Jeff Mills — Detroit Techno DJ & Label BossAbout Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills is an American DJ and techno artist born and raised in Detroit, also known as the Wizard and True Faith. He began his radio career as the Wizard on Detroit stations WDRQ and WJLB, where he used beat-juggling and scratching while highlighting music by Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins. Mills was a founding member of Underground Resistance in the late 1980s alongside Mad Mike Banks and Robert Hood before pursuing a solo path.
His style is rooted in Detroit and minimal techno, with performance techniques that use three decks and a Roland TR-909 drum machine at speeds of up to 70 records an hour. He held a residency at Tresor in Berlin, a key venue in his international DJ history. In 1992 he founded Axis Records in Chicago, his primary label, along with the sub-labels Purpose Maker, Tomorrow and 6277.
Mills also produced the documentary Man from Tomorrow with Jacqueline Caux. In 2017 he received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for services to the arts. From Detroit radio to Underground Resistance, Tresor and Axis, Jeff Mills' story centres on a rigorous, fast-moving approach to techno DJing and an enduring role in the music's culture.