Fantastic Voyage: Fresh Insight From Jeff Mills

One of techno's most inspiring figures in conversation...

Jeff Mills is, simply, one of the most inspirational figures at work in electronic music today.

A leading voice in Detroit techno's second wave, he helped spearhead Underground Resistance before embarking on a myriad of solo paths.

Recently indulging his passion for jazz fusion with the Kobe Session release, the producer helms the ever-intriguing Axis Records imprint as a vehicle for expansion into the future.

Set to bring his electric DJ skills to Belgium's Extrema Festival this weekend, Jeff Mills agreed to a quickfire Q&A with Clash.

As ever, though, The Wizard – as he was once known – took things a little deeper…

– – –

– – –

You recently worked on the Kobe Session, a movement towards jazz fusion. How did this project come about? How did you pick the musicians who were involved?
This was an idea and project that I had been wanting to materialize for a few years. I used to be a percussionist before becoming DJ, so the urge to get back into a band situation was always in the back of my mind. When creating the project The Exhibitionist 2, I realized that I might b able to use that project to turn people’s attention to subject of improvisation and creating music in real time, as opposed to pre-planning. Something that is not explored very much in electronic music.

This quartet of Kobe Session is in fact the second attempt. The first was earlier last year with the German bassist Angie Taylor and Gerald Mitchell from Detroit. Kobe Session was another step forward by adding a fourth musician to the concept and group. Yumiko Ohno, the keyboardist was a friend of friend. We had met many years ago on a TV show with Bob Moog. Kenji “Jino” Hino, the bassist was suggested from a friend that was a Miles Davis specialist. He knew of Jino and thought he might be the perfect fit and he was right.

Has fusion always been an influence on your work? What draws to this form, and which artists inspire you from the fusion movement?
Fusion is a style that I’ve used in many compositions – the cluster and layering of sounds and sequences – the abstraction of voices, blending to become one element. Very much borrowed from jazz, certain objectives have also been to make these tracks in a way where the listeners can have various perspectives on how to listen to it. Fusing sounds together so that every time its listened to, it can sound different.

I listened to the Jazz Messengers to create the album 'Contact Special'. I studied Miles Davis 'Kind Of Blue' for various tracks like 'Every Dog Has Its Day'. I listened to Sergio Mendez to created the track 'The Art Of Barrier Breaking' and many other influences like from Return To Forever, Stanley Clarke, Jeff Beck and many other jazz rock fusion artists.

Kobe Session was recorded live, rather than presented as a studio document. Why do this? Is there something about the performance – the now-ness, the element of chance – that a more studied, studio document can't replicate?
Capturing the live performance was to show as an example of we were “making up” the composition structure as we performed for the audience. We only knew the main melodies and co-ordinated breaks, but where these breaks would be inserted was up to myself as I signaled the other musicians, slightly beforehand. Tempo, who would solo and all else were improvised.

I wanted to capture us for this release in the most purist form, so nothing was edited out. All the mistakes and imperfections were kept in the recording. Yes, it was about now-ness. A subject that is rarely discussed in electronic music because a large part of what we do it pre-programmed and prepared before.

Is fusion something you want to continue to explore?
Yes, very much so. Capturing the moment is important because I believe it is these type of recordings that we will cherish the most as electronic music evolves. Memories and the deep feelings they provoke are essential to the existence of any music genre or art form. What remains in our long term memory shapes our impression and connection to the history of things.

 

– – –

We were all free…

– – –

Blending human musicians with machine technology can be difficult. What do you gain from doing this? How do the human/tech elements contrast one another?
Yes, blending can be difficult, but the approach I took with this mixture of our instruments was to play without synching the machines together. Meaning, we were not connected by MIDI connection. I chose to play my drum machine the similar way Gerald Mitchell played his keyboards or Jino played his bass guitar. This way, each of us had the ability to change on an instant. My interaction was determined based how I felt and what I heard the other musicians doing. We were all free.

Europe has long provided a grateful and understanding audience for your music, what do you think resonates between Detroit techno and European audiences?
I think it comes from a deep and serious level of respect and appreciation – a shared belief that there are many things to gain from supporting and following this style of and genre of music. And as the result, we’ve all worked hard to make special occasions designed to cultivate our memories (of the listeners) and careers (of the artist/DJs). In contrast to the American music industry and their general view of Detroit techno, there have always been a genuine love, not only for the history of independence and how the music evolved, but also, what the music has to say.

A quote on the Axis Records website reads: “Theories and subjects of substance is the elementary element that fuels the minds within our axis.”

Yes, this was my objective when I first conceptualize the label concept back in 1992. What it means is that “Our least amount of commitment will be to exploring subjects and topics that others might find relevant to their lives – that it is there that the label will start and grow”. And it has and continues to do so. This was always the plan.

Your music is often associated with terms such as 'hardness'. With 'subjects of substance' in mind, where does the physicality of music come from? A specific property – bass, for example – or the composition itself?
Actually, a good amount of music that I’ve released is of other textures. The “hardness” of some compositions were generally the product of the times in which they were written or the subjects in which they were written about. For instance, the rave era gave reason to make tracks that made people’s ears bleed. Or, in the era of minimal house, a more defined method was applied.

Music and its textural make-up can be a rather a useless differentiation because music is suggestive. What’s considered “hard” to someone, can easily be “too soft” to someone else. The most important thing is that the composition addressed the sentiment of the moment.

– – –

The most important thing is that the composition addressed the sentiment of the moment.

– – –

What is the relationship between the mind and the computer? Does the computer, the experience of technology fuel the mind, or are we gradually de-humanised by this technology?
First, I believe (with reasonable logic) that the distance in the relationship between the two is quite great. I think that most of the thoughts that go on in the mind of the composer is lost in the translation from what a person thinks to what he/she does or plays – that what the listeners hears is just a fraction of what the composer was thinking when he/she made it. Second, I understand that technology is an integral part of electronic music and how its created, but I’m not convinced that it is the root reason why electronic is made.

I still believe that we make music because we need to extend our perspectives on a particular view and that technology only helps us with the extraction of thoughts and visions so that others can engage with it.

You've explored music to such a profound degree across three decades, moving from techno to classical, soundtrack work to jazz. What is the common thread running through this? Where can we find 'Jeff Mills' in your work?
I think the common thread has always been to use music to say things to enlighten people and to approach subjects (with music) in ways that relay particular depths and emotions. Again, I’ve always been conscious of what makes humans human. Things like being curious, or a sense of belonging or being useful to others, recognizing that there is always something to learn in any situation and more importantly, a persistent belief that “the truth will set us free”. All these subjects have, in some way or another, shaped my view on how and why I create.

– – –

– – –

Jeff Mills will play Belgium's Extrema festival today (May 15th).

Buy Clash Magazine

-
Join the Clash mailing list for up to the minute music, fashion and film news.