JEFF MILLS @ Avaland Saturdays 5.8

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AVALAND SATURDAYS – May 8th

JEFF MILLS

Exhibitionist CD/DVD Tour

The legendary and second wave techno auteur JEFF MILLS returns to the church of worship where he began a world renown residency at Limelight in the early 90s. He returns to the limelight with his new CD/DVD Exhibitionist. As one of the world’s most respected DJs — he opens up the intricacies of his craft to the general audience with an up-close-and-personal DVD that allows a look at how he creates his mixes.

It also presents a considerable amount of Mills’ own production work and is a fairly comprehensive overview of his own Chicago-based Axis, Purpose Maker and Tomorrow labels, each of which is showcased in its own separate 45-minute mix. A fourth mix, the Exhibitionist Mix (which includes selections from other artists as well), is also released on a separate 72 minute mix CD.

Considered by many to be a true innovator and a key blueprint creator in the realm of techno, this is a great collection for both the dedicated and the uninitiated alike. For those new to the mechanics of DJing altogether, it is a fascinating look into a truly creative art and a master artist.

Like the nearly 200 gigs Jeff Mills plays around the globe each year, these mixes are done live in one take — with absolutely no edits. This greatly differs from what would be considered the industry standard of digitally editing and polishing mixes in the studio. This gives much more insight into the human technique behind the product.

Unlike conventional magicians, who try to present everything only at its tidiest, Mills actually opens up his process to the audience in Exhibitionist and allows viewers to see the nuts and bolts of his technique right up close. Three of the four mixes included on the DVD are also shot in three angles (front center, side view, top view), which may additionally be slowed down and zoomed in on standard DVD players. For those who have closely followed his career from the view of the cavernous clubs and dancefloors he normally plays (which can number in the tens of thousands), watching Jeff Mills perform at AVALON also affords a rarely available birds eye view of his DJ mechanics from the mezzanine. Like the DVD, it is a chance of a lifetime to have such near access.

The whole concept stems back about eight years when Mills, ever interested in exploring the conceptual branches of what he does, arrived at the idea of replicating himself to appear in multiple locations at the same time. He inquired as to the possibilities of having three-dimensional holographs created but found that it was not (and, alas, still is not) at a consumer friendly stage and projecting in the average club setting would be a difficult and complex task. He rested at the idea of simply filming his DJ performance using a high-grade digital tape that would serve the objective just as well and is more compatible for use in events.

Working with film and visual elements is not a new venture for Mills. Most notably, in 2000, he recorded and released a 21st Century soundtrack inspired by Fritz Lang’s classic silent film Metropolis (1927). The project bloomed and eventually resulted in a few select screenings with an edited version of the film (including a sold-out night at London’s Royal Festival Hall) and the rights to release it on DVD in the near future.

He has already been testing the use of the Exhibitionist DVD in clubs from Tokyo to New York, DJing with the simulated image of himself projected onto screens. He’s even let it take over the DJ set, so to speak, while walking to the other side of the room and blurring the line between performer and audience. Reception has been strong and people so far seem to enjoy as Mills stretches the physical boundaries of what is possible as a DJ. It functions as a wide-open tool for him to use in performances, but it’s also a great consumer title as well.

Exhibitionist is a time capsule of what a DJ does today, but more specifically it is an intimate record of what one of the world’s top DJs does today. This is a profound project in itself, but what’s possibly even more exciting is that will doubtless push Jeff Mills to create something new in a very different direction from here. As he puts it, with this it’s like he’s issued himself a ‘self-prescribed prescription to move forward.’

AVALON

662 Sixth Avenue @ 20th Street

212.807.7780

Doors at 10pm

18+ ladies, 21+ gents

$30 general admission

$25 ClubPlanet guestlist b4 12am or just mention the AVALON BLUE guestlist to Suzanne.