jeff mills purpose maker video

[rhythmtech]

never been a huge fan of mills' djing but really enjoyed watching these vids..

guess he can be on the cash sometimes :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bLanIfR13A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUrUCMMSVK0&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-kY0DVuU4w&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svyAC-e8nbw&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGsJ4XEf-8g&mode=related&search=

[Tyrisia]

would be nice if he got the records playin in time though..

[rhythmtech]

would be nice if he got the records playin in time though..

:laughing: :laughing:

the first mix is ok.. goes a bit odd after that.. 10/10 for enthusiasm though.. he's all over that mixer

[Tyrisia]

oh, is the first mix the best? that's the only one I watched tbh, I'll have to watch the rest now to see how bad he can actually get hehe

[loopdon]

I will check these out. Mills has this 'organic' style of mixing, imo. Not really into it due to technical flaws but it has a certain charme. I think at times that he should stick to two decks. As said he can be 'on the money', no doubt. If he really wants to, i guess!

[Frank Dogshit]

the tunes are sick....thats all that counts and most of them are his own.

[Tyrisia]

the tunes are sick....thats all that counts and most of them are his own.

I agree the tunes are mint, so wouldn't it be better having 5 vids of him in the studio doing what he does best, rather than 5 vids of him takin his own beautiful pieces of art and totally mangling them so that he can show everybody how good he is at mixin on three decks, which he obviously isn't.

[A.P.]

Thats bad mixing man.
Nuff said!

[Jay Pace]

More to djing that getting records perfectly in sync. Otherwise everyone with a copy of ableton would be a superstar. Records in time. Wooo.

Mills has his own style and its hectic, messy, inventive and utterly unique.
And thats why he's as famous as he is.
i think people miss the point about mills.

Got sick to death of seeing him at lost, but he blew me away at sonar a couple of years back. When he's on form nobody comes close.

[TechMouse]

Otherwise everyone with a copy of ableton would be a superstar.
Aren't they?

That man in Turnkey lied to me! I demand a refund...

[loopdon]

More to djing that getting records perfectly in sync. Otherwise everyone with a copy of ableton would be a superstar. Records in time. Wooo.

Mills has his own style and its hectic, messy, inventive and utterly unique.
And thats why he's as famous as he is.
i think people miss the point about mills.

Got sick to death of seeing him at lost, but he blew me away at sonar a couple of years back. When he's on form nobody comes close.

It's also the right time - right place thing i think. He was there when things started rolling and was a big part of it. I am not sure if he could be at the top if he started today.

[echodek]

It's also the right time - right place thing i think. He was there when things started rolling and was a big part of it. I am not sure if he could be at the top if he started today.

.... but would he be doing what he has done if he was doing it now? and who else would have done it? :D

[Tyrisia]

More to djing that getting records perfectly in sync. Otherwise everyone with a copy of ableton would be a superstar. Records in time. Wooo.

Mills has his own style and its hectic, messy, inventive and utterly unique.
And thats why he's as famous as he is.
i think people miss the point about mills.

Got sick to death of seeing him at lost, but he blew me away at sonar a couple of years back. When he's on form nobody comes close.

I'm sorry Jay, but if our Jeff here was to play in a club where nobody knew who he was, I'm bettin he'd clear the floor. I'd rather a dj hold his hands up and say "sorry, can't beatmatch guys" and play one tune after another in the more traditional sense of djing, than play me two hours of stuff that's so poorly mixed that there's no flow, and the poor punters can't dance to it because they can't quite decide which of the three seperate beats to dance to.

Clubbing to me is about gettin on a dancefloor and wobbling about whilst drinkin beer etc, and if I can't dance to the music, I get frustrated and leave, be it Abba or poor three deck mixin when two would have been perfectly adequate.

[Jay Pace]

Have you seen Mills before?!

He was one of the people who dragged me into techno (from prog house & D&B of all places) and I didn't have a clue who he was or what he was going to play. But the energy was unbelievable, the atmosphere electric and the music utterly unique.

I've never seen places erupt quite as hard as they do when Mills gets it right. Sometimes it clangs, but its rare that it kills the night as a consequence. Mills on fire is out of this world. Mills off form is very frustrating though...

Maybe you haven't heard a proper set yet mate, honest to god when he does his thing right its formidable.

[Tyrisia]

Yeah, I have seen mills before, and I was seduced into techno by his purpose maker stuff all those years ago, but I must admit he has never made that bigger impression on me dj-wise, I remember Dave Angel playin at our local night in about 97? and back then he had a great rep, he played all the tunes, didn't obviously drop mixes etc, and the fact that everybody was lookin forward to a great night and he was up to scratch made sure we all had a night better than expected. Alot of the night's success comes from pre-hype.

Not sayin that you ain't seen Mills play a blindin set, I wouldn't know, but his tunes have impressed me way more than what I've heard of his dj'in, that's for sure. But the bottom line of this whole conversation is that he's all over the show on those vids, and there's no arguing about that.

[module]

if some kid down your local played like that, you'd be qik to point out his flaws..

this 'but hes made great trax' line is thin.. his mixing is awful. period.

i can play waaaay better than that, but i dont get £5,000 a show..

this is EXACTLY what is wrong with the scene..




would Utd pay rooney £50,000 when a week when hes 45 on the grounds 'he used to be great'

i think not..


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

[Mucky Beats]

ummm the mills debate...i have this with my mates all the time... i have seen jeff mills about 4 times and once in at bugged out he was ok but droped stupid 80's gash electroish numbers for like 15 minutes was horrible for those 15mins also he droped take that featuring lulu ...wtf that is just wrong!
but other 3 times he really was not worth watching... i remeber at creamfields 2004 he was just galloping for 30mins and in end even tho was no other techno on elsewhere had to get the hell away from him. and other 2 are much same.

this said i love his music , he has without doubt help shape techno and for this im sure the times he nails the 3 decks and pulls off great set fair play...but i for one would not ever go out of my way to see him as he has let me down too many times.

[djfilthmonger]

Thats bad mixing man.
Nuff said!


Bigtime, you d expect more from a experianced dj like himself

[DVNT]

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

(can't view utube at work :()

[echodek]

on a positive note... did anyone see him rocking the DVDs at sonar a couple of years back? that was mad funky... cutting up old Soul Train clips and that... awesome!

And also, has anyone heard his Peel Session? That is a mixtape and a half... motor city all the way!

[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