Page 24 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision

THE ATMOS surprise, really, given how Wilson had already

taken broad strides in the way he mixed not only
his own January 2021 solo album The Future Bites
in Atmos (see “Steven Wilson Is a Hi-Res Man
BRANCH of the People,” April/May 2021, for more on how
that mix came to pass), but how he tackled Tears
for Fears’ February 2022 comeback album The
Tipping Point. Wilson feels the Tipping Point song
“Rivers of Mercy” is “a future classic,” but based
on what elements of that song appear in the
PORCUPINE TREE MUSIC and Dolby height channel in Atmos—such as the myriad
Porcupine Tree returns after a Atmos are nothing short of a mixing match of voices singing the title phrase—and how
made in heaven. To be more specific, the well they reflect the track’s inherent emotional
decade-long hiatus to deliver a post-progressive British collective and the complexity, I happen to think the future is now.
career benchmark, Closure/ burgeoning immersive surround format are a Not only that but, believe it or not, Wilson
Continuation. All three bandmem- match made in the height and side channels. also did an Atmos mix for Kiss and their March
bers give us the scoop on how it all Listening to Closure / Continuation (Music For 1976 blockbuster Destroyer, for inclusion in that
took root, and Steven Wilson takes Nations/Sony Music), Porcupine Tree’s first album’s 45th Anniversary 4CD/1BD Super Deluxe
1
album of all-new music in over 12 / 2 years by box set released in late 2021. “You’d never have
us inside the making of the album’s
way of its unabashedly mind-boggling Atmos expected me to do that one,” Wilson concedes.
truly stunning Dolby Atmos mix. mix—a mix courtesy of Steven Wilson, the “Honestly, it’s not a band I ever would’ve thought
band’s leading force and the unchallenged to do in surround or Atmos myself, but their
BY MIKE METTLER
king of 360-degree music-making and management came to me. And it sounds great!
music-mixing—one can’t help but marvel It’s fun. It’s a fun record.” I totally agree. Destroyer
at how this still-growing format now has an is a fun record, and you haven’t lived until you’ve
official milestone mix showcasing everything it can be, and more. heard “Detroit Rock City,” “God of Thunder,” and,
“Everyone is doing Atmos now, but we’re all still learning about it at the moment,” allows Wilson. yes, even “Beth” in Atmos.
“What works? What doesn’t work? Everyone has an opinion about what Atmos should be, but Given the breadth of Wilson’s handiwork and
obviously—and you know this, from talking to me about it many times before—I like to be quite other adventurous Atmos mixes readily available
aggressive with my use of the surround field. That was always the case in 5.1, and it’s only been in a number of historical box sets and select new
magnified now that I’m working with 7.1.4 in my studio. There are a lot of things to consider about releases over the past few years, as well as the
trying to keep a mix cohesive, whilst also making it an incredibly three-dimensional experience for ever-growing availability of Atmos choices on
the listeners.” streaming services like Apple Music, Amazon
With that statement, Wilson has succinctly described exactly what he’s realized in Atmos for Music, and Tidal, what you’ll hear when you cue Photo: Alex Lake
all 48 minutes of the seven songs that comprise the aforementioned Closure / Continuation (or up Closure / Continuation is only the beginning of
C/C, for short). This quantum aural leap beyond the outer limits of the Atmos stratosphere is no where Atmos mixes can, and will, go.

[
[
24 August September 2022 soundandvision.com