Exploring Dolby Atmos: Past, Present, and Future

The recent push for Dolby Atmos to become an industry standard in spatialised audio has been super-charged by the implementation of Dolby Atmos into the Apple ecosystem. Atmos integration into both the iTunes platform and the Logic DAW signifies an inescapable paradigm shift that partners with manufacturers and content providers. This panel functions as a critical discussion of how Atmos operates as a creative tool that recognises past, present, and future musical creation. The panel members consist of songwriter and artist Bruce Woolley (Video Killed the Radio Star, Slave to the Rhythm), Andy Visser (artist, record producer, PhD researcher, and senior lecturer at the University of West London), Dr Dan Pratt (record producer and course leader at the University of West London), and Dr Andrew Bourbon (mix engineer and subject area leader in Music Technology and Games, Huddersfield). The panel will premiere the first Atmos mix of a Radio Science Orchestra (RSO) track Robots on Mars, written by Andy Visser and Bruce Woolley. This performance will be contrasted with the stereo mix of the track, and it will serve as a springboard for the creative discussions that arise as we take this recording, mixing, and writing team forward in developing a more holistic approach to writing, recording, and mixing primarily for the Atmos platform.