Well, you have DJs that play one song after the next from CDs with autocue and beat match. Then you have Jeff who blows you away with up to 4 records (manual pitch and cue on each deck) and or live production from his TR909 at the same time. But for Jeff that's the beginning, just look at his hands, he's constantly going for the perfect sound and mix, he can't be still, always giving 110%. It was a privilege and honor to see him mix during the late 90s and early 2000s, the golden era of techno.

For anyone who’s interested in getting a deeper understanding of what you're listening to… I’ve pulled together a mini-study of the set - demystifying the ‘art of DJing’ Overview As noted in many of the other DJ studies that I’ve posted on KZfaq DJ videos - for successful storytelling the very top DJs will be conscious of the principles of unity (to create stability in the set) as well as the principle of movement (to create interest for the audience). With this in mind, the overall mood of the set is what I would describe as ‘dark with a driving intensity’, often straying into sounds that evokes paranoia or unsettling feelings. It is these overall ‘dark’ or ‘negative’ emotions that provide the unity to the set and allows cohesion to the story. The movement in the set comes predominantly from changes to the BPM of the records that Jeff plays, but also from percussion intensity - this is achieved both from the tracks chosen (and the turntablism he uses to craft the intensity) but also his use of the Roland TR-909 drum sequencer as an additional ‘character’ to the story he’s telling. Ordinarily in these mini-studies that I produce, I would talk about the various chapters of the DJ sets, but given this is a 3-hour set I think it more simple to note that there are what I see as 5 peaks/troughs that Jeff creates - in addition to effective use of brief moments of silence to reset the energy / create contrast. The peaks are largely driven by the changes in the BPM. The other point to note (which is less related to the storytelling aspect of DJing and more related to the mix & blend skill) is the speed with which Jeff mixes tracks together - from the moment the needle hits the vinyl and he catches the beat of the current track there is often less than one phrase (16 beats) before Jeff starts to bring the track through - and simply rides the pitch to correct any tempo differences between the tracks. It makes for an exciting spectacle and also (to my count) mixing of 67 different tracks in total over 3 hours! In terms of key observations and emphasising what was done very well: Tempo (BPM) BPM is the biggest driver in terms of changing the energy of the dancefloor (and as mentioned above) this is an area that Jeff exploits to create peaks & troughs of energy in the story. If we look at a section near the start of the set as an example. The third track played (@08:00) is pitched at 143 BPM (already relatively fast!). However, by the next track (@10:00) the BPM has increased to 144. Two tracks later (@14:00) the BPM is moved to 145. The next track is pitched up to 146 (@16:00) and the following track (@18:00) is moved to 147 BPM. While I’m not suggesting that Jeff knows the exact BPM he’s moving the tempo to (given he’s playing with vinyl) the upward movement of the tempo is clearly planned. What he does next is move the next two tracks down to 146 BPM - and then the following track (@25:00) drops dramatically to 140 BPM. Over the following 5 tracks he then gradually moves the BPM back up, reaching 144 BPM (@34:00). What we can draw from this is that he is purposefully moving the BPM up and then down and then up again. The crowd obviously won’t know that he’s doing this (nor should they) but he’s able to manipulate their energy on the dancefloor all the same with these tempo moves. He crafts this increase/decrease action 5 times throughout this set. It’s a great illustration of how a DJ can use BPM to craft peaks and troughs - which helps to keep the set feeling interesting with this movement. Percussion While there are many things that Jeff does well which I could go into detail on, there are a couple of areas to this set which are unique to DJing. The first is the use of the TR-909 drum machine - you can see the first example of this is @47:20. While it’s not completely unheard of to see producer/DJs finger-drum on production hardware and use hardware as a means of playing live, you have to consider that this set is from 20 years ago, when CDJs weren't commonly used (it was still a time when "real DJs use vinyl" was the common view). You may see a very small number of DJs today play hardware instruments - but certainly not while playing vinyl sets. Jeff performs with the TR-909 at the 47:00 for 3-4 minutes, then again @1:13:00 and then finally @2:16:00. The use of the TR-909 is not simply ‘for show’ but aligns to a principle I have highlighted in many of the other DJ set analysis which I have done on Cercle, Boileroom videos - that of the power of percussion intensity. Percussion intensity (the power of the kick drum, the snares, the hi hats) has a profound effect on the energy felt by the dancefloor. Often DJs will sequence their music and use tracks with higher intensity percussion to drive up the energy. At other times, DJs will use the layering of percussive elements over tracks to drive the energy up (Richie Hawtin uses this frequently and to great effect - I talk about this concept in the video analysis I provided on Richie's 2015 Tomorrowland set, if anyone cares to check that out) Likewise, Jeff uses the TR-909 to layer percussion over the records he’s playing to increase the intensity. There are also moments where he exclusively plays the TR-909 - allowing him to freestyle and live-improvise with the percussive rhythms he uses. This was very unique and no doubt was/is an inspiration for many of the modern DJs who likewise use hardware for percussive layering and creating unique rhythmic patterns which act as a bridge between tracks. The second unique element to mention in this set is the notion of the ‘takeaway & return’. Psychologically when you take something pleasurable away from someone it has the effect of making them want it more. With this principle in mind, Jeff lowers the volume of tracks, removes frequencies as well as uses silence to create this ‘takeaway’ before returning the sound and effectively artificially boosting the feeling of energy. If we take a look at just a few examples of this: • We have a fairly bass-heavy tribal beat playing @6:55; Jeff then removes bass for 2 phrases @7:08 to return at 7:22. This has the effect of taking away the nice bass frequencies from the crowd before giving them back what they want! • Jeff selects a detuned track @9:00 - this is to take the crowd away from the nice harmonic and easy-to-listen-to techno beats - another form of the takeaway & return. Once he returns the more harmonic track at 11:30 it feels much nicer. Taking people out of their listening comfort zone before returning them again. • The high-pitched chimes playing @13:20, Jeff introduces the kick and then pulls the kick @13:44 to return again a few beats later. Pulling away the rhythm that the crowd are enjoying moving to…. and then returning again. • @34:20 we can hear the 4-beat organ riff; Jeff pulls the beat @34:39… then volume at 34:55… then return at 35:05. • The final example is with the fairly energetic track playing @40:30… and then @40:38 he pulls the volume completely - you can see in his face that he’s waiting for the reaction… and then returns the beat @40:48 - to a renewed energy. There are perhaps 50-100 examples of this throughout; needless to say it’s a key facet to his playing style here - and rather feels like he is playing the records and the mixer more like an impromptu instrument. This is in acute contrast to many modern producer DJs who play one track almost all the way through and only start to mix the incoming tracks once the current track energy is starting to subside.

