Jeff Mills is not of this world. His dispatches are intergalactic techno transmissions sent from the cockpit of his Roland TR-909. On “A Tale From the Parallel Universe,” Mills’ contribution to Soma Quality Recordings’ 25th anniversary compilation Soma 25, he bursts out of the gate with a dark and shimmering groove.

The acid bassline slinks between icy synth droning and subtle atmospheric pops that pepper that track’s surface. His tracks are not powerful because of thundering drums or whirlwind effects, but because of his gentle touch. The steady, pulse and clean modulations of “A Tale From the Parallel Universe” reflects Mills’ analog approach. As he told Pitchfork in 2015, he works “without a computer without software” because he’s interested in how his machines “speak” and “trigger” each other. Still, Mills’ very human dexterity gives his machines a breath of alien life in the cold, endless vacuum of space.