jeff mills purpose maker video

[Jay Pace]

I was there for that. It was awesome.
Really liked the weird dancing girl video he was beat juggling with.

I've heard Mills be sloppy and dull, and I've heard him being electricfying.

Also worth bearing in mind that outside of the "dj community" suprisingly few people care about slightly sloppy mixing. Its something you develop an ear for, used to find it really weird how it didn't bug other people when it happened. To me it was the sound of things going terribly wrong, but then there's a bit in my brain trained to avoid that sound like the plague.

He's not as famous as he is on the strength of his records. He fills clubs full of punters who have never bought his tunes or could even name you them. The reason he headlines festivals with 20k crowds is because he has something in his style that is unique.

[drift9]

I've heard Mills be sloppy and dull, and I've heard him being electricfying.

Also worth bearing in mind that outside of the "dj community" suprisingly few people care about slightly sloppy mixing.

He's not as famous as he is on the strength of his records. He fills clubs full of punters who have never bought his tunes or could even name you them. The reason he headlines festivals with 20k crowds is because he has something in his style that is unique.

Bingo. Right on the money. I can't count the number of times i've seen this guy. I've seen him be both horribly disapointing as well as jaw dropping. And you're right, the energy he brings when he is on is second to none. Plus, as you mention, when he is completely blowing a mix (which, i confess, he does more than i would like) 90% of people on the floor don't even realize it. Just a few people "in the know" grimace.

And, during a time when techno isn't exactly filling up the clubs, when this guy is on the bill the house is always packed and he's turning people on to techno. For that, he'll always have my respect and i'll allow him the suspect mixes here and there.

[module]

i'm sorry..

'suspect mixes' from someone paid that amount of money who has been in the game for so long is jus tragic.. there is NO excuse for playing that bad..

ive played many a gig where i knew i wasnt on top form, so i didnt try crazy tricks or 3 deckin.. i kept it simple & tight & tried to avoid galloping or tunes droppin dead.. it jus riles me to see someone with so much time behind them to be THAT ropey.. i dont care what he has done.. what he IS doing jus isnt up to power for me..

as for his Axis Shop..

he was part of a movement that created techno.. and for that i respect.. but i jus cannot respect someone who is THAT inconsistent.. and who's production has gone nowhere..

and thats the last i will ever post on the subject :)

[FuK-NuT]

i'm sorry..

'suspect mixes' from someone paid that amount of money who has been in the game for so long is jus tragic.. there is NO excuse for playing that bad..

ive played many a gig where i knew i wasnt on top form, so i didnt try crazy tricks or 3 deckin.. i kept it simple & tight & tried to avoid galloping or tunes droppin dead.. it jus riles me to see someone with so much time behind them to be THAT ropey.. i dont care what he has done.. what he IS doing jus isnt up to power for me..

as for his Axis Shop..

he was part of a movement that created techno.. and for that i respect.. but i jus cannot respect someone who is THAT inconsistent.. and who's production has gone nowhere..

and thats the last i will ever post on the subject :)

word! ;)

[wrong]

as for his tunes.. same shit for over 15 years.. his sound hasnt moved an inch..

Aahh.. the good old mills debate ... i gotta say though.. although he appears not to be evolving at the moment, lets have a closer look:

1992/3 - waveform transmission 1 incl. Berlin, the subjects - dark matter/ step to enchantment.. Ruff as arseholes, hard as nails, raw, and at times gabba like proper hardcore techno

1994 - waveform transmission 3 - Still hard but with loads more disorientating synth work

1997 - Purpose maker which was so original at the time and pretty much singlehandedly gave birth to every other type of 'hard/bongo/samba/loopy' techno since

And then he's also got his axis style... more spacey deep dark and driving..

imo Since about 2000 he's been not that interesting but you can't deny him those first years of raw expression, quality tunage and blatent influence.. Hats off to the man... Yep shoddy mixing at times but thats obviously not his priority.. its not as if he watched the dvds/listened to liquid rooms and gave his approval for the whole world to see/hear whilst thinking 'yeah, my mixing was perfect'.. with mills it was always about the whirlwind of energy and frantic transitions from track to track... the overall bigger picture...
same as on lots of old dusty funk records... you can often hear the drummer miss a beat or the bass go out of time momentarily... all adds to the swing, the liveness, the energy.. and the MOMENT.. Anyway, thats my guess :)

[wrong]

oh.. forgot to say.. Seawolf!! loads of old UR.. all mills - Acid techno anyone??