Just a small reminder to young producers out there: there's no MIDI or clock sync between that drum machine and 4 vinyl players that he's playing on.

I have been working at such events around that time period. One thing that I always preferred: Those events had a more humble feel. Its dark, the lighting was more minimalistic, everything was less colorfull and intrusive . It was also more about experiencing the music (anonymously) and less about beeing seen, showing off. The Dj was 100% busy doing his job and had not much time for posing around. Its very hard to flawlessly mix multiple analog records at the same time, especially live on a big stage. Jeff Mills of course is a Master. Henrik B. for example also really impressed me with mixing old aphex twin records to his sets on 3 Turntables. Der Dritte Raum stood out for me as well.

if i was stuck on a deserted island and could only chose 1 DJ to listen to for the rest of my life it would be Jeff Mills.

György Ligeti - Requiem Jeff Mills - Utopia Rino Cerrone - Rilis 7 (A1) Rino Cerrone - Rilis 8 (A1) Phase - Katino (B1) Jeff Mills - Life Cycle Aural Emote - Third Eye (A2) Kaay Alexi - Club MCM (Steve Rachmad Remix) Jeff Mills - Preview Jeff Mills - The Bells Chris Liebing - Analogon (Steve Rachmad Remix) Rue East - Remove Deetron vs Ben Sims - Hardgroove 3.5 (B1) ? Jeff Mills - Punisher (Last Confession) Jeff Mills - Actual (B1) Aural Emote - Third Eye (B2) Millsart - Step To Enchantment (Stringent) ? ? Jeff Mills - Cycle 30 (A4) Joey Beltram - Game Form (Mike Dearborn Remix) ? Jeff Mills - Alarms (First Mix) The Advent - Rosey Lee ? Jeff Mills - Cubango Jeff Mills - 909 Track (Live) ? DJ Rush - Get On Up (Chris Liebing Remix) ?

