El pasado Sabado 23 de Octubre el ADE acogia como invitado a la conferencia a Jeff Mills en una entrevista de una hora. Durante la entrevista, Mills hablo de su pasado, de la escena electronica, de sus visiones, inquietudes, producciones, etc... Tome unas notas que espero os parezcan interesantes. Estan en ingles porque tome las notas "in situ" en ingles, y porque ademas asi parece que realmente salieron de su boca.
...The interest in music came very early. In Detroit, at school, every kid learnt how to play an instrument, since we were 6 or 7 years old. Music was everywhere. And that is what you would do. So I started my career as a musician, playing in some bands.
...The interest in cosmology and space-travel is not about the existence of UFOs or extra-terrestrial life. It is more about how we communicate, about how we use language and how this language can transcend space and time. It can also be used to push people in thinking about what and who is around us, name it aliens or whatever, and how can we communicate with it.
...Although we have achieved big things through electronic music, there are still many things that we have failed or avoided to do. For instance, there is hardly any management in the electronic music industry. The artist has to do everything: apart from producing or DJ’ing, you still have to run your label, to go into the business part, etc. Also, from a creative perspective we haven’t tried to expand into other things, like video or movies. And still, the production and sales figures are quite low worldwide.
...About the way the music is presented, we still do the same things as they were done since the 70’s, just playing records. Like, for instance, why should the DJ be in front of the audience, why can’t he be in the middle of the room? However, nowadays technology allows you to be hands free, to do more things than only DJ’ing. Many new things can be done, and actually people going to a club want to see or experience something new. Things in electronic music are still not exciting enough, there is so much more to do, to much more to show to the people.
...I play more or less about 100 gigs a year, and always try to bring new things. Normally, in a club, I play for the people there, but sometimes I play for a third entity, something in between me and the audience. I already mastered the 3 decks thing, around 1981, 1982. When I came to Europe first, in the early 90’s, I realize that the 3 decks thing was a too complex concept. So, I kind of went back to the two decks thing.
...Technology has changed people a lot. Actually I thing that people is less creative. For example, with the internet, it is very easy to find information. However, in the past, we had to be more creative. For instance, when we were working in the X-102 project in 91/92, it was very difficult to get information about Saturn, we were going to the library to find information about it. However, there were still a lot of things that we did not know, so we kind of had to invent or improvise things to improvise the information gap, we were some kind of scientist trying to make hypothesis, theories, and then we were imaging how would be the traveling around the rings of Saturn…
...I have seen hundreds, thousands of DJ’s who do DJ sets without knowing how to mix two records together, without knowing how to synchronize them. To me this is not cheating, this is even worse than cheating. The essence of a DJ is lost, it is the computer that is taking the DJ’s personality. And the DJ just stays there while the computer is mixing. (In my opinion), technology is making people more lazy, less creative.
...About production software, I think that software is doing things that the artist cannot even explain. Like why am I touching this or that. And you cannot transmit anything if you do not know what you are saying or producing. And, people will ask you at some point, “hey, what are you doing” and you should be able to reply to them.
Question from the audience: can you give some tips about how to stay so long on top of the music scene. ...I never wanted to be on the top, I don’t care about being the best DJ or things like that. I don’t care about all these magazines talking about top DJ’s. I don’t read them. I just want to make music. What I want to do is to bring people’s attention into things. I just want to play a small role into this business. Anyway, it is impossible to be the number 1 in techno, this things just doesn’t exist, with so many artists and different ideas. Top DJ is not important, only the music.
...I haven’t brought computer into my production set. I tried, but then I realized that I was spending so much time in front of the screen, instead of having a break to look through the window, or have a coffee with my wife. With the computer, I thought that I was not the one making the music. I only want equipment that helps me to express what I want to express. So I kind of minimize the gear amount, I shrink the studio, so my studio setup is really basic. I want to get deeper into the equipment I already have instead of buying more. This will bring you closer to what you are actually creating. Instead of producing something one day, and then go the next day to the studio and improving it, making it better, and so on, I prefer to just stay in the mistakes and fix them, until I get to what I want to express.
...Young artists should know not only about music, but also how to run a label, ho to do business, etc. Cause this is the only way you will understand and appreciate what people is actually doing. Experience is something you don’t buy, it is something that you earn.
