Zane Lowe has hosted a sit-down with music innovators No I.D. (Producer & Atmos Ambassador), Sylvia Massy (Producer, Mixer, Engineer), and Manny Marroquin (Producer) to discuss Spatial Audio launching on Apple Music today and the future of sound. In this special roundtable conversation, they discuss the evolution and future of sound for music fans. Listen to the full interview on Apple Music.
Read more about Spatial Audio HERE.
“The idea of spatial audio is exciting because typically when we listen to stereo we have to be in one spot. And we use the visual cues to hear; more than you can even imagine so the idea of the spatial is to take them right out of the room. You can close your eyes, and as we sit here in this room, I can hear the reflection on the back wall … I can hear over in that corner; I can hear the space that we’re in. So the listening experience to the audience is really enhanced. Because suddenly you take those two speakers out of the equation and the entire room becomes the experience.” – Sylvia Massy
“Imagine the conductor. He’s got the sweetest spot in the room. He gets that energy from the orchestra. But then he also hears the acoustic room in the back. So to me that’s a good way to explain what’s happening right now.” – Manny Marroquin
“I think we can all agree this is a sonic revolution. Not since Mono in the 30s have we gotten a revolution quite like this.” – Manny Marroquin
“For the first time ever, the consumer will be able to get to listen to what we’ve been talking about and trying to achieve and for me it’s simple; ‘Am I listening to the music with the stereo speakers or am I in the music’.” – Manny Marroquin
“Now we have the power to take you inside of it. That, to me, is a sonic revolution.” – Manny Marroquin
“Can you imagine now as creators? That’s where it gets really, really exciting” – Manny Marroquin
“The best way I can describe it in video is going back to the rabbit ears – the antennas – and then fast-forward to 4K. There’s still the image but it’s very defined and you’re in it. I remember when it went to HD and you’re like, ‘Wow, I can see everything!’ And that video revolution happened so quickly. Well that’s about to happen in audio.” – Manny Marroquin
“It just opens up new doors. You can sing a note, and then have three people sing harmony and then, ‘Oh my god – there’s a choir!’ Now the choir is in three parts harmony. Well what if the choir was, ‘here, here, here … here’. What new feelings can I now generate for people that haven’t been felt’.” – No I.D
“Innovative artist are always looking to push the envelope. And I think this is going to be the perfect segue to what that is. You now have all of these tools; all of these new tools, new spaces. With stereo, you’re just trying to make the best out of it and we have evolved into making really good records with two speakers. The exciting part now is that we don’t have those limitations anymore.” – Manny Marroquin
“You can watch a movie at home; and that’s OK. Or you can go to the theater. And that’s just a different experience. The creators role is to use technology to create new experiences. So it’s not an either or. It’s about expanding that functionality. We just happen to be at a point at time where we have everything our hands.” No I.D
“When you give it more canvas, you can now create different opportunities for experiences. When you go to mix a record and you have to cram all this stuff and then you slice and dice as a way to make space. What if you don’t have to take it away? What if you can just move it. Now it just breathes differently. It feels different.” No I.D
“Our limitations are, ‘How do you carve? How to you shape to fit it into this box?’ but now we don’t have that limitation. Can you imagine that as a creator? Now you don’t have to think about that carving; it is the truest form because you have so much space.” – Manny Marroquin
“I remember the first Atmos mix that I made my reference was to go back to Stereo. I was toggling back and forth, just to stay true to the stereo version and remember feeling like I was in it; which even [in] all these years, I never felt that before. And for us to get excited about something like that, I mean … the lightbulb. This is about to change forever. Not just for creators but for the consumer. It’s a different experience.” – Manny Marroquin
“The revolution is here. It’s arrived. Personally, any stereo mix that I do from here on out will also have an Atmos version. Because I really believe this is the way the music should be. Should have always been.” – Sylvia Massy
“This is the role of great tech; it’s to stretch our abilities. When we go into create, we don’t want to be told, ’No’.” – No I.D
“With stereo there’s just so many limitations. People don’t even know what is possible [now].” – No I.D
“If you think about it, every technology has moved forward except sound. We’re at an MP3 which is probably the worst quality we’ve heard. For the first time in a long time, now we can actually move forward. We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.” – Manny Marroquin
“We’re not here to preach what it is. You’ve just got to hear it.” – Manny Marroquin
“When you hear it, you’re going to be hooked and you’re going to want more of that.” – Manny Marroquin
“That’s why we keep calling this a sonic revolution because we have not seen this in our lifetime.” – Manny Marroquin
“We always talk about stereo and the limitations of stereo, as a creator, now I can imagine some of those artists that I work with … if they had all those colors at their disposal, it’s [been] monochromatic and now you have every color in the palette.” – Manny Marroquin
“For the last 90 years, creators have been performing with two speakers. Now to be able to create this in Dolby Atmos, it’s going to open up endless possibilities for creators.” – Manny Marroquin
“I remember the first time I went to Italy, I went to the Vatican, and I saw the Sistine Chapel and I go, ‘What did he think when he had that much space.’ He couldn’t just paint a person. It was a whole new thought process. That’s why it’s so important that all of our creative minds process what is possible with Dolby Atmos and spatial sound and all the different processes so we can begin to rethink the product.” – No I.D
