”Looking back in hindsight to the activity and accomplishments of Axis is with much pride – to witness the relationship between the music and listener evolving to this point. The Director’s Cut reissue project is about manicuring detail. It’s about a rare opportunity to enhance what we’ve done so that the relationship strengthens for the long term” – Jeff Mills
The first release of a new Axis sub-label by Jeff Mills entitled ‘Star Marked’ with 4 tracks of Jeff Mills trademark techno tracks.
With just a few days from the current year left, I’ve compiled a list of 20 albums from 2018 that I enjoyed this year. Among these I have to highlight the much anticipated Mutant Beat Dance debut album, the first ever album from Gerard Hanson under the E.R.P. project, a new Gerald Donald project and a compilation of unreleased Heinrich Mueller remixes, a Silent Servant follow-up on Hospital Productions, a very interesting Fred Ventura compilation of unreleased house tracks, a new Lebanon Hanover, the beautiful debut album of Curses, the impressive Eindkrak album and the debut album of the Romanian producer Șerb.
The list is compiled in chronological order.
Waveform Transmission Vol.3 initially came out in 1994 on Tresor Records. The eight titles on the album marked a turning point for Jeff Mills. It indicates a transition from the straightforward sound he had created through the early 1990’s, into the different facets and sound pallet he will develop through the remainder of the decade. It is a significant piece within Jeff Mills’ masterwork.
As Electronic Music knows no creative boundaries, Spiral Deluxe is clearly a profound and convincing example of what is possible in the times we live in today. Traditionally, they would be considered a musical quartet. Each of the 4 members contributing to make a special joint effort – the meeting of minds from different spectrums of the musical sphere, but if you move in closer to examine how each have modified the way they communicate in order to play with each other, its astonishing because it shows a entirely new platform on how collaborating can be from now on. A longtime vision of their drummer/percussionist and Jeff Mills – yes, that Jeff Mills! Before becoming the world renown and groundbreaking DJ, producer and artist he is recognized for, he was a drummer in his youth, which carried on up until he began DJing in the late 1970s. Since then, he had always carried idea to get back to his musical roots. This longtime dream began to surface a few years ago when Mills was bestowed a “white card” residency at the Museum du Le Louvre in Paris. It was there that he found the opportunity to form a band for one night and it opened the doors to a chance to materialize his dream. Since then, the formation has carefully evolved into one might describe as a “super band” – a group of highly skilled musicians, working together to reach a higher level of creativity. For example, although members are using electronic instruments, there is no MIDI syncing connection. Each plays their instrument un-attached as if any Jazz or Rock band would play together. Each having a vast amount of experience in live and studio projects, this release displays their wealth of skill and musical knowledge that comes from Jazz, Funk, Pop, Gospel, Detroit Techno and all forms of House Music. Yumiko Ohno – Keyboard, Gerald Mitchell – Keyboard, Kenji “Jino” Hino – Bass Guitar, Jeff Mills – Drums and Percussion.
We are heading to Toulouse this weekend to catch the last representation of Jeff Mills’ new conceptual electronic-classical project, ‘Lost In Space‘, which is a collaboration with Orchestre National Du Capitole De Toulouse.
Jeff Mills in cooperation with Orchestre du Capitole present Lost In Space
Last year, Jeff Mills provided the soundtrack for a curious Japanese film by Tatsushi Omori called And Then There Was Light. The movie was based on a novel called Hikari, which focuses on a teenager who kills his girlfriend’s other lover while mistaking their affair for sexual assault. The dark tone of both novel and film naturally shines through in Mills’ refreshingly electronic score, which flits between moments of quietly spacey ambience, creepy intensity, Reichian minimalism (see “Danger From Abroad”), icy soundscapes, industrial strength intensity (the panicked “The Players of Consequence” and “Lost Winners”) and, on the “Hikari Mix” of “The Hypnotists”, full-throttle Detroit techno with Giallo overtones.
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