1 - Requiem (György Ligeti cover) 2 - Utopia 3 - Rilis 7 (Rino Cerrone cover) 4 - Rilis 8 5 - Katino (Phase cover) 6 - Life Cycle 7 - Third Eye (Aural Emote cover) 8 - Club MCM (Steve Rachmad Remix) (Kaay Alexi cover) 9 - Preview 10 - The Bells 11 - Analogon (Steve Rachmad Remix) (Chris Liebing cover) 12 - Remove (Rue East cover) 13 - Hardgroove 3.5 (Deetron vs. Ben Sims cover) 14 - (Unknown) 15 - Punisher: Last Confession 16 - Actual 17 - Third Eye (Aural Emote cover) 18 - Step to Enchantment (Stringent) (Millsart song) 19 - (Unknown) 20 - (Unknown) 21 - Cycle 30 22 - Game Form (Mike Dearborn Remix) (Joey Beltram cover) 23 - (Unknown) 24 - Alarms (First Mix) 25 - Rosey Lee (The Advent cover) 26 - (Unknown) 27 - Cubango 28 - 909 Track (Live) 29 - (Unknown) 30 - Get On Up (Chris Liebing Remix) (DJ Rush cover) 31 - (Unknown)

thats not Djing thats Art

I’ve been mixing for about 30 years and thought I was pretty, consistently, good … until I watched this. Holy fuck balls he can mix!

jeff mills the jimi hendrix of the electronics

Look my son...this is Jeff Mills!that is was i calling a dj🎉😅

I was lucky enough to see him in Space in Ibiza earlier that month where he played 3 hours of absolute chaos. From what I remember the set was very similar, best club experience of my life, I've seen him many, many, many times over the years, but that night in Space was never matched or beaten by anyone. The setting, the sound system the way he played, what he played, it was all the perfect storm. He was 2 or 3 hours late and my mates were dropping like flies as the night went on, I stayed, alone, til Jeff arrived and danced for his full set! I wish I could hear that set again.

Every body should respect this man no words can describe how good Jeff mills is 😎😎😎

When music was all about music...

Can we also talk about the camerawork? What professional and appropriate editing and angles, like the cameras in the crowd and the 2 remote controlled ones next to him, truely way ahead of its time.

BEST DJ ON THE PLANET. BEST WIZARD IN THE UNIVERSE.

If Techno was a man it would be Jeff Mills.

Jeff is the mozart of Techno

Watching his set after 19 years still impress his talent and technique of mixing, perfect track selection, magic which he done with Roland 909. Tempo is so insane that pitch on Technics is at it's max :D Children educate what Techno was years ago - furious, energetic and parting friendly.

this is one of the best mixes iv'e seen recorded. Never got to Japan, but did see the wizard several times in the 90's in the UK. Just wish I could remember more of the events I attended.

Old techno = Quality = Like

A masterclass . The man is an unstoppable techno force as relevant now as then . So lucky to of seen him many times

Just a master at work

Best Techno mix I've heard in my 30 years of listening to Electronic music... Speechless.

JEFF IS THE MAN. I'll never forget that bomb set he played at Twilo (NYC) in 1998, it was just incredible. In the morning I said hi to him outside the club as he was getting into his cab. It was raining, he smiled, mild-manneredly, and then he was gone.

The creator is also its best manipulator. God Bless Jeff Mills! As be blessed us for the past 30 years! Still number 1 entertainer and DJ in the electronic scene! 🙌🏼

僕はまだ10代のクソガキですが、一瞬でJeff Millsのプレイに取り憑かれました。

I envy all of you that got to witness this god among man. 🫡💛

All you festival dj's take note THIS IS REAL DJ'ing no pre mixed shit on memory cards and no lap tops REAL DJING

Even today, no one comes close to this man.

