Jeff Mills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeff Mills
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Mills performing in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Wizard, True Faith |
| Born | June 18, 1963 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | Detroit techno, minimal techno |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, record producer, composer |
| Instruments | Turntable, synthesizer, drum machine |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Axis Records |
Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is a famous American DJ, record producer, and composer. He is also known as "the Wizard". In the late 1980s, Mills helped start a music group called Underground Resistance. He formed it with other Detroit techno artists like 'Mad' Mike Banks and Robert Hood.
In the early 1990s, Jeff Mills decided to work on his own music. He left the group to become a solo artist. In 1992, he started his own record label, Axis Records, in Chicago. This label has released many of his solo music projects.
Jeff Mills is known around the world for his amazing DJ sets and music production. He was part of a documentary about techno music called Man from Tomorrow. He also made a film called Life to Death and Back, which he filmed at the Louvre Museum in France. In 2017, he received a special award, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, for his contributions to the arts.
Contents
Jeff Mills' Music Journey
Starting as a DJ
Jeff Mills finished high school in 1981. He began his music career in the early 1980s. He used the name "the Wizard" when he performed. He was known for his cool DJ tricks, like mixing beats and scratching records.
He had a nightly radio show in Detroit, first at WDRQ and then at WJLB. On his shows, he played music from local techno artists. This helped artists like Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Juan Atkins become more known.
Mills also had regular DJ performances at clubs in Detroit. He often played at a club called The Necto. This was a place where he could try out new ideas in techno music. He even experimented with different equipment setups. Sometimes, he would set up his DJ gear right on the dance floor with the crowd.
Underground Resistance Group
Jeff Mills was a founder of Underground Resistance. This was a techno music group he started with 'Mad' Mike Banks. Mike Banks was a bass player for the band Parliament. The group was known for its strong messages and unique style. They often wore ski masks and black combat suits when they appeared in public.
Mills didn't officially leave the group, but he started working on his own projects. Many of the early songs from Underground Resistance were experiments by Banks and Mills. Mills left the group in 1991 to become a successful solo artist and DJ worldwide. Underground Resistance is still an important part of Detroit's music scene today.
The group's music reflected the social and economic challenges in Detroit during the 1980s. They made powerful music to raise awareness and encourage positive change. Underground Resistance wanted to help people explore themselves and their abilities. They also wanted to create a sense of identity beyond race or background. The group also stood against making techno music too commercial. They showed this by putting messages on their records. These messages talked about being financially independent from big record labels.
Solo Music and Labels
After leaving Underground Resistance in 1991, Jeff Mills moved around. He lived in New York, then Berlin, and then Chicago. In Berlin, he was a regular DJ at the Tresor club. In 1992, in Chicago, he started his own record label called Axis. He started it with Robert Hood, another artist from Detroit.
Later, he created other labels like Purpose Maker, Tomorrow, and 6277. These labels focused on a more simple, or "minimal," techno sound. This was different from much of the techno music made at that time.
In 2006, Mills released Blue Potential. This was a live album where he played with the Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a classical version of his music. In 2013, he released Where Light Ends. This album was inspired by the Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri and his first trip to space. In 2018, Mills recorded an album called Tomorrow Comes The Harvest with the famous afro-jazz drummer Tony Allen.
Film and Soundtracks
Jeff Mills has also worked on films. In January 2015, he performed a live DJ set in San Francisco. He used four turntables to create a soundtrack for the 1929 silent film Woman in the Moon. He played this music while the film was shown. Mills had also created a soundtrack for another silent film by the same director, Fritz Lang. This was for the 1927 film Metropolis, and he released the soundtrack in 2000.
Mills got involved in film with the help of French filmmaker Jacqueline Caux. He helped her make Man from Tomorrow, a documentary about techno music that featured him. He continued his film work by releasing his own independent film, Life to Death and Back. He filmed this movie in the Egyptian part of the Louvre Museum in France. He also had a four-month special residency at the museum.
Jeff Mills' Music Style
When Jeff Mills performs as a DJ, he often uses three turntables. He also uses a Roland TR-909 drum machine. He can play up to 70 records in just one hour! His Exhibitionist DVD from 2004 shows him mixing live with three turntables and a CD player. Around 2011, he started using three or four CD players for most of his club shows. Mixmag magazine called Mills the "master" of the 909 drum machine.
The famous Detroit rapper Eminem even mentioned Jeff Mills in his song "Groundhog Day." Eminem said that if you haven't listened to "the Wizard," you've missed out on something amazing.
Art Exhibits
Jeff Mills is also an artist. His artworks have been shown in exhibits around the world. One of his works is "Man of Tomorrow." This piece shows his ideas about the future. Another work, "Critical Arrangements," was shown at the Pompidou Centre in 2008.
One of his most well-known artworks was shown in 2015. It was called "The Visitor." This was a sculpture of a drum machine. It was inspired by a story about a UFO sighting in Los Angeles in the 1950s.
