I'm really surprised at the full-on responses to this post by Katrin. Mills may have a conceptual approach but that doesn't equate to being elitist, I think he's fascinated with the theoretical possibilities of techno - he's to techno what ?uestlove is to hip-hop. It's not like either are anti-party. He is one of the most gracious people in the business, and modest to a fault. He certainly doesn't look down on anyone. If anything he is incredibly relativistic. So he's ambivalent about the proliferation of drugs in the scene - so is Derrick May, so is Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, all for different reasons. Is that such a bad thing? It's not like he's preaching an evangelical message, 'do not take drugs to my music'. Many of those in the scene who don't partake in the drug culture are ambivalent about it. I am certainly glad *someone cares* about the absence of women in the techno (and dance) scene - even though on a business level it would be great to see women supporting each other, not, as in some cases, undermining them, as that is actually the biggest barrier we face. ;)
> When I met Jeff, he was a very nice caring person who was deeply concerned > about the direction Techno was taking in Germany (!). He felt that he and > Dimitri Hegemann from Tresor did a bad job back in the early Nineties > because he pleaded guilty for conditioning people to consume Techno in dark > boxes full of fog and strobes and didn't consider making it nicer for girls > (which is, in his opinion, the reason why there are not so many girls > embracing Techno)... > > We had a really long discussion and he admitted that he sometimes feels > really removed from his audience. He said he'd never consume drugs because > he would hate to put his company - and the people working for him - at > risk... > > I don't think he is greedy... I think he is striving to be a real "artist", > sound- and concept-wise, that is accepted by "educated" people. This is, in > my opinion, the reason, why he tries to employ these pseudo-intellectual, > pseudo-philosophical thoughts on his sleeves written in bad English (which > of course, are more expensive to make). Although he has done Metropolis and > a lot of groundbreaking other projects, he is not really really accepted in > the realms of high art, especially not in North America where a Techno > artist would never reach the status of social acceptance he longs for. In > Europe and Japan, people roll out the red carpet... here, he is the person > who single-handedly established Techno in Berlin (well, at least that's what > Dimi and Jeff both want to believe - themselves - and which is impossible to > prove or disprove). > > I guess the things I just mentioned are integral parts of his personality > and that might explain why he tries to make his label a sought-after > commodity rather than being down with the locals. Drug-mongering simple > minds are just not his thang as he was working hard enough to transcend this > stage of low human existance and I think he likes to see himself as a man of > class and style - certainly the way he dresses and the hotels he chooses. > > Okay, that was the psychological analysis from da Kat :) who sat on the mat > and is a big fan of Jeff as a human. I wouldn't buy See The Light but I > certainly would buy the flip flips in his shop (and even the Axis beach > towel) if I had the money spare. > > I love supporting people... > > > > > -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- > Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Gesendet: Donnerstag, 15. Januar 2004 16:03 > An: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: 313@hyperreal.org > Betreff: Re: (313) axis > > > > >>But what if he and others in his position could take it further than that! > >>Galvanize this community through festivals (lukewarm overall), seminars, >>clubs (gasp!), and the development of new players in the game. > > > Uh, yeah - he does all of this. It's called Musik und Machine. > http://www.musikundmaschine.com/index_flash.html > > not many other individual artists have done this so I think Jeff is > actually on the forefront of doing exactly what you're asking him to do. > > > MEK >
