Jeff Mills joins Apple Music panel at ADE to discuss the future of Spatial Audio

During Amsterdam Dance Event 2025, Apple Music hosted a special panel at Dolby Atmos House featuring Jeff Mills, one of Detroit techno’s most visionary figures, in conversation with Stephen Campbell (Global Head of Dance, Electronic, and DJ Mixes), Frankie Hutchinson, and Clif Norell, Apple Music’s Lead Spatial Audio Mixing Engineer. The discussion delved into how immersive sound is transforming not only how people listen to music, but also how it will be studied, preserved, and experienced in years to come.

The conversation centered around the making of “Tomorrow Comes the Harvest” in Spatial Audio and Mills’ “Outer to Inner Atmosphere: The Escape Velocity Mix”, which stands as the first-ever DJ mix created for Spatial Audio on Apple Music. The project also marked the launch of One Mix in Spatial Audio, a new series designed to showcase global DJ talent in an entirely immersive environment.

Mills explained how he views Spatial Audio as a bridge between generations—technology capable of recreating how he mixes records and connecting future listeners to his creative process. “This technology replicates how I might play records together,” he said. “It simulates that process and allows someone to imagine how I would do it in the future.”

As the discussion unfolded, Jeff Mills also reflected on the next stage of audio innovation, envisioning a world where sound convinces the mind it has entered another environment entirely. “We can hear things in 3D,” he shared. “But the visual aspect is what we still need to address—how to convince someone they’re no longer where they are. One day, you might be sitting next to Miles Davis and the sound engineer. These things will come. It’s going to make us rethink sound completely.”