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Actually interesting music in Dolby Atmos

gustav_errata

pfm Member
While I haven't exactly searched for anything, I haven't really noticed any interesting music coming out in Dolby Atmos. That is, I haven't expected any bands/musicians that I actually like to have the resources to release anything in Atmos anytime soon.

However, now I learned that Oneohtrix Point Never's latest album (Magic Oneohtrix Point Never from last year) is being re-released on Blu-Ray with both stereo and Atmos mixes. Now that is something I'd like to hear.
https://bleep.com/release/253338-oneohtrix-point-never-magic-oneohtrix-point-never-blu-ray-edition

Is there anything else that's even remotely interesting out there?
 
What are you using for playback?

I just recently bought a Sony UBP-X800M2 4k Blu-ray (+ everything else) player, which supports Atmos playback. I don't actually have an Atmos setup otherwise though. I don't really have space for all those speakers in my current place. This is more just about curiosity...is this something I'm going to want to look into in the future as more interesting music becomes available. I mean, if Warp artists are starting to do Atmos, that makes me more interested. If Autechre do something in Atmos, it's really going to put pressure on me.
 
If Autechre do something in Atmos, it's really going to put pressure on me.

Yes that would be great to hear. It feels like surround audio never really became mainstream so I'm interested to see how this develops. Though I won't be an early adopter - I don't even have a telly ;-)
 
I just recently bought a Sony UBP-X800M2 4k Blu-ray (+ everything else) player....

This was the one I saw from Warp:

https://warp.net/releases/252729-oneohtrix-point-never-magic-oneohtrix-point-never-blu-ray-edition

I'm told Apple have been rather persistent with sending emails to labels and publishers offering lots of money for them to remix ther music into Atmos. I have a feeling it's a lot of work. The one I linked to above was recorded with the extra channels in mind.
 
This was the one I saw from Warp:

https://warp.net/releases/252729-oneohtrix-point-never-magic-oneohtrix-point-never-blu-ray-edition

I'm told Apple have been rather persistent with sending emails to labels and publishers offering lots of money for them to remix ther music into Atmos. I have a feeling it's a lot of work. The one I linked to above was recorded with the extra channels in mind.

Yes, that OPN release is what prompted this thread.

I think it's financially non-trivial to produce an Atmos album. First of all, given that it comes from Dolby, I would be reasonably certain that there is a high cost to entry with regards to software plugins alone. Add to that the need for a properly equipped studio (no bedroom Atmos studios, for sure! check out videos on Youtube of Blackbird Studios in Nashville(?)) and the cost to produce goes way up. Then add to that the need for experience not only with the tools but in the overall mindset to avoid overly gimmicky mixes. That's why for the foreseeable future I think most Atmos release will be by well-funded-but-artistically-stunted pop groups. But if Apple is throwing money at it, who knows.

With that said, I do know that my brother-in-law has had his hand in producing free plugins for Ambisonics, so maybe the cost of entry will go down on the software side at least.

I think where surround music will come into its own is in experimental electronic music (for sounds zipping all around you in an interesting way) and in reproduction of live events (to properly capture the reverberation of the venue).
 
I have a feeling it's a lot of work. The one I linked to above was recorded with the extra channels in mind.

I think it might depend to some degree on the material. I posted this article before about how Kind Of Blue was done - they play it back in an Atmos equipped studio and capture the room ambience. I think you'd be able to churn through a lot of jazz back catalogue at a fair rate using that method - though it's arguably not the most exciting use of the system.
 
I think it might depend to some degree on the material. I posted this article before about how Kind Of Blue was done - they play it back in an Atmos equipped studio and capture the room ambience. I think you'd be able to churn through a lot of jazz back catalogue at a fair rate using that method - though it's arguably not the most exciting use of the system.

Oh nice so all I have to do to remix my old music in Atmos is to get some extra speakers and play it back in my bedroom studio to capture the ambience. "Hear the music as the original artist intended!"
 
I think it might depend to some degree on the material. I posted this article before about how Kind Of Blue was done - they play it back in an Atmos equipped studio and capture the room ambience. I think you'd be able to churn through a lot of jazz back catalogue at a fair rate using that method - though it's arguably not the most exciting use of the system.

This is really interesting, thank you.
 
Do you not have to use an AV/Atmos capable amp to process the Atmos info?
Most AV amps from the likes of Yamaha, Denon/Marantz etc aren’t brilliant for 2 channel stuff, compared to a similarly priced stereo amp.
Putting it bluntly, I’d guess a £1500 AV amp would only equate ( for pure stereo performance) to a £500 stereo amp due to the cost of all the other stuff an AV amp has to do such as multi-channel amplification, hdmi inputs, etc etc.
Assuming I’m not a million miles out in my opinion, I think I’d rather stick to 2 channel versions, ie the way it was originally mixed, rather than a novelty remix?
 
Roger Waters' live concert of “The Wall” has an Atmos-encoded soundtrack on the BluRay. It's fab…

Yes, you need a suitable processor able to decode the latest surround formats. I use an Arcam AVR-30, in a 7.1.4 Atmos setup using Dirac room correction. I use my Accuphase A-48 amp for the front L & R channels, & some Naim & Avondale amplification for most of the rest. It takes a bit of time to set it all up properly, but for movies & concert films it's superb.
 


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