact so we began talking about the idea of getting together, merging our studios together. He had already thought of the name Underground Resistance but he didn’t do anything with it. He registered the name, asked me if I thought it was great, I said yeah let’s do it. And that’s how we started. I was in college – in school and he worked during the day so we could only record at night. So we would record literally from 8 o’clock at night until 7:30 in the morning. We had so much equipment that we could produce multiple tracks at the same time. We had so many tape machines and multitrack machines and so many keyboard setups. Our studio was in the basement of Mike’s mothers place so we had taken the entire basement and set up small work-stations. We would be working on Sonic EP in that corner, and here would be Yolanda, something here, something else here… That’s one of the ways we would produce so much music at the same time.
Yolanda - Your Time Is Up
I had lots of experience with editing in cutting tape. He had lots of experience in playing keyboards, MIDI and all those things. We just merged. I had brought some compositions from some of the things I had produced and he had brought some older works and we merged those two together, and from there comes the diversity of the tracks when we first started. There were things like Waveform EP which were very dark that comes probably from the Final Cut direction. And there were things like Yolanda that came from some of the things he was doing with his band before we got together. So we could produce lots of different types of things from very early on. We knew that we could produce in multiple directions. We just worked endlessly, once we had finished with something we would start on something immediately. We would never stop really.
More to come in Parts 2 and 3. From that Waveform EP…
Derrick May has been an international phenomenon ever since he revolutionized the British club scene in the ‘80s. His music and artistry helped create the modern day clubscape. Along with Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson they are known as “The Belleville Three” and are universally credited as the originators of Techno. His seminal hits “Strings of Life” and “Nude Photo” are two examples of his work that took Detroit Techno and launched it across the globe to be emulated and embraced by DJs worldwide (and also earned him the moniker “The Innovator”). Transmat, the label Derrick founded in the mid ‘80s, was a launch pad for artists such as Carl Craig, Juan Atkin’s Model 500, Stacey Pullen, Kenny Larkin and Joey Beltram to name a few. Derrick continues to be a massive club draw in every major market in the world.
Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
If I have to choose one, I will say the Third Wave (by Alvin Toffler).
Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
They encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do… it turns out being music.
How did you begin to work professionally in music?
In the school, with Juan and Kevin.
How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
I don’t do this consciously, it just happens, but I know what ever I do today is someway shaped by what I was doing yesterday.
Where is your current studio and what is it like?
Innovator
As always at Transmat, in Detroit, its like chaotic fun mix of wires, tapes, and films.
How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
No one can deny marketing issues are a part of the game and you better learn to deal with them, but I keep it separated from my career as an artist. My mission as an artist is to be creative, not to be marketable.
How would you describe your work?
Edutainment, I educate people through entertainment.
Who were your teachers?
Juan Atkins learn me how to make music
Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
I will lock them in my studio and let them hear “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston a whole week, the whole day long.
You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
Rats.
If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
This summer in Ibiza, exclusive monthly resident to We Love, Jeff Mills took the Discoteca by storm with his own uniquely futuristic take on electronic music. From the founding of Axis Records to playing live with the Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra, Mills breaks new ground in every aspect of his professional life. One of the most revered and respected names in techno took a moment out of his busy schedule to answer these 11 questions…
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Probably John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”. We had to read this in high school. It was the first real book (besides Silver Surfer comics) that I ever read. The book was short, but vivid in its description.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No, they pressed me to consider working as a electrical engineer or electrician. I wanted to pursue Architecture or Advertising. In Detroit where I grew up, Music was compulsory. Everybody was connected to it in someway, so jumping into that professional wasn’t really a big step.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I auditioned for a DJ group called the Dale Willis Organization. My older brother was part of that organization. They provided the Dance Music for parties and events around Detroit in the 70s/80s. After begging him for months to arrange a audition, I got the chance to display what I had been practicing for and in a real club with grown up people. I was 17 at the time. Dale Willis liked what I did and started working at a club called The Lady in Detroit on Tuesday Nights. I was under age, so I had to stay in the DJ booth the entire night. It was there, Dale and others taught me how to program, read, measure and pace the crowd and a lot other things that I still practice today.
