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JEFF MILLS Appearing in the late 80's as radio DJ "The Wizard" and the mastermind in 'The Final Cut', Jeff Mills took up the heritage of the "Techno fathers" Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins and Derrick May, inaugurating the next sound generation of Detroit. Mills characterized the new Detroit sound like no one else; together with Mike Banks (and later also with Robert "The Vision" Hood) he founded Underground Resistance and brought the Detroit Techno sound of the early 90's into the clubs and onto turntables all over the world.The trio tailored the soundtrack according to life in their hometown: harder, faster, more dangerous but still sensitive. On their self-entitled Underground Resistance label, this conglomerate of musicians released 12-inch vinyl records, mostly instrumental but appearing as well with vocalist Yolanda Reynolds. Older Disco and Soul traditions founded by Motown Records (then seated in Detroit) have been lifted to another level and voices of the 60's have been combined with the 90's sound. Sound documents of Jeff Mills' UR phase, are the releases of the 'X-101', 'X-102', and 'X-103' project series, released in Europe by Tresor Records under UR license. Apart from his work in the studio, Jeff Mills also constantly maintained his DJ-career, thus he was able to pursue the actual party movement worldwide but he eventually followed New York's "call" and installed himself in one of Manhattan's largest clubs: the Limelight. In the long term the distance made an intensive cooperation with Banks and Hood impossible, so Mills departed from the two. It was clear that the artist Jeff Mills wasn't satisfied by simply DJing, so he recorded "Waveform Transmissions Vol. 1" in 1992. This landmark release was his first solo album revealing the state of Electronic Music in 1992 and providing important hints for the future of the genre at the same time. Even today there exists no other production in this music style that has not been influenced by this album: a guiding light since it's release. Jeff Mills began the 90's founding his own Axis Records label releasing futuristic, experimental sounds; a mark which continues to influence Techno producers worldwide. "As barriers fall around the world, the need to understand others and the way they live, think and dream is a task nearly impossible to imagine without theory and explanation. And as we approach the next century with hope and prosperity, this need soon becomes a necessity rather than a recreational urge. Theories and subjects of substance is the elementary element that fuels the minds within our AXIS." Now based in Chicago, the world's most in-demand DJ continued to regularly set out for other cities like Paris, London, Manchester, Rome, Berlin and Tokyo to fascinate audiences with his breathtakingly quick DJ handcraft. In 1996 the DJ and his art became Mills' preoccupation when founding his second label 'Purpose Maker', the imprint providing "turntable-artists" the sounds needed for Techno dancefloors. Whereas the Axis platform stressed experimental sounds, Purpose Maker provided rhythmically saturated and loop-oriented music built especially for DJ blending. Keeping DJs busy with his 12-inch and EP releases during the late 90's, he also made CDs of his best tracks available for home listeners including Purpose Maker Compilation (React), Lifelike (News), The Art of Connecting (Next Era, Hardware), The Other Day (Purpose Maker), From the 21st (Sony Japan) and Every Dog Has Its Day"(NEWS/Labels). The Mix Up Vol. 2 - Jeff Mills: Live-Mix at Liquid Room, Tokyo mix-CD released via Sony, Japan gave Mills fans the chance to take one of his DJ-sets home for the first time. In 1999 the third label TOMORROW was launched to introduce more futuristic and experimental directions. "TOMORROW is a perfect reason to strive, we see it ads a new chance in the system of growth, within ourselves or in the face of others. it is the reason one clings to live in times of severe distress. tomorrow can be a remedy for lying, forgiving and lying. Why is time our only system of measuring reality?" In the year 2000 the 'man from tomorrow' surprised everyone with an extraordinary project. Inspired by Fritz Lang's silent film "Metropolis" (1926), Mills recorded his own soundtrack of the 21st-Century for the hugely influential film in a grandiose transmission of traditional orchestral interpretation into electronic soundtrack(s) matching Langs' master-vision of the Utopian Dream; narrative, passionate, and timeless. The 60-minute soundtrack works well independently but of course the complete meaning is much better defined in connection with the particular "Metropolis" film sequences Mills was himself inspired by. To visualize his own musical interpretation, Scott Stephanoff/Pilot Pictures (Detroit) under the direction of Jeff Mills re-edited the movie to fit the new soundtrack. The Pictures and Sound combined create a completely new correlation. www.axisrecords.com
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For more info contact: Sioux Zimmerman siouxz@magnumpr.net © 2006 Magnum PR & Management
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