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DOLBY ATMOS MUSIC MASTER
EI speaks with with Dyre Gormsen, Immersive Sound Mix and Mastering Engineer at the iconic Eastcote Studios. Dyre is one the engineers pioneering the use of the Dolby Atmos music format.
Tell us about the history of the studio? Eastcote is version 1.2 of what Philip and Chaz (Engineer - Philip Bagenal and Chaz Jankel of Ian Dury and the Blockheads) started in the 80’s. The studio had been running successfully and untouched since then, until about a year and a half ago when we had the chance to update it, adding to the arsenal of tricks and great recording features.
Eastcote has a 40-year long history, celebrated in a book by Martin Terefe created during lockdown while I was refurbishing the studio with an amazing team of artists, musicians and builders of all trades. I have been working here for more than 15 years, more than a third of Eastcote’s life. The place has a certain spark to it that you rarely find in recording establishments.
The studio is unique in its raw and super refined recording environment that has been producing world class records for more than 40 years. Massive Attack, The Arctic Monkeys, Adele, just to mention a few - and the sound and work ethic are still there with a dedicated and extremely competent team.
Tell us about your introduction to Dolby Atmos Music In November of 2020 I bought some AMS-NEVE DFC consoles at an online BBC auction. I started looking at what they could do and quickly came across Dolby Atmos Music on Tidal. It had me excited to think about how artists and consumers could experience music in other ways than stereo, and how it could inspire the future of music and technology.
The first time I heard it was at Pro AV supplier HHB. My first impression was that it was an extremely powerful mixing tool that had so many possibilities. I immediately felt that the transition of Dolby Atmos into the music industry was a great move.
How does the format actually differ from others? Dolby Atmos has its own set of guidelines for delivery. For Apple Music, the format is delivered via ADM files, which is a fold down WAV file whose SPL is -18db for the master with 2dB of headroom on each side. This is much lower than a stereo master, there’s about a 10dB difference. What I really love about Dolby Atmos is that dynamics are back in recorded music. The mixes are just as powerful without being smashed to pieces and we’re not still stuck in the loudness wars that stereo masters have fought for many years. The dynamics are much closer to Vinyl.
What is different about how you record and mix in this format? Recording-wise it’s the same as usual stereo recording. The difference is when you start spreading it out in Dolby Atmos, you can take advantage of the use of more ambient microphones for drums etc., especially when recording live shows or streaming where there is an audience to really make you feel like you are in the room.
The main difference is in the mixing stage. Rather than mixing down to stereo’s two channels, there are up to 128 channels of audio to consider when mixing in Atmos. This makes the usual
mastering and pumping stereo mixes redundant. You must think differently to achieve what you want. I find it inspiring to be free to place instrumentation where I want. I find myself listening more intensely and for longer without being too attached to the screen.
Is there anything the artist needs to be aware of when recording in the format? It’s pretty much business as usual when recording. Most people would probably start in stereo when creating and tracking and leave Dolby Atmos to the mixing stage. Working directly is something that will come with time. It is possible to have the Dolby Atmos Render on your laptop with your usual DAW; Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Live Abolition and so on. I’m excited to see where music creators are going to take this, there are a lot of creative people out there that will be able to take their work to the next level.
Tell us about your new Dolby Atmos Music mixing room. The actual room is an old hayloft that we converted into a mastering studio. This works well as there is not a single straight angle in the room and it has a slanted ceiling. This all helps us with regards to the acoustics of the room. It’s treated with acoustic fabric panels and what I call acoustic furniture that helps the sound of the room. Everything from treating the back and sides of tables and racks with rock wool and acoustic fabric, and in general using sound absorbing materials.
The Atmos Speaker system consists of PMC Result6s (LRC) and PMC Wafer2s as surround and height. It’s a 7.1.4 system with an eight channel Crown amplifier for the Wafer2s. I got a Genelec SUB that I rate highly, unfortunately it is not in production any more but I was lucky enough to find one in great condition.
I use Pro Tools Ultimate and the Dolby Renderer on the same Mac, an Avid MTRX Studio with the DAD MOM controller and one AVID HDX Card. This works really well; I haven’t come across issues with this system so far. Plenty of CPU for both Pro Tools and the Dolby Render.
It’s a great addition to what we do at Eastcote Mastering and I find it really enjoyable to mix in Dolby Atmos. It feels a bit like the canvas has finally gotten a lot bigger with more possibilities. I don’t mean flying sound around randomly, but really expanding the stereo picture we know to surround you more like at great sounding live gig. It can give you that same special feeling in the body if it’s done right.
How pleased are you with the results of the first Dolby Atmos Music recordings? I’m extremely happy with the results, both stem mixing from the stereo mix, and taking a production directly from the multitrack recording to do the actual mix in Dolby Atmos and folding it down to stereo again. I find this works really well, getting great results on Mathias Winther’s new Album. Doing it that way around for the first time has been a really great experience to see how the Atmos mix folds down. It really sounds great, with lots of depth and punch in the stereo.
Making music in a new way, Dyre has embraced the new format What Dolby Atmos Music projects are you working on next? Danish artist Mathias Winther’s new album, Yungblud’s catalogue and a bunch of other stuff.
What are the main benefits for the listener? The listeners’ experience can come through Dolby Atmos’ sound bars where you can really get that immersive and live feeling in the way it projects the sound around you. This immersive experience can convey the music’s emotion far more effectively than your usual mono or stereo devices.
Headphones are my favourite way to listen to immersive music at home, but I am very keen to see what devices will be brought out over the coming years to support the format. The great thing is that you can easily enjoy it with your normal headphones, as well as specialised headphones which will bring the immersive feeling out even more.
Where does the format go next? It’s a really big thing that Apple has taken it on and I’m positive they will do what they can to elevate it. It will take a while for everyone to have an iPhone 12 or higher. I think it will take about three years for the format to really be available to everyone. I can also see most cars having Dolby Atmos in the future, something that I know has already been implemented by some manufacturers.
Will all music be made like this someday, or will it remain a ‘niche’? I do think its going to be a deliverable for the major labels and there will be lots of music available in Dolby Atmos in the future and musicians will take to it as they discover the power of it.
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