There are few techno 12”s as well-balanced and all-round essential as Jeff Mills’s 1995 Humana EP , which features an ambient intro, a locked groove, a beatless soundscape, a pummelling minimal workout and a beautiful downbeat piece, plus this timeless piece of Detroit machine soul.
Coming hot on the heels of the game-changing dancefloor killers of the original Purpose Maker EP, Humana ploughs a more introspective, conceptual furrow, with carefully considered ‘rhythmatic formations’ and ‘degrees of light’, according to the typically obscure centre label text.
The end result in Gamma Player is a five-minute masterclass in restraint, groove and emotional punch, as various elements weave in and out of the foreground above a steady 909 and sub-bass groove. Mills may have spawned more imitators than any other techno producer, but none of them has ever got close to nailing the vibe he channels here.
Nothin' But Magic 