Discography
Studio Albums
- 1992, Waveform Transmission Vol.1 (Tresor)
- 1994, Waveform Transmission Vol. 3 (Tresor)
- 1996, Live at the Liquid Room, Tokyo (Sony/React)
- 1997, The Other Day (Sony/React/Labels)
- 1997, Purpose Maker Compilation (React/Labels/NEWS/Neuton/Energy/Watts)
- 1998, From the 21st (Sony)
- 2000, Lifelike (Sony/Labels/NEWS)
- 2000, Art of Connecting (Next Era/Hardware)
- 2000, Metropolis (Tresor)
- 2001, Time Machine (Tomorrow)
- 2001, Every Dog Has Its Day CD (Sony/Labels/NEWS)
- 2002, Actual (Axis)
- 2002, At First Sight (Sony/React/NEWS/Energy/Intergroove)
- 2003, Medium (Axis)
- 2004, Exhibitionist (Axis/React/NEWS/Sonar)
- 2005, Three Ages (MK2)
- 2005, Contact Special (Cisco/Soundscape)
- 2006, One Man Spaceship (Cisco/Soundscape)
- 2008, X-102 Rediscovers the Rings of Saturn (Tresor)
- 2008, Gamma Player Compilation Vol. 1: The Universe by Night (Axis)
- 2009, Sleep Wakes (Third Ear)
- 2010, The Occurrence (Third Ear)
- 2011, The Power (Axis)
- 2011, 2087 (Axis)
- 2011, Jeff Mills/Dj Surgeles Something in the Sky Mix (Axis)
- 2011, Fantastic Voyage (Axis)
- 2012, The Messenger (Axis)
- 2012, Waveform Transmission Vol. 1 Remastered (Axis)
- 2012, Sequence – The Retrospective of Axis Records (Axis)
- 2013, The Jungle PlanetH
- 2014, Emerging Crystal Universe (Axis)
- 2014, Woman in the Moon (Axis)
- 2015, When Time Splits (with Mikhail Rudy) (Axis)
- 2015, Proxima Centauri (Axis)
- 2016, Free Fall Galaxy (Axis)
- 2017, A Trip to the Moon (Axis)
- 2017, Planets (Axis)
- 2019, Moon - The Area of Influence (Axis)
Extended Plays
- 1992, Tranquilizer (Axis)
- 1993, Mecca (Axis)
- 1993, Thera (Axis)
- 1994, Cycle 30 (Axis)
- 1994, Growth (Axis)
- 1995, Purpose Maker EP (Axis)
- 1995, Humana (Axis)
- 1995, Tephra (Axis)
- 1996, Other Day EP (Axis)
- 1996, Very (Axis)
- 1996, AX-009ab (Axis)
- 1996, Java (Purpose Maker)
- 1996, Kat Moda (Purpose Maker)
- 1997, Universal Power (Purpose Maker)
- 1997, Our Man in Havana (Purpose Maker)
- 1997, Steampit (Purpose Maker)
- 1997, More Drama (Axis)
- 1997, Tomorrow EP (Axis)
- 1998, Vanishing (Purpose Maker)
- 1998, Live Series (Purpose Maker)
- 1999, Skin Deep (Purpose Maker)
- 1999, If/Tango (w/ Anna F.) (Purpose Maker)
- 1999, Apollo (Axis)
- 1999, Preview (Tomorrow)
- 2000, Every Dog Has Its Day vol.1 (Axis)
- 2000, Lifelike EP (Axis)
- 2000, Metropolis EP (Axis)
- 2000, Every Dog Has Its Day vol.2 (Axis)
- 2000, Circus (Purpose Maker)
- 2001, Jetset (Purpose Maker)
- 2001, Electrical Experience (Purpose Maker)
- 2001, 4Art/UFO
- 2002, Every Dog Has Its Day vol.3 (Axis)
- 2002, Actual (Axis)
- 2003, Every Dog Has Its Day vol.4 (Axis)
- 2003, Medium (Axis)
- 2003, See the Light part 1 (Axis)
- 2003, See the Light part 2 (Axis)
- 2003, See the Light part 3 (Axis)
- 2003, Divine (Purpose Maker)
- 2004, Expanded (Axis)
- 2004, From the 21st part 1 (Axis)
- 2004, From the 21st part 2 (Axis)
- 2004, The Tomorrow Time Forgot (Axis)
- 2005, Suspense/Dramatized (Axis)
- 2005, Time Mechanic (Axis)
- 2006, Blade Runner (Axis)
- 2006, The Bells (Purpose Maker)
- 2007, Natural World (Purpose Maker)
- 2007, Systematic/The Sin (Axis)
- 2008, Alpha Centauri (Axis)
- 2008, FlyBy (Axis)
- 2008, Eternity (Tomorrow)
- 2008, Adjustments (Tomorrow)
- 2009, Good Robot (Axis)
- 2009, The Defender (Axis)
- 2009, The Drummer (Purpose Maker)
- 2009, The Drummer part 2 (Purpose Maker)
- 2009, Something in the Sky (Something In The Sky)
- 2010, The Drummer part 3 (Purpose Maker)
- 2010, Something in the Sky 2 (Something In The Sky)
- 2010, Something in the Sky 3 (Something In The Sky)
- 2010, Something in the Sky 4 (Something In The Sky)
- 2010, Something in the Sky 5 (Something In The Sky)
- 2010, Something in the Sky 6 (Something In The Sky)
- 2011, Something in the Sky 7 (Something In The Sky)
- 2011, Beat Master (Axis)
- 2011, The Power (Axis)
- 2011, Star Chronicles (Tomorrow)
- 2012, Something in the Sky 10 (Something In The Sky)
- 2013, Something in the Sky 11 (Something In The Sky)
- 2013, The Space Horizon (Axis)
- 2014, What a Machine Believes (Axis)
- 2014, Zones and Layers (Axis)
- 2015, Exhibitionist 2 part 1 (Axis)
- 2018, Tomorrow Comes the Harvest (with Tony Allen) (Blue Note Records)
Filmography
- 2004, Exhibitionist (Axis/React/NEWS/Sonar)
- 2004, Three Ages (MK2)
- 2006, The Bells – 10 Year Anniversary (Axis)
- 2006, Blue Potential (with Monpelier Philharmonic Orchestra) (UWe)
- 2013, Chronicles of Possible Worlds (Axis/Second Nature)
- 2014, Man from Tomorrow (Axis)
- 2015, Exhibitionist 2 (Axis)
See also
In Spanish: Jeff Mills para niños
