STEVEN WILSON LOVES CHANGING THE MINDS OF SPATIAL AUDIO SKEPTICS. HE'S THE GO-TO DOLBY ATMOS AND 5.1 MIXMASTER FOR MANY HERITAGE ARTISTS, NEW-WAVE BANDS, AND ALTERNATIVE ACTS. BEST KNOWN FOR LEADING THE POST-PROG COLLECTIVE PORCUPINE TREE, RELEASING A SCORE OF GENRE-STRETCHING SOLO ALBUMS, AND SERVING AS A KEY CREATIVE CONTRIBUTOR TO SUCH EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS AS NO-MAN AND BLACKFIELD, WILSON'S APPROACH IS SIMPLE: BRING THEM INTO HIS STUDIO AND LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING.
"My biggest thrill is sitting the artist down in the magic chair that's in the sweet spot, and then I play them their own music that's now suddenly opened out into spatial, three-dimensional audio-and I just watch their jaws hit the floor. It's the best! It's the best feeling in the world," Wilson acknowledges. "And I've had it happen many times. I've had it with Andy Partridge, Robert, Martin, Roland, and more recently Mat, from Suede." That's King Crimson's Robert Fripp, ABC's Martin Fry, Tears for Fears's Roland Orzabal, and Suede's Mat Osman. Partridge, of course, is from XTC.
Besides handling a litany of other artists' immersive-audio catalog upgrades, Wilson also concocts far-reaching Atmos mixes for his own original material. He recently completed one for his seventh studio solo album, The Harmony Codex (Virgin Music Group), released in September 2023. The Atmos mixing was done on the 7.1.4 system in Wilson's home studio, located just outside London. There, he uses a Logic Pro DAW with Logic native and Universal Audio plug-ins, Dolby Atmos Music Panner bridging, the Dolby Atmos Renderer, and two Universal Audio Apollo interfaces, monitoring his mixes-inprogress on Genelec 8020 speakers.
This story is from the March 2024 edition of Stereophile.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2024 edition of Stereophile.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AURAL ROBERT
Another \"outlaw\" country artist
Nina Simone: Wild Is the Wind
By all accounts, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, aka Nina Simone, who passed in 2003, was a troubled person and a brilliant artist. Why she was not more acclaimed during her lifetime is a question several recent film projects have tried to answer. Did her fierce stand on civil rights lose her fans?
Vintage hi-fi, old and new
Many audiophiles and serious music lovers are passionate about vintage. Vintage has become a popular \"way in\" to the hobby, especially popular among younger folks.
Tekton Moab Be
LOUDSPEAKER
ARCAM Radia A25
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Wharfedale Heritage Series 90th Anniversary Dovedale
LOUDSPEAKER
Technics Grand Class SL-1200/1210GR2
RECORD PLAYER
Thrax Audio Siren
Based in Bulgaria, European audio company Thrax has been active since 2009.
EMM Labs MTRS
STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
SPIN DOCTOR
Alternative phono cartridge technologies and the DS Audio DS-W3 optical cartridge system