[echodek]

same as on lots of old dusty funk records... you can often hear the drummer miss a beat or the bass go out of time momentarily... all adds to the swing, the liveness, the energy.. and the MOMENT.. Anyway, thats my guess :)

word! :p

[JamieBall]

To be honest I don't want to hear dj's beat matching perfectly and mixing records seamlessly one into the other - YAWN! You can get a computer to do that, you know ?

I'd rather listen to someone trainwrecking as long as they're trying something that leads to a rewarding resolution (as mills usually is).

At the end of the day though, for me it doesn't HAVE to be going anywhere as long as it's nutty as **** (which Mills can be). Also, you don't get that shambling funk from mixing ultra quantised music bang on time, so much better to play loose sometimes.

MORE Trainwrecking, cutting, scratching, beat juggling - COME ON YOU BORING TECHNO PEOPLE !

[Elvio Neto]

Are these the same videos as what was released on the Exhibitionist DVD?

(can't view utube at work :()

its the same place , but diferent videos

the exibicionist dvd was good!

now in this purpose maker video he is not the same... maybe he was in a bad day

its all a question of taste , i saw jeff live more then 10 times , i remember a summer ( 1998 or 1999 ) when he came 3 times per month to play in clubs of south of portugal

i allways like to see him live , i think one of the best nights i saw him was in ElektroParade 2001 (annual event in the north of portugal) he presented a very explosive set


PS: i dont know what appent to him in that video... i never saw him doing that live...

[Francisco Scaramanga]

I suppose its all a question of taste, as always, but I really have to agree 100% with Jay Pace, Wrong, JamieBall, anyone else of the same opinion. The man is an absolute legend, he practically invented the modern club techno sound by himself, and that uber frantic hell for leather dj style respresented on liquid rooms and most of his other sets is something that thousands of others have tried to copy, but very few have got anywhere close, even if their mixing was tighter. I've seen him numerous times, a few of them he was shit, but thats the same as anyone else really (except Derrick May...) and it always amuses me when people diss him, cause most of them owe everything to Mills whether they know it or not.

[FuK-NuT]

To be honest I don't want to hear dj's beat matching perfectly and mixing records seamlessly one into the other - YAWN! You can get a computer to do that, you know ?

I'd rather listen to someone trainwrecking as long as they're trying something that leads to a rewarding resolution (as mills usually is).

At the end of the day though, for me it doesn't HAVE to be going anywhere as long as it's nutty as **** (which Mills can be). Also, you don't get that shambling funk from mixing ultra quantised music bang on time, so much better to play loose sometimes.

MORE Trainwrecking, cutting, scratching, beat juggling - COME ON YOU BORING TECHNO PEOPLE !

shut yer puss... ;)

[loopdon]

Nothing wrong about the ODD trainwreck if it's fixed up QUICKLY. But advocating for more trainwrecks or trainwrecks as a deliberate part of the technique is utter bollocks. Think about it.

You don't need constant trainwrecks to notice it's a human being playing on decks. I do agree some ableton mixes might be just that tad bit to perfect.


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You always wanted to wreck the train just like Mills and don't know how - here's the solution: Virtual trainwreck plugin compatible with Ableton Live, Traktor...

:)

[Jay Pace]

Listen to scratch djs scratching and beat juggling and its not all perfectly quantized to within a microsecond. Its frenetic, a bit all over the place and the general shambling feel adds to the energy. If scratching and beat juggling was clinically perfect it would just sound like a sequencer. Which would be dull.

Some people can't look past mills being occassionally sloppy. Which is a shame to be honest...

[Microdot]

wish Millsy would learn to use all his kit properly tbh.
you'd think it'd be the least he could do while getting paid £10,000+ a gig.

[dubs]

It's really a long string to pull for people to shoot someone like Mills down. While he wasn't part of the first Detriot crew he took their sounds to a new level. He presented a style that has been replicated by the best everywhere. Behind the decks i have seen few better... and not many dj's can play 25 - 35 records an hour and make it work.

The record slips out here an there (in this video) but who gives a **** about that when you can bring the sounds together like he can. Those who point to that as a way to judge him have missed the whole point.

[audioinjection]

how old are these videos?

[echodek]

how old are these videos?

3 or 4 years... it was all part of the Exhibitionist DVD package