Jeff Mills, along with
Robert Hood,
Carl Craig, and
Joey Beltram, is one of the biggest American names in techno. Championed for his music's relentless pursuit of hardness and his stripped-down, almost industrial DJ sets,
Mills is the latest in a long line of Detroit-bred talent to take on an international reputation. A founding member of noted Motor City institution
Underground Resistance,
Mills helped build the artist roster and label ideology (as well as much of its back catalog) with partners
"Mad" Mike Banks and
Robert "Noise" Hood before moving to New York in 1992 to pursue more vigorously his solo and DJ career (with a resident spot at the legendary Limelight and a recording contract with the noted German label Tresor). (Although rumors of bad blood between the early
UR crew have been denied by all involved,
Mills' decision to split was apparently total, with
Banks all but repudiating his involvement with
Mills and
Mills distancing himself from the continuing political militancy of
Banks and the
UR organization.)
Mills'
UR-related releases (including "The Punisher" and "Seawolf") are stripped-down and erratic, fusing elements of hardcore acid and industrial techno to the sparse Detroit aesthetic. Not surprisingly, his post-
UR sound hasn't eased a bit, although
UR's penchant for the four-track has been replaced by higher-quality production.
Prior to his involvement in
UR,
Mills was a DJ at Detroit public radio station WDET (he was also studying architecture at the time), spinning everything from
Meat Beat Manifesto and
Nine Inch Nails to Chicago house and underground Detroit techno. He began producing in the mid-'80s, working with
Tony Srock on the project
the Final Cut.
Mills met
Banks through a local garage group
Members of the House, whom
Banks was working with in the late '80s.
Mills remixed a track on a
Members 12", and his and
Banks' shared love for Chicago soul and the harder edge of Detroit techno blossomed into
Underground Resistance as a combined business and creative enterprise. The pair, along with
Robert Hood, recorded several EPs and singles together, including tracks such as "Waveform" and "Sonic," before
Mills defected to New York in 1992 to pursue a residency at the Limelight club and a solo career recording for Tresor and his own label, Axis.
Mills' discography includes two full-length volumes of
Waveform Transmissions for Tresor, a live album and rarities collection for the British label React, and the first album in a new contract with Sony Japan, as well as a handful of 12" EPs on Axis and several collaborations with
Robert Hood on his M-Plant label. In 2000,
Mills took more memorable action by scoring a new soundtrack for
Fritz Lang's 1926 film Metropolis, screened around the world at venues including the Museum of Music in Paris, London's Royal Albert Hall, and the Vienna International Film Festival. The album
Metropolis documented the project in 2000, the same year that the compilation
The Art of Connecting and the new album
Every Dog Has Its Day both arrived. In 2004 the
Exhibitionist mix CD appeared, as did a mix DVD of the same name, the latter packed with extra features.
Choice: A Collection of Classics was released that same year and featured
Mills mixing some old personal favorites.
Blue Potential from 2006 was a live album recorded with
the Montpellier Philharmonic Orchestra.
–
Sean Cooper, Rovi