Man just imagine the energy and vibe in that club that night 🔥

Authentic mixing without a cake! Japan knows how to party!

Saw him first at the "Globus" (Trésor) in Berlin in 2000 and then many times after. He had the ability to drive crowds completely insane. Bold DJing with tracks dropped on the fly at a time when there was no BPM monitoring or sync function.

So inspirational. When I hear a Jeff Mills set , I need to mix also lol

Thx for this great mix!!!! he is killing it ...at this Time djing was hard work ...getting ready for the next track...no laptops...mixing at his best📣📣📣 . oldschoooool Backflaaaaaaash 🎉🔥📣

From 49:10 that few second flow and that following drop is actually a modern mozart art , blown away!

Jeff mills The Magician this man does art with music

jeff Mills fa Techno di un altro mondo, gli altri si mettano in coda, Fortunato di aver vissuto in pieno gli anni 90

This is what it is all about, the mixing is perfect not one mistake, the track selection is excellent and it's simply a pleasure listening.

Le PHARAON de la techno!!!!!.....TOTAL Classe absolue....!!!!

Amazing . Still best mix dj to ever live in my humble opinion

Love mills. Have many of his albums and mixes,but he is a certified nutcase. Love you Jeff !

Dj’ing was hard work back then. I watched Carl Cox up close a few times when he was 3 deck mixing he never stopped it was so fucking intense!

Great to see there's space to dance and NO FUCKING PHONES! Hurray for 15 years ago

One of my favorite DJs

当時この会場にいましたが改めてこの動画を聞くとあまりにjeffのサービス精神が現れていて素晴らしい動画だと思いました(⁠^⁠^⁠)

AAAMAAAAZING SET!!!! Seems to be widely the BEST techno set in youtube. Jeff Mills at the top of djiing art. So crazy moments in this set and incredible tracklisting !!! No boring moments instead of many nowadays techno sets

The lord of the lords! Please never erase this treasure 🙏

That was a hell of a night! Loved the venue, and awesome lineup. And then this guy finished it off into the sunrise. we walked out like zombies.

He reminds me of hearing THE CHIP E; for the first time at the WAREHOUSE in the CHI! THE JEFF MILLS IS...AGAIN...A MAESTRO!

when you had to listen to beatmatch, no wave form syncing, this is real djing

The Wizard! Even though I don't normally care for this tempo, his style in flawless and easy to listen to. Pure sickness! A true Detroit master indeed!

This is a class act! There's no one that will ever compare to Jeff Mills! Wow! What an ART!

So much power and energy. Timeless

this intro gives me chills every time.

thanks for this full mix of jeff , da king of 3 desks

This... is art! Still beats dozens of present-day sets

This is what heaven looks like, I can't wait to go there. It's just Jeff Mills on the decks for eternity, and the tracks never get boring, you never run out of energy, you never stop having a good time, you never come down, and there are infinite drugs.

I'm a 46 year old genuine old skool acid house raver and I still love going to raves and having a top notch night and making my memories of the time I have been on the planet mental ium #70000. 000001!! My random guess in some kind of way... Anyways I'm just trying to keep it real and dance my way through my life and I will wing it to make it more fun and easy.. Peace and love and acieeeeed house ☮️ 💙 ☺️ once more and love knowing the score... 😉 😉 😉

The Lost parties and final frontier ones are stuff of legend. Bring em back that’s what I say, and party le good ol fashion way. No one gives a funk what you look like, all about the musik and the vibe....... Can I get an Amen

modern producers should take note of the BPM

Not many of Us. Still here. HOLD TIGHT

thats the Techno i like and play... the today's techno might have fuller sound being enourmous, but it def. lacks the energy, drive and play-elements i simply love about techno... i want to move my body real hard to the music, not that hip shake techno that is gettin played right now... letz start a revolution for the sake of real energetic techno :) dj bookings -> in my direction ;) vinyl only, of course... peace from Germany!

The 2000's first decade was awesome! Schranz and real techno were sided... and full of dark rooms that was meant to be the real dancefloors... Nowadays the things have changed and the people just want to be someone for what it costs... Lucky of me that i've been born in 1984 and i could experienced it!