...I don’t think I ever had a nightmare night as a DJ. I prepare a lot before each set. I go through the records, through the music I will play. Before I hit the club, I already know what the intro will be. I get the motivation about the set I will play by obtaining information, an idea about the crowd and the club. If I run into a problem during the mix, I can quickly fix it. The 909 (drum machine) is empty before I start. I mix it with the vinyl/CD which is playing at the moment, then I play them together. Synchronizing with the 909 is difficult, because it is quite sensitive. The synchronization has to be very accurate. To be a DJ is good to be quick, and sober as well.
...I got questions like why I am so concentrated during my sets, why don’t I smile, or jump. Back in time, when I was going into DJ’ing, I was taught (taught because being DJ was a profession) by older (10 years older or something like that) DJs in Detroit, “remove yourself away from the audience. The DJ is the person in the room who is more in control. The DJ should not drink in front of the audience. And never give your back to the audience” There should always be a flow between the DJ and the crowd.
...I always want to play music which is different. Not something that sounds the same as a 2 years old record. There is still more to do. People stay still in old things, things like 25 years anniversary of Detroit Techno, ok, it sounds warm, it brings memories, it is melancholic, but an artist needs to go further, to make something new. And these people need to be exposed.
...Magazines nowadays are not accurate. They bring artists just because they produce hot music, big hits, but not artists producing new music, or new sounds. An example of this, and I don’t like to mention names, but this time I will make an exception, is the case of Sleeparchive. He made really good new music, if he had made this music in 98, 99, he really would have blown our heads up, but the magazines approached this kid in the wrong way.
...I remember 4 or 5 years ago, I could not find techno music that reminded me of the future. And that is crazy. No techno music related to the future. I couldn’t find any music I wanted to play. So I thought, if I want to continue with this, I have to make the music myself. The SleeperWakes project was actually this approach.
...I do not see further collaborations with other artists. Mainly because I do not want to compromise myself with other people. I just want to bring out what it is inside of me. ________________________________________________________________
Al final de la entrevista se llevo una pila de CDs que daban los aficionados, se hizo fotos con los que asi se lo pedian, a mi ademas, me firmo un par de vinilos. Le comente acerca de su sesion en Paradiso dos dias antes, la cual, contrariamente a lo que me esperaba (una sesion cercana a lo que viene haciendo ultimamente, marciana, mental...), me parecio bastante industrial y con muchos sonidos que se podian catalogar como ruido. Me comento que asi fue, y que se se debia a su pasado donde trabajo mas ese tipo de musica. Le pregunte que si era eso lo que podiamos esperar de su musica en el futuro, y me dijo que no sabia. Y en efecto la sesion en Paradiso me parecio bastante industrial. Sin mucho agobio en la sala, con sitio para bailar, Mills aparecio a eso de las 2 am despues de un buen warming-up de los DJ's residentes con la tipica intro melodica y preparandonos para el viaje posterior. Empezo con sonidos marcianos, Minus de Robert Hood... A los 20 minutos de set tuvo su cagada? donde de repente, la intensidad casi bajo de golpe para meternos en otra especie de intro, se oyo algun silbido, 3/4 platos mas la 909 requiere cierto calentamiento, el caso que poco a poco nos empezo a meter en una sesion industrial de mucha intensidad, junto con imagenes proyectadas en las pantallas de fabricas, aviones, con la musica parecia que nos estuvieran cayendo bombas o nos estuviera pasando un tren por encima. techno pesado, como saliendo de una maquina industrial, sonidos distorsionados, los bpms aumentando, el bombo que partia el pecho, los hihats punzantes, las mezclas no le duraban ni 10 segundos, temas metidos a capon, intensidad en crescendo, sono el the bells pero loopeado, del resto no os puedo decir ni un solo nombre porque no me sonaba ni un solo tema, alguno quiza cuyo nombre ahora no me acuerdo, pero parecia casi todo material nuevo. 909 mezclada con varios temas, y tb ella sola como el sabe manejar. 3 horas de set, aplauso de la audiencia, saludos de parte del artista, y a casa en bici con una sonrisa de oreja a oreja.
No hay nada que yo vaya a descubrir acerca de Jeff Mills a estas alturas, ni pretendo, tan solo pienso que a dia de hoy me parece el artista referencia en la musica techno, su obra y su continuo trabajo dan testimonio de ello, y que, cuando esta musica madure y sea mas reconocida, y se escriba acerca de su historia y de sus grandes personajes, Jeff Mills tendra un reconocimiento enorme, mas del que ahora podamos imaginar.
Para finalizar, alguna sesion de Mills, 10 anios de evolucion
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