There are a lot of amazing artists within the world of electronic music, but very few could rightfully be described as visionaries — Jeff Mills is one of them. From his days playing as The Wizard on Detroit radio, through his co-founding of Underground Resistance, to a solo discography flush with such now-iconic tunes as ‘The Bells,’ through his classical outings and his soundtrack work and his Tomorrow Comes The Harvest project and so much more, he’s not only helped to define what techno is, he’s stretched the limits of what it can potentially be. Four decades into his career, the man is more prolific than ever, and DJ Mag had the honor of speaking with one of our scene’s most extraordinary creators to find out how he does it.
Mills has long been fascinated with space and sci-fi, and much of his work, including his recent ‘The Trip — Enter The Black Hole,’ incorporate themes of celestial travels and cosmic wanderings. Elsewhere, this issue does its own share of traveling — though a bit more earthbound than Mills’ flights of fancy. We head to Denver to catch up with Maddy O’Neal, who’s tapped her emotions for the creation of her new bass-centric LP, ‘VITAL SIGNS’; then it’s off to Germany to learn about the Berlin-based producer Soela’s deeply emotive new set of tunes, titled ‘Dark Portrait,’ to Toronto and Amsterdam to explore into their bubbling underground scenes, to Tokyo for a dive into the genre-agnostic, totally great TREKKIE TRAX label, and over to the UK to check in with drum & bass lifer Serum and the venerable Jeremy Sylvester.
We’re damn jetlagged — yet we managed to rest up and get it together for our usual rundown of stellar tunes, essential gear and tons more. And now, it’s time for a bit of rest and relaxation.
Bruce Tantum
Editor