10 iconic Jeff Mills moments

With three decades of unequivocal praise from fans and critics alike, there isn’t much left to be said about Jeff Mills. The Detroit native has had many, many plaudits deservedly lauded on his genius.

Whether it’s as a composer, filmmaker, conceptual artist or all-around visionary, Mills has excelled and intrigued with everything he’s put his hand to. In the process he’s revolutionising what it means to be a DJ, producer and musician.

From co-founding Underground Resistance to being name-checked in an Eminem verse, without Mills, techno simply wouldn’t be what it is, or have acheived what it has, today.

So while there are many to choose from, here are 10 of Mills’ most iconic moments.

What do Pharrell, Elton John, Tim Burton, Van Morrison and Jeff Mills have in common? They’ve all been awarded an Officer’s medal from the Order of Arts and Letters in France. Yes, it appears our French pals have a serious affinity for raw, industrial techno and aren’t afraid to show it. The Order have actually been fans of Mills’ for sometime, having made him a Knight in 2007 for his contribution to French culture. Amazing how a slender kid from Detroit can connect cultures with the use of musical machines, eh?

A distorting kick drum that repeatedly punches you in the gut, combined with a 909 driven to its limits and finally a spiraling riff that every techno producer since has tried to emulate and failed. ‘The Bells’ is Jeff Mills’ eureka moment. Released in 1997 on the 'Kat Moda' EP, it paved the way for him to spread his musical touch, caning it on dancefloors and giving techno a wider audience. Because of its popularity, some sections of the techno community have shunned it as mainstream. We’re firmly in the opposite camp and think most people are when they hear it on a night out. I mean, just watch a crowd of shirtless Italians losing their shit to it in the video above and tell me you don’t get shivers down the spine.

Berghain got a lot of praise for mixing high culture and techno when it was given the same tax status as Berlin concert halls. But Mills was intertwining the two long before. In 2006 he released ‘Blue Potential’ a live album with the Montpellier Philharmonic Orchestra, a modern-classical romp through some techno classics. But it was when he brought the Light From The Outside World show to London in 2015 that ranks among his most iconic moments. Playing at the Barbican, Mills had people fist-pumping in the aisles as if they were in the club rather than in front of a 70-piece BBC orchestra. As we wrote at the time, it was a “totally singular event and one that further cements Mills' position as one of electronic music's most visionary and important artists, from Detroit to the Barbican.” Thank god it’s back this year.

Nicknamed The Wizard in the early 80s (a moniker that stuck until he retired it in 2013), Mills’ early sets on old Detroit radio stations WDRQ and WJLB were simply mind-blowing. Originally blending early electro and hip-hop, he began applying his ultra-dexterous mixing style to techno and it became common to hear upwards of 70 tunes played by the legend on any given night. Seriously, watching the guy play is like watching The Flash. He’s a whirling dervish of hands while maintaining precise technique. To make his mixes faster, he even used to balance a record on his back so it was ready to hit the platter. Of course to blast through tunes that quickly, a third deck was absolutely necessary and it became something of a signature for his DJ sets… then came the 909.

While the likes of Chicago legends Ron Hardy and Farley Jackmaster Funk had been experimenting with drum machines in DJ sets long before Mills became a techno juggernaut, neither went on to command one live like The Wizard did. With the 909 his weapon of choice, Mills has combined it with turntables and CDJs to create another level of DJ set, making it a trademark along the way. In 2015, he took his 909 sorcery to another level, showcasing his expertise of the instrument in his second Exhibitionist DVD. The solo is an incredible watch in which Mills guides the instrument through peaks and troughs while never letting up on the energy. It's an amazing feat for a machine that only has 10 different drum sounds.

Not only was he a genre-defining artist in his own right, but Mills also co-founded militant techno crew Underground Resistance with 'Mad' Mike Banks in the late-80s. The project was one of complex socio-political on their hometown of Detroit in a Reagan-era world and was a major player in the second wave of the city's techno artists. Early collaborations between the duo (and fellow member Robert Hood), included tracks like 'Nation 2 Nation', 'Acid Rain' and 'Your Time Is Up'. Then, in 1992, Mills went solo. UR continued in the same vein, releasing some absolute bombs while Mills went on to become, well, Jeff Mills. But the pair have never worked together since.

As is the nature of the Internet, photos you thought would never surface again somehow find a way of getting onto peoples’ timelines. When it’s us, we hate it, but when it’s someone of note, oh boy, do we lap it up. So of course, fans were in a state when this photo of a very young Richard D James ( who's iconic status is already iron clad) and a very young Jeff Mills surfaced. Seriously, can you imagine the conversations these two were having circa 92/93? It’s the kind of stuff forums dream about and, to be honest, we’re very surprised there isn’t any written fan fiction out there about this meeting of epic minds.

The media narrative surrounding Jeff Mills has always been otherworldly. His music has always made clear his interest in the final frontier ('A Trip To The Moon', 'Free Fall Galaxy', 'Planets', 'Proxima Centauri', 'The Jungle Planet' all album names alone). I mean, he even looks a little extra-terrestrial with his slender frame and seemingly never-ageing face. But it's not just an act designed to cultivate an image, or the ramblings of a madman. To hear Mills speak on such subjects, is to hear a philosophiser in a musician's body. Whether it's about how long humans have left on the planet, or the future of techno, listen up when he speaks. Fuck it, when's the TED talk?

Having scored a multitude of films, and even starring in one of them, it made sense that Mills would try his hand at directing a film of his own. As part of his residency at Le Louvre in Paris (he actually is the definition of high culture, isn't he?), Mills wrote, directed and scored a conceptual full-length film that "explores the ancient Egyptian walk through life to death and reincarnation".

Sounding as good in 2017 as it did in 1998. The mark of a true futurist.