Abducted by Aliens with Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills is joined by Neue Grafik, Prabhu Edouard and Knoel Scott.
Jeff Mills, who hosts this week鈥檚 episode, started out playing music on the Detroit techno scene in the 1980鈥檚 before founding Underground Resistance with 鈥楳ad鈥� Mike Banks in 1989. He left Detroit for New York in 1991 (via a residency at Berlin鈥檚 mighty Tresor), to pursue a solo career and set up my own label, Axis. Since then, he鈥檚 released a number of projects including two volumes of Waveform Transmissions For Tresor; 2005鈥檚 Blue Potential 鈥� a live album recorded with the 70 piece Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra; and a new soundtrack for Fritz Lang鈥檚 1926 film Metropolis in 2000. In 2018, he set up the afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble, Tomorrow Comes The Harvest, with the late Nigerian drummer Tony Allen to experiment with different sounds and has been making music and performing with the collective ever since.
Joining him are a group of musicians known for their boundary-pushing sounds.
First up, it鈥檚 a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist making a truly unique sound. Blending hip-hop, jazz and house, his music draws a map between his African heritage, time in Paris and love of London鈥檚 grime scene. Forming the Neue Grafik Ensemble at an after-hours jam session at London鈥檚 Total Refreshment Centre, he鈥檚 established himself as formidable force in the world of jazz. It鈥檚 Neue Grafik.
Next up, an Indo-French percussionist and composer who鈥檚 recognised as one of the most versatile tabla players of his generation. A student of the legendary Pandit Shankar Ghosh, he鈥檚 collaborated with artists from around the world including Jean-Pierre Drouet and Laxmi Shankar, and is part of the afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest. It鈥檚 Prabhu Edouard.
And finally, it鈥檚 an American saxophonist and composer best known for his time with jazz collective Sun Ra Arkestra. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he鈥檚 worked alongside jazz greats including Lou Donaldson and Leon Thomas. Most recently, he鈥檚 released his first major studio album, Celestial with long time collaborator Marshall Allen. It鈥檚 Knoel Scott.
Together they talk about improvisational performance, rhythms as a form of communication and how technology is overtaking the artist.
In Part 2 of the show Neue Grafik takes us through a playlist he鈥檚 called 鈥楤lack Mental Health, Love and Spiritual Elevation鈥�, a collection of songs exploring these themes, featuring tracks from Knucks, Yazmin Lacey, Gabba Canal, and more
