Isn’t space great! Infinitely mysterious, filled with fascinating images. And what better way to score those visuals than with music specifically inspired by it? Hang on, Holst did that in 1916 and Underground Resistance made X-102 Discover The Rings of Saturn for the electronic age back in 1992. Recent advances in solar exploration led Jeff Mills to update UR’s seminal recording, now accompanied by images from the Cassini-Huygen spacecraft. Last Thursday, Lost hosted back-to-back showings of the multimedia project at the ICA, with a Q&A with Mills.

X-102 Rediscover The Rings of Saturn builds steadily, with still images dissolving into one another: nebulae, Jupiter, then Mars. Soon the planetary protagonist Saturn appears, bringing close-ups of its famed rings. For the first time, a straightforward visual connection between the solar system and the world of DJs appears: the uncanny resemblance of the rings of Saturn to a vinyl record; intricate grooves spinning. Post-show Mills spoke in detail on this parallel, revealing how as “vinyl specialists” this rotational comparison had fuelled their interest in selecting Saturn, when deciding on the subject for an exploratory wing of UR. “[Saturn] looked like a record! …what we do as musicians is somehow related to this planet and that the fact that it rotates around the same as a record and that there is information on both these figures. If you put the needle in and it tracks inward you gain more information, the same way you would if you would travel on the last ring of Saturn towards the planet.”

As the camera circulates and zooms in and out, the eyes play tricks, forming pictures out of the pixels: a figure; a face. Vibrant colours contrast with pastel shades and the black abyss; variance conveyed musically by marauding beat-less soundscapes and gritty 130bpm tracks. Strobe flashes and the flux of tempos stoked up the crowd, bringing roars and a cry of “Come On!”. Considering the banging content, the audience were quite restrained, aside from pre-show rave-like barging to claim unreserved seats. Perhaps the ICA should have sought assistance from Kode9 (who was a ticketholder) as the room lacked bass. Sonic-wise, the calmer moments held up the best and were great to zone out to (inc. Mike Banks’ ‘The Grandfather Paradox’). It would be stirring to experience the project on a dancefloor, a hangar in Barcelona comes to mind. Maybe that will happen, Banks and Mills premiered the audio of X-102 Rediscovers… at Sonar this year, plus scores by Mills have previously accompanied Metropolis and Buster Keaton’s The Three Ages.

Following the screening, Kodwo Eshun led the talk with Mills, covering plenty of sonic fiction adventures: musings on afro-diasporic interests, especially an ‘extra-territoriality’ X-102 shares with Sun Ra and Jimi Hendrix; mention of the “perfect-loop” [133bpm]; the use of his music for other visual projects, including modern dance “I have to be asked and approached! I would love to do it”;and the state of techno today, on which Mills diplomatically responded, casting neither a rosy or gloomy opinion: “people are still dancing…”

Articulately expressing detailed responses and ideas, Mills spoke endearingly with much humility. Stating that imagination was essential in the creation of both X-102 versions, he summarised the core scenario: “You’re lost. But there is this planet which is in front of you. So you’re faced with exploring what it is.” Sounds signify the various elements on the rings or moons, with ice and fire both getting electronic interpretations. Building a film from stills has limitations (as Mills admitted), though there is no denying the wonder of Cassini-Huygens‘ pictures. No single narrative thread shapes the film, rather there is an intentional disjointedness, it leaps from one theme (or ring of Saturn) to another. Its overriding strength is neither the separate audio, or visual elements, but the pairing of them and the experience this brings.

As the after show discussion concluded, Mills spoke of the relevance of frequencies, touching upon the potency of his music and a discourse that juxtaposes techno and electronic music with classical music “It is not just the music and the chords, it is the frequencies that are actually penetrating your body, somehow are becoming part of you, you take it away when you leave the club. Next time you hear it, it triggers a certain type of reaction, as a DJ I know this and a producer I can see how and what the effect is on people. And so with this, in the lack of notes or chord structure, this is what the people want to feel, want to have, it is a sensation of these frequencies, and notes and chords, I think, fall short of that, frequencies cut right to the chase and–do more damage.”

Watch the trailer for X-102 Rediscover The Rings of Saturn here.
For info on the image of Saturn used above visit this page. There’s many more pictures if you look.
Both the original and 2008 versions of X-102 are available from Tresor.