See/Hear

Producing and reproducing crisply delineative yet densely rhythmic textural techno, Detroit-bred DJ/producer Jeff Mills weaves a nuanced mesh of pointillist percussion, ominous ambience, and undulating synths with pinpoint accuracy. His mixes are considered "minimalist" because they don't rely on the push and pull of peak-and-valley pump. Like snow flurries, his selections are blended into a blanketing whole, but when closely studied each element is revealed to be imbued with individualistic pocks and clicks.

BIEL CAPLLONCH

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More About

• Jeff Mills
• Fritz Lang
• Buster Keaton
• Metropolis
• Electronic Music

Twenty years after he first began his career, Mills can still show the new generation a thing or two, which he literally plans to do with the forthcoming release of his ExhibitionistCD/DVD. "I've had this idea to feature segments of a DJ in creative motion ... since my days in Underground Resistance," he says. Both mediums capture him blazing through a three-turntable session of sleek mechanized soul in one take. On the DVD, Mills -- who has scored Fritz Lang's Metropolis and recently worked on a soundtrack for Buster Keaton's The Three Ages -- takes it a step further, offering the viewer three camera angles to choose from as he weaves together a comprehensive overview of his work on his own Axis, Purpose Maker, and Tomorrow labels. "It may seem like a lot," he reflects. "But I figured it out and I feature only one-third of all the music I produced in the last ten years."

Now incorporating interactive video technology on his first-ever full-scale tour of America as a techno DJ, Mills -- a member of the international underground elite who logs time in Tokyo, Paris, and Berlin -- certainly has a lot to show for a "minimalist."

Jeff Mills performs on Sunday, March 7, at B.E.D. See listings for more info.