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. I think to be a DJ, one generally has to have a un-bias view of people and on the other side, a realistic way of generalizing. A understanding that the distance between you and your audiences isn’t really that far. Rationalizing is a big part of the profession. As a child, I could get along with everyone and never had any problems expressing myself. I think that at a early age, I understood that people are not perfect. This is only something we can strive for.
AXIS-001
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. The main one is in Chicago. It’s a small room, many keyboards w/ all red MIDI cords, 2 desk lamps, no overhead lighting, no signs or posters, 1 small window with a view of other buildings. In Berlin, it’s all on the floor in the bedroom. Using the boxes the equipment came in, the keyboards and units sit atop. I rarely use the return studio monitors, but prefer headphones.
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. Marketing issues consume about 70% of my time. Between our label, Axis and the clothing shop Gamma Player, structuring ways to relay to people what we’re doing takes a lot of time, preparation and execution. For this, we’ve assembled a team of people that I’ve worked with for over 10 years to handle certain tasks. Because we creating so many projects at the same time, it can be difficult to make sure we’re all on the same channel, but we managed a system of shuffling information quite well considering. The marketing does not drive creativity. It’s the opposite. Every project is different and requires various strategies. From this, we’ve learned a lot over the many years.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. It’s difficult. My actions are moving towards something, but I’m really sure. I feel that it’s important, but I really don’t know why. Luckily, work has never been a struggle. I’ve never had a creative block or anything – it evolves on a time system that I control. I favor the subjects of Science Fiction and the work is just a reflection of how I envision it.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. My father and brother. Dale Willis, Arthur C. Clarke, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Martin Luther King Jr, Pierre Cardin, Oscar Niemeyer and many, many other. Without knowing their individual names, decades and decades of people at parties have taught me how to communicate musically.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Moderate jail time. How much time should be determined by the true reasons of the burglary. Was the culprit committing a crime for necessity or preference? Was their a family or a addiction to feed?
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. The Rat. We’re longtime enemies.
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. This is a tough one. Musically, I’d have to say in Harlem, New York between 1939-1945. The Great Jazz era. Spiritually, during the completion of the last Egyptian Pyramid to see what they were really made for?
Acid Washed are set to release their debut EP on November 23rd. It features this track “General Motors, Detroit, America” which initially caught our eye due to the simple but engrossing op-art style video from Anthony Burrill. The release will feature another track “Snake” with remixes from Gavin Russom (DFA) and Arnaud Rebotini (Blackstrobe).
Anthony Burrill is a designer who works in a broad range of activities, including print, advertising, moving image, exhibitions and products. He was born in Littleborough, Lancashire and now lives and works on the Isle of Oxney, Kent. After studying graphic design at Leeds Polytechnic he completed an MA in Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art, London.
Acid Washed is a fusion of late-nineties filter house and nu-disco anthems with acknowledgment to Detroit and Chicago without being reverential. Don’t dwell on definitions, it’s a cosmic tune for your party tonight.
To get the ball rolling on what will become a regular feature on the We Love… blog. Man of many monikers, Carl Craig takes time out of his busy schedule to answer 11 pertinent questions posed by our interrogator in chief. If you have the time (and money) check out his newly released box set, The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King. Including Planet E’s first release titled “Four Jazz Funk Classics,” which Carl Craig recorded under the pseudonym 69. This album set the standard for what was to follow in Planet E’s history. In addition, it set the stage for listeners to prepare themselves for the unique and undeniable sound the label would become synonymous with, a sort of “futuristic funk” that remains true to its techno roots, while redefining the genre as a whole.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Dirty Havana Trilogy. Lots of sex and alcohol!
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No. They wanted me to work at the post office. Now my dad is very supportive. He works for me.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I met Derrick May in 1988 with a demo. Actually a bunch of demos over a bunch of time. If I’ve learned one thing, persistence pays!
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. N/A
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. In Detroit. I have mostly analog keyboards, a mixing desk and lots of vibe. Actually the vibe is more like a science lab!
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. I’ve gone through all of the marketing ideas for a small label and since I’m no specialist I just release music and let the people enjoy.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. Heavy
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. Time and experience.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Slavery.
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. Possums. They’re ugly fuckers.
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. I would go to the time of Casanova and would be his rival.
