...and Detroit peeps: he's playing at Necto in Ann Arbor this Sunday... http://www.freep.com/article/20121011/ENT04/310110005
Producer and DJ Jeff Mills is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his label Axis Records. The Detroit native first became prominent in the mid-'80s, spinning now-legendary mixes as the Wizard on Detroit radio station WJLB-FM (97.9). Then he became an international star in electronic music circles by cofounding the Underground Resistance techno collective and later starting Axis. Now based in Chicago, Mills has become one of the world's most coveted DJs and techno producers. Axis just released "Sequence: A Retrospective of Axis Records," a 320-page photographic book complete with a 30-track compilation on a USB card. "It shows all the conceptual projects, design schemes, product and merchandise and a lot of other information," Mills says. This weekend, he'll revisit his roots and spin a Wizard set at the Necto in Ann Arbor, where he used to be a resident DJ. QUESTION: You used to spin at Necto (then known as Nectarine Ballroom) three night a week in the late '80s. What are some of your memories from those gigs? ANSWER: There are many. Until then, I had managed many DJ residencies in and around Detroit, but it wasn't until securing the Nectarine Ballroom that I could really try new ideas and experiment with the audience. With the help of my older brother Dennis, who oversaw the production, I was able to incorporate various equipment setups and be more conceptual with the music. An important aspect was that I was positioned on the dance floor, in and along with the people. I believe this made the relationship with the audience much stronger. I remember rushing back from Detroit to Ann Arbor, because I had to deliver my Wizard radio show to WJLB. I remember routinely giving hand signals to the lighting engineer, Mad Hatter, informing him how many minutes I wanted to play at the end of the party. I remember things like certain people always dancing in the same position for every party. I remember a Halloween party where I dressed up as a prisoner and spun the whole night with handcuffs on. We used to have a lot of fun. Q: How much planning was required for Wizard sets? A: There was a lot. Literally the entire day would be spent searching the record shops and various places for music to play for the show that evening. When the outlets in Detroit weren't enough, I would drive to Chicago, Toronto and to other cities get new music. At WDRQ 93 FM, in addition to my salary, I was given a music-spending budget. This would allow me to find and grab anything I thought was worthy of programming. I also had the rare ability to play anything I wanted -- whenever. This way, there was not a pre-approval period, which means, music was played on the radio as soon as possible. All the shows at WDRQ were live. At WJLB, the first few years were live, but the recording and music equipment technology was getting better, which allowed me to create more complex shows and multi-track mixes. With this, I could play more new music in a shorter time span. Working with these recording machines gave me the idea to start making the music earlier in the day and playing it live as if it were new records that just came out. Competitively, I was quite fierce. When new records would arrive at record shops, I would go in and buy all the copies so that I would have the only ones in the city. Q: What defines a Wizard set for you? A: A DJ set that encompasses various styles and forms of music. Not always in a humorous or comical way, but with sincerity and passion. Even though I was quite young then, I was old enough to know the power of music. I was aware that if many people heard the right thing at the right time, it could make a world's difference for the person who made it. A Wizard set for me is a DJ set that has the motive of enticing the listener enough so that he or she would go out and buy the record. While on the radio, I knew that I only had a small time frame to make my point, so playing the entire song would have taken up too much time. A way of quick mixing was something I developed. I would only play the best parts of the song in order to convince the listener to want to hear more. Most of the time, it worked. Q: What elements or techniques have you added to your DJing style? A: Ironically, I never lost my sense of what I'm doing. I still very much believe that music is best served hot, so I go through much effort to make this happen. My objective has not changed and I've maintained the process, though it's more complex and involves a team of people. I still hope to bring new things to the listener. ... I'm still being paid to inform people of new music. For technique, I've become wiser with my technical skill. I use hand speed and agility only when it's called for -- not just doing it for the sake of showing off or battling other DJs. Technology can only take the DJ so far. It's helpful materializing the idea, but first, there must be the idea and the thought. There is a point when the DJ's judgment and knowledge is the only thing that's going to make it happen. I have such a long and constant history with dance music, but the records I remember the most were the ones that had something substantial to say. I think that the longer a person works at being a DJ, the stronger the experience and knowledge becomes. Q: In what way do your Detroit roots shape what you have established with Axis from a business or artistic perspective? I believe that the influence of Motown and the original independent structure of Berry Gordy has shaped, not just me, but all of the other techno music producers from Detroit. Away from the music, I believe that Mr. Gordy, Motown artists, musicians and Detroit techno are very closely related. We all share a special way of communicating based on the same or similar urban influences. ... For example, Linwood and Davison has always been Linwood and Davison. Whether you were around during Motown days or the Detroit techno of today, you know what that means. The accumulation of knowledge becomes vital to this type and level of the music industry, so being able to remain flexible is important. I'm not wary of doing business with other companies, but I'm always cautious and feel no guilt in saying no when I feel it's not right. I think that being from Detroit, I understand that nothing is for certain and that having a plan B, C and D is just as important as plan A.