Wauw no commercials!!! +1 👍 Rrspeckt 🙏

Superb set and crowd 👌

Mad thanks for this.... would dig to see the 2004 set in full too... the fragment on KZfaq with the lights on is nuts, he's working some serious morning minimalism.

Thanks to such a piece I'm listening techno, think real techno not a commercial imitation....

Just makes me giggle, like hysterical laughter. I just can't get my head around what he does. It's like watching a "wizard" performing magic tricks, and i just can't see how it's done. lol.. Had the luxury of seeing him live a few years back, he was fantastic. Proper techno! Viva Jeff Mills. X

22:00 to 24:50 is insane! Absolutely Nothing today sounds as good. Jeff Mills✌️

Perfect ❤❤ Love Jeff Mills 😍

My top 3 best techno DJs: 1- Jeff Mills 2- Dave Clarke 3- Carl Cox

the godfather of techno, holy shit this is amazing

Sem dúvida o melhor DJ e Produtor dos anos 90 The besta DJ Jeff Mills sem palavras o Rei do Techno The King OF Techno Underground

THE BEST TECHNO SET IN THE HISTORY.....ALIENS SAVE THE WIZARD !!!!

Wow, I'd never seen the full video. Thanks!

Listened and seen him live for around 20 years 🕺🕺🕺 orbit 48 morley leeds UK 🤘🤘🤘

The master....one of the very few real DJs

Great set

Level of mixing: Jeff Mills

Imagine the amount of vinyl he had to travel with ?

Japan knows how too party....

Always. We Still have in here😊

Old and good Jeff. One of my favourites djs these times

Lightyears ahead 🚀

what an absolute litteral wizard of music.

Whoop! I was there. Fkn legendary upload 18 years later.

Jeff Mills is a Producer! My favourite❤ I traveled to see you!!! In the 90ties❤❤❤

no phones - looks like not from this world. And that sound...damn!!

the real master of techno A.KA. THE THEACHER

Incredible. Live at the liquid rooms Tokyo first made me aware of Jeff Mills. Was lucky to see him a few times over the years and most recently in Melbourne 2024 albeit not Techno. Legend.

O que esse homem consegue fazer com nossos sentidos, não há nem palavras pra descrever. Ele é tão bruxão, ele me faz sentir coisas que eu simplesmente não consigo nem explicar em palavras... só sei sentir. Sempre que estou ouvindo ele tocar eu literalmente agradeço a Deus/universo por ter audição, fico extremamente grato, contente, em ecstazy pq ouvir musica boa é um dos meus maiores prazeres da vida.

As I am just now finally starting my Techno journey (after being alive 38 years) there are artists that weren't really there on my radar because they weren't as mainstream, and existed in more of the Underground club scene (albeit HUGE in their scenes) as opposed to being all over the radio. Like Carl Cox, Jeff Mills isn't someone you necessarily notice if you aren't in to clubbing or listening to Techno... That being said, I recognize him as a God of the genre and its sort of like climbing the mountain on Mortal Kombat, I'm just not there yet. I'm currently deep in to the artists he inspired and even the artists that were inspired by the artists he inspired... When I am ready I will take the deep dive in to Jeff Mills. Like 1/4 of the records I own are basically just rip-offs of his music so it will be a very pleasant experience for sure!!!

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE MASTER !!!!!!!!!!

i listen this mix all ready for 20 plus years and always is super the best,regards from Croatia

Wow what a ,he stands alone performance. I havent heard a one man set that contains talent extensively as jeff has shown us here ! You jeff are a funk n #1 . Top of my bucket list to see and dream#1 to learn just a fraction of your style. Wish i had the means to get you to teach me sum. Its a dream........ Keep on keeping on......

Best DJ of all times !!! Jeff Mills forever!!!

2.24.18 That track still gets me the goosebumps. Timeless!! "Knights of the Jaguar" - Los Hermanos

I CANT! Eye can't believe that Eye only just heard and witnessed the GENIUS of JEFF MILLS!!! Where has he been all my life? Not to be a prude but ...I have been with the BEST!!!

amazing experience. them japaneses sure did get a treat right there