Jeff Mills

Jeff Mills grew up in Detroit and, while studying architecture in college, became known around the city in the early 1980s as the radio DJ "the Wizard," first on WDRQ and then WJLB, hosting two shows a day, six days a week. His rapid-fire, precise mixing style became a trademark, and his shows helped spotlight local talents Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Juan Atkins, the Belleville Three whose early records were laying the groundwork for Detroit techno.

In the late 1980s he formed the industrial project Final Cut with Anthony Srock, and met former Parliament bassist "Mad" Mike Banks after remixing a track for the local group Members of the House. In 1989 the two co-founded Underground Resistance, soon joined by Robert Hood, building a fiercely independent, politically outspoken label and collective that became one of the most influential forces in Detroit techno, releasing raw, minimal tracks like the "Waveform" EP.

Mills left Underground Resistance around 1991 to pursue a solo career, moving to New York for a residency at the Limelight and signing to the German label Tresor. In 1992 he founded his own label, Axis Records, and went on to become one of techno's most internationally recognized DJs and producers, later expanding into orchestral collaborations and film scoring, including a new soundtrack for Fritz Lang's Metropolis.