Liesl-mae & team on making sound with Apple's Spatial Audio

Working in Spatial Audio definitely creates a different listening experience from what most are used to. What considerations did you make when conceptualising the song, and when performing it vocally?

There are a lot of elements going on in the song that play to the angry emotions the song is trying to evoke. It was important to make sure that each element came together nicely, making sure that it doesn't sound too chaotic or overwhelming for the listener. That meant toying with the volumes of each element and making sure that we could come up with a cohesive sound. Vocally, there was more emphasis on the enunciation of the lyrics, to ensure proper emotional delivery as well.

How do you think Spatial Audio will affect the music industry in the next 5 years?

It will introduce a new way of listening to all individuals who consume music. It may bring listeners closer to their favourite artists through the increased accessibility of intimate listening experiences.

Do you feel that you could ever go back to not mixing with spatial technology now that you’ve experienced it first hand? What do you think Spatial Audio brings to the table?

It would be difficult (hahaha). I'd definitely miss having more varieties of ways to present my music to my listeners. Spatial audio really offers an immersive way for artists to connect to their listeners, bridging the gap between the artist and listener through increased intimacy of the listening experience.

What do you think of the Spatial Audio experience on Air Pods Pro (2nd gen) considering in the end, it is an emulation of an actual multi-speaker system?

It's safe to say I haven't experienced anything like it before! Paired with the noise cancellation features, I really feel like I'm IN the song, as opposed to listening to the song! It's a really cool experience.

In terms of the technical process, describe the differences when producing a new track in Spatial Audio and remastering an existing track, transforming it into Spatial Audio?

Taja A: When producing a brand new track you have the luxury of thinking ahead about how you’re going to place all the elements to create an immersive environment— from vocals to instruments and sound effects like the delay and reverb. This means you can place the sound (or as Dolby calls it an “object”) all around you, like placing drums in front, guitars and piano on the side, string and backing vocals behind you, vocals over your head etc.

When remastering an existing track, however, we try our best to follow the stereo master in a respectful way. It’s not about creating a different mix but trying to enhance the depth, width and clarity, and using spatial audio to expand the stereo field to become more immersive.

What is the best way for the average consumer to take full advantage of all that Spatial Audio has to offer?

Taja A: Spatial audio has paved the way for consumers experiencing a 3D-like sound environment. It’s used in the movie industry mostly to create mood and ambiance, for instance with special effects like the all time favourite helicopter flyover. Consumers like it because of the “wow-effect” and immersion it provides.

From a music producer’s perspective, spatial audio enables us to express music in entirely new ways. In addition to the obvious sonic enhancements, it also offers greater width and depth to a listening experience. There’s also a lot that can be done with spatial audio to enhance the story telling and narrative aspects of a recording.

Nowadays, there are a lot of ways consumers can experience spatial audio at home or on the go. For music, there's services like Apple Music and hardware like AirPods, and there’s also video content on streaming services in Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 that can be enjoyed with the many devices that support Dolby Atmos for your home theatre set up.

While this technology is set to be the future of music, do you feel that until the tech becomes more of an industry standard, that it could potentially hurt the music industry due to not every song having the opportunity to be produced with Spatial Audio? And this might ultimately cause dissatisfaction/disinterest to consumers because some songs don’t sound as “exciting” as the ones produced with Spatial Audio.

Megat: Spatial audio is a new format that allows creators to expand their creativity and produce a 3D sonic environment where individual sounds can be precisely placed so listeners feel like you’re inside the music. Consumers always have the choice to choose the format they prefer — mono and stereo are still relevant formats and will remain for a while however, platforms like Apple Music are now making it easier for consumers to experience Dolby Atmos and this is an evolution. This gives listeners a new listening experience and another way to enjoy music.