About

On an album inspired by the psychological effects of trauma, the Detroit techno pioneer and science-fiction storyteller pursues his search for new frontiers that lie far from the dancefloor. A remarkably prodigious icon who remains deeply associated with Detroit (though he splits his time between Paris and Miami), the 62-year-old DJ / Producer is unwilling to be bound to the sounds and ideas that once defined him. A long-time sci-fi adept, he continues to use the language of techno—much of which he almost single-handedly pioneered—to comment on present-day dystopias or suggest new potentialities for anyone still willing to listen.

The EyeWitness, Mills’ second album of 2024 and one clearly reflecting the dark night of today’s human soul, is a good opportunity to hear how an electronic- and dance-music originator pushes the fruits of his legacy toward a more imaginative discourse. (It’s also one that’s easier to hear, period: After years of being unavailable on streaming platforms, the full-length releases on Mills’ Axis Records are now an easy click away.) It is a set of listening techno that, according to Mills’ liner notes, addresses the effects of shock and trauma on the contemporary condition. That The EyeWitness may have (almost) nothing to do with dancing reflects Mills’ belief that techno’s purpose and history are grounded in principles of future freedoms, intellectual mysteries, and cosmological phenomena, rather than mere physical reaction.

The EyeWitness reaffirms Mills’ marriage of thematic narrative, psychology, and sound, and it has plenty of precedents in the producer’s recent work. Much of Mills’ argument rests on provocative titles, matched by the kind of technologically updated tricks of the sci-fi trade not unfamiliar to UR soldiers or Vangelis stans. Except that Mills long ago reimagined these tricks. It’s also proof that Mills’ techno storytelling keeps reasserting itself as a narrative form as complicated as its topics, and as the world that brings them to mind. — (via Pitchfork)

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Label: Axis
Format: 2 x Vinyl, Album
Country: US
Released: 2024
Genre: Electronic
Style: Techno, Experimental

File under: House / Electro / Techno
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