Jeff Mills to premiere new album ‘The Trip – Enter The Black Hole’ in Tokyo

Electronic music pioneer Jeff Mills is venturing into uncharted artistic territory with “The Trip,” billed as the world’s first Cosmic Opera. This groundbreaking multimedia spectacle fuses music, visuals, and scientific exploration, inviting audiences on a journey to ponder the profound mysteries surrounding black holes.

The immersive experience will have its world premiere live performance in Tokyo on April 1st, taking viewers beyond the traditional confines of a concert. Audiences can expect a seamless blend of avant-garde sounds and striking visual effects that bring to life the enigmatic phenomena of black holes. Ahead of the live debut, the concept album “The Trip – Enter The Black Hole” will launch in digital format on March 20th, followed by vinyl and CD releases in mid-May 2024.

Mills, renowned for pushing boundaries with his innovative approach to techno music, delves deep into cosmic and existential themes on “The Trip.” Central to the narrative is humankind’s long-standing fascination with black holes – those inscrutable gravitational behemoths that have captured our collective imagination for decades. The opera explores five theoretical scenarios that could unfold for anyone or anything venturing past the event horizon, the point of no return, into a black hole’s all-consuming singularity. What awaits at the other side remains one of the greatest unknowns in all of science and philosophy.

To bring his cosmic vision to life, Mills collaborated with acclaimed Japanese vocalist Jun Togawa, blending her haunting melodies with his signature pulsating techno rhythms. Tracks like “Contradiction” and “Hole” weave Togawa’s evocative vocals through intricately layered beats, paying homage to the pioneering rhythms of Bo Diddley and grand themes of classic science fiction.

With “The Trip,” Jeff Mills transcends genres and mediums, creating an avant-garde artistic statement that challenges perceptions about the boundaries of music, science, and human existence itself. As this highly-anticipated cosmic odyssey prepares for launch, music, and science enthusiasts alike are invited to experience the great unknown.

Album credits
Program, synthesizer: Jeff Mills, Vocals: Jun Togawa, Keyboard (Hole): Shinichi Yamaguchi, Edited, Mixed and Produced by: Jeff Mills,
Mastering by: Steve Kovacs, Vocal recording engineer: Jiro Takita, recorded at Flamingo Studio, Tokyo
Lyric melodies by Lion Mary (Contradiction) and Shinichi Yamaguchi (Hole), Black hole image by Colo (Cosmic Lab)