Waveform Transmission, Vol. 1

by Jason BirchmeierJeff Mills' earliest solo work is captured here on Waveform Transmission, Vol. 1, an album that set new standards in 1992 for hard, punishing techno. Upon an initial listen, you're instantly overwhelmed by the intensity of Mills' barrage of pounding 909 kick drums and other sub-frequency rhythms, along with the breakneck pace at which he loops these rhythms. To top off the dense sub-rhythms and the nauseating intensity of these songs, he also adds some screeching hi-frequency riffs for an additional element of sonic assault. The album's highlight comes on "Changes of Life," a track that, perhaps intentionally, references Derrick May's "Strings of Life" with its use of traditional piano sounds. Rather than use the piano as a tool for generating melody as May had done on his classic, however, Mills uses it as a tool for generating rhythm. The piano notes bang just as hard as his punishing 909 kick drums, thereby using a traditionally harmonious instrument for ferocity. Mills doesn't get any harder than he does on this album, but even though his later work finds the fine balance between harsh industrial pounding and surreal tonal quality, you can't help but see how influential this particular album at its introduction was to the entire school of producers interested in the harsher extremes of the techno spectrum.