Had never heard of this till the pitchfork classic review today. I really loved reading about it, and it’s pretty mind blowing to listen to. Insane that this is 1996.
Anyone have any cool stories or feelings about this album they wanna share?
26 Likes
i’m about to go get some feelings about this
4 Likes
Love this mix. Had it on CD in '98 or '99. I love the version of ‘The Extremist’ that he opens up with:
6 Likes
why? the 90s were INSANE with all kinds of electronic music that defied stereotypes and pushed boundaries. much of it still seems ahead of its time.
27 Likes
Because I was in 6th grade in 1996 and didn’t even like music much let alone know anything about it. And someone was doing this live and sounds like a force of nature!
8 Likes
Wow, thanks for sharing this! Great review, too. DJ mixes of a certain age sure are getting left out of the streaming revolution.
1 Like
That can’t be true, laptops were not powerful enough in the 90’s to do a live set, and they could not have been using sequencers and drum machines, because everybody knows DAW-less jamming was invented by synthfluencers, around 6 years ago. 
21 Likes
Always felt like the DJ version of a ‘live’ album rather than just a mix CD. That’s what I think works so well about it.
1 Like
I went to highschool in Tokyo from 89-95, and worked the summer of 96 there. Liquid Room back then was the epitome of the techno club experience. A pure expression. Wish I saw Mills. Frankly, my memories of this nights all blur together. Wild times.
15 Likes
His Essential Mix from 1998 is pretty bloody good, too
11 Likes
This and one of Dave Clarke’s 1996 Essential Mixes blew my mind when they came out.
I’d never heard such relentlessly pounding greatness.
5 Likes
His Exhibitionist (Purpose Maker Mix) is up on Criterion right now
(Also this documentary about 80s NYC club music with Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles: Maestro - Radical Dreams, Underground Sounds: 13 Films Presented by Dweller - The Criterion Channel)
6 Likes
I bought the cd back in the 90’s and since i was pretty young i was a bit disappointed at first because it’s such a rough mix and was expecting a bit more melodic techno. Stupid young me! A bit later i understood what a gem i had.
This was the time when he threw his records behind him when he put the next one on.
4 Likes
I had that album. A friend of mine from Japan gave it to me right around that time. I’ve also been to the Liquid Room, but I can’t actually remember who I saw there. 
It was a big techno artist or two, but I can’t remember off the top of my head. I did see Jeff Mills a couple of times around that time period though. 
I was a bit wasted, and had just been out for fugu and cocktails.
I do remember that the line wrapped around the block, and the only way up to the club was an elevator that held about 2-3 people at a time. Only way in or out from what I could tell. Glad there wasn’t a fire.
5 Likes
Yes, it was a fairly rough mix, but the selection was amazing. It was missing my favorite Mills track though, which is 4Art.
3 Likes
Essential album, totally influential and life-changing. Hasn’t lost a bit of its power down the years, which is fairly staggering. I went back and listened to it late last year, some of the transitions are still classic on their own.
Looking back I can also see how influential it was on me in the mix of Detroit, Chicago and UK / EU techno. They all became clay that Jeff moulded into the set so well.
I saw him live around the same time at The Orbit near Leeds UK and again it was totally life-changing. Everyone loves Jeff, how can you not!?
Have to mention Waveform Transmission Vol 1, hearing that in about 92 set me on a course I’m still following. It was so brutally stark and uncompromising, and matched perfectly a love for thrash metal, grunge, industrial etc
Bonus early track I couldn’t get enough of:
5 Likes
well, you could carry your PC like Aphex Twin on the 90’s
2 Likes
Noticed the word “rough” used to describe the mix.
To me this “roughness” is what’s lacking from most dj sets these days.
I can’t actually remember the last time I heard a recent dj set where every mix wasn’t perfectly pristine…. (Maybe dj stingray had a bit of drift… I’m sure there’s real cats still out there)
Crowd reactive finger energy, instant course correction if the sync drifts.
I love hearing the vinyl get pushed and pulled. And that manic one spin back in this one.
Isn’t everything viewed as rough what happens when you actually jockey discs under the pressure of making a whole crowd of humans dance in a dark sweaty room?
The only vinyl dj I saw once without one noticeable mistake was Derrick may.
Jeff didn’t have time to clap his hands and work the crowd up with his dance moves as he was too busy delivering bodymind music by the platter.
It’s a shame/ridiculous these imperfections could be compared against the ubiquitous beat matching technology everyone’s used to now.
Detroit DJs showed us how to rock it.
With turntables replaced by digital we’ve ended up with people just finger dipping at the mixer continually without actually changing anything.
Gotta look busy otherwise it’ll look like you just pressed play… oh wait.
23 Likes
I can only place a couple of those pieces of gear: Korg MS-50 and an Alesis Quadraverb (I think). also some things with their covers off. I have no idea what he’s actually doing during the performance though. turning one knob verrrrrry slowly…? he also appeared to be using a screwdriver at the beginning…? 
either way, love the on-stage dancing guy.
1 Like
This.
The way I like it (the way it moves me)
It should be rough and sexy and focused