Waveform Transmission, Vol. 3

by Jason BirchmeierThough released only two years apart, in 1992 and 1994, Jeff Mills' two Waveform Transmission albums for Tresor differ slightly from one another. The first volume had been relentlessly hard, powered by punishing beats and breakneck tempos. In many ways it resembled the type of hard techno Mills had produced as part of Underground Resistance in the early '90s. This second volume features eight tracks that are similarly powered by punishing beats and breakneck tempos, but these tracks aren't quite as relenting. The beats tend to be polarized, offsetting a pounding 909 kick foundation with rattling snares and looping bleeps, and the tempos tend to fluctuate, dropping out every now and then for quick buildups and releases. The album opens with "The Extremist," which indeed lives up to its billing, but from there Mills offers a diverse array of tracks. Next up is "Solid Sleep," a stomping, mid-tempo -- relatively mid-tempo, that is -- track that feels like a release after "The Extremist." "Life Cycle" and "Workers" alternate between calm sections and explosive ones, and the same goes for "Wrath of the Punisher," which is built around a charging, multi-layered rhythm and a foreboding riff of incredibly unsettling synth stabs. By the time you reach the penultimate track, the serene "Condor to Mallorca," its tranquil opening two minutes feel incredibly relieving, as does the remainder of the track as it develops into an old-school-sounding acid track. "Basic Human Design" then caps off the album, suitably perhaps, with dizzying, whirlwind ferocity. These eight tracks signaled Mills' transition from the straightforward hard techno he had produced in the early '90s to the more diversified style he would pursue throughout the remainder of the decade. In many ways these tracks prefigure Mills' Axis releases, which employed the same sound palette. As such, Waveform Transmission, Vol. 3 stands out in Mills' canon. It's not necessarily a masterpiece, but it was his most accomplished release to date, even if his later accomplishments perhaps make it seem a bit one-dimensional.