In this conversation at Broadcast, experimental artist and DJ Russell E. L. Butler talks with Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills about sound, the future, and the urgent drive as a musician to materialize an idea as quickly as possible so you can move on to the next one. You don’t need to love electronic music—or even know who Mills is—to appreciate the insights here. Together, they explore the limits of linear time; innovation, improvisation, and creative expansion; and the idea that music offers a path toward transcendence.
Behind everything is this vision that I have for electronic music, and more specifically techno, that it will become much more than just something we dance to. Not only can it help people to let themselves go and reach a higher level of consciousness, but it can also unlock new forms of communication and education. I want it to linger in other facets of life, and not just exist as entertainment and recreation.
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