Giles Martin Says Beatles On Apple Spatial Audio Not Right
Giles Martin has told Rolling Stone in an interview about working in Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos that the version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that’s on Apple Music right now… “I’m gonna replace it. It’s good. But it’s not right”.
In an extended interview with Rolling Stone, Giles Martin explained more…
“Sgt. Pepper’s, how it’s being presented right now, I’m actually going to change it. It doesn’t sound quite right to me. It’s out in Apple Music right now. But I’m gonna replace it. It’s good. But it’s not right.”
Giles Martin went on to share that Sgt. Pepper’s was probably the first album he ever mixed in Dolby Atmos back in 2017...
“We did that as a theatrical presentation. I liked the idea of the Beatles being the first to do something. It’s cool that they can still be the first to do something.”
But when it came to releasing it on Apple Music he wasn’t happy about how it sounds…
“Sgt. Pepper’s is a theatrical mix that’s then being converted into a smaller medium. Therefore, it’s not quite right. I’m gonna go back to the theatrical mix and and make it into what’s called near-field Dolby Atmos, as opposed to the cinema Dolby Atmos.”
When asked what changes he plans to make', Giles said…
“It’s a bit bright. It’s a bit digital. It seems to lack a bit of bass and a little bit of weight behind it. But again, I’m gonna replace it, so that’s cool.”
Giles was also asked about his views on listening to Dolby Atmos mixes on headphones.
“I would say that two years ago, it was unlistenable. And now it’s a good experience. The exciting thing is that it’ll only get better. I think we’re right at the beginning of this. You can hear the difference with spatial audio. It may not always be better, but there’s a difference. I think we’re learning the tools to provide that difference for people.”
But Giles is under no misapprehension that mixing Dolby Atmos for headphones is easy…
“Spatial audio in headphones is hugely variable, depending on the size of your head, the way your neck is on your shoulders. Where we perceive sound coming from varies with our physical bone structure.”
He believes this is an area where technology will help improve things and reduce the variability…
“I think what will happen, what is happening, is that there will be a lot of facial recognition, instant body measurements, pressure testing with headphones. That technology will improve. It will become more personalized for you as a headphone experience.”
He is also working with Sonos…
“I’m head of sound experience for Sonos. So I’m involved in the listen-out-loud experience. There’s a huge push from Sonos and other companies to try to create immersive sound fields from single boxes or multiple boxes, and Dolby is doing this as well.”
When asked to explain what’s happening on a technical level when listening to Dolby Atmos mixes on headphones, Giles replied…
“It’s so complicated. Essentially, if you think about it, we’re listening to just a stereo signal. But our brains think we’re not.The best way to think about it is they are trying to work out how we process directional sound, through phase, EQ, through different time alignments, that trick our brain.”
Read The Full Interview
There is much more in the interview in which Giles shares his thoughts and experiences on mixing music in Dolby Atmos in the full interview on Rolling Stone.