Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2010

Mention Detroit dance music, and most people will think of the techno pioneered in the late ’80s by Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins. But there’s always been more to the city than that. Alton Miller, sometime May collaborator and founder of the pivotal Music Institute venue, drew on his love of Motown, Philly Soul and P-Funk to craft a warmer, housier sound.

“Man, I was nervous as shit,” Miller recalls from Detroit about his first gigs. “But the more I practiced, the better I got. I taught myself how to mix using one direct-drive turntable that I borrowed from a friend, and a cassette deck. I mixed the same two songs over and over again: ‘Disco Nights’ by GQ and ‘Sexy Dancer’ by Prince.”

Miller founded The Music Institute in 1988, setting him on a path toward a life in clubland. “This really allowed me not only to become more experienced in building a rapport with the dancefloor, but in learning how to make my sets evolve,” he says. “DJing is creating atmospheres, telling stories, and taking people on journeys. We always believed that this was very spiritual, and we did it in the way that we experienced in places like [New York club] the Paradise Garage.”

Working with May at formative dance label Transmat helped Miller learn the ropes of the music business, and also led to his first trip abroad to Europe. His experience over the ensuing decades has ranged from the highs of gigs in places like Tokyo and Mexico City, to the lows of playing to an empty dancefloor.

Miller remains a busy and committed DJ, but is circumspect about the current state of clubland. “The owners don’t care about the music and don’t understand it,” he cautions. “They need to pay bills to keep the doors open, and I truly understand that. But when there is a breakdown or a misconception of what you are trying to be, there will be problems… The clubs that are doing it correctly are becoming fewer, and now there are more DJs and not a lot of places to play.”

For his upcoming Japan circuit, Miller will be unleashing selections from his new album, Light Years Away. In an era of Beatport digital downloads, the LP offers a rare thing—a sonic journey that works as a unified whole from beginning to end. It was two years in the making and boasts contributions from Amp Fiddler and a posse of vocalists loosing hypnotic choruses upon the listener.

“I was listening to a lot Herbie Hancock, Dexter Wansel, and I am always listening to Parliament/Funkadelic,” Miller explains. “It really is just me getting in touch with where I come from musically, and trying to find a good balance between analog and acoustic sounds. My last album was more jazzy. With this one, I was feeling a bit more four-on-the-floor, but wanted to make sure I did not create a compilation but something you can listen to from top to bottom.”

Loop
Re:funk. House, garage: DJs Alton Miller, Uchikawa, etc. From 10pm, ¥2,500 w/1d. Shibuya. Tel: 03-3797-9933. www.club-loop.com