Birdsong At Morning "A Slight Departure" and "Signs and Wonders" - new Atmos mixes from Alan Williams

[sjcorne]

Now available at IAA (streaming release to follow in January):
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/pro...ary-edition-birdsong-at-morning-atmos-mkv-mp4
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/now...tmos-birdsong-at-mornings-a-slight-departure/

Sonically, I think this is a massive improvement over the original 2015 5.1 release: there's more headroom, the tonality seems more relaxed (i.e. less loud and bright in the busier passages), and the heavy use of the side & rear surround speakers yields a more encompassing 'bubble' of sound around the listener.

"The Great Escape" (2015 5.1 Mix):

"The Great Escape" (2024 Atmos Mix -> 7.1):

 

[humprof]

Now available at IAA (streaming release to follow in January):
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/pro...ary-edition-birdsong-at-morning-atmos-mkv-mp4
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/now...tmos-birdsong-at-mornings-a-slight-departure/

Sonically, I think this is a massive improvement over the original 2015 5.1 release: there's more headroom, the tonality seems more relaxed (i.e. less loud and bright in the busier passages), and the heavy use of the side & rear surround speakers yields a more encompassing 'bubble' of sound around the listener.

"The Great Escape" (2015 5.1 Mix):
View attachment 111630

"The Great Escape" (2024 Atmos Mix -> 7.1):
View attachment 111631

Great news. And Alan's newsletter this morning implied that an Atmos mix of Signs and Wonders (which I find a stronger album overall) is shortly forthcoming, too!

 

[sjcorne]

Great news. And Alan's newsletter this morning implied that an Atmos mix of Signs and Wonders (which I find a stronger album overall) is shortly forthcoming, too!

Yep, it should be live next week (the launch was delayed so I could add in the music videos from the Blu-Ray).

 

[GOS]

Hey Jonathan, I don't want to be a dope about this, and I'm embarrassed to say I've never purchased anything (yet) from IAA, though I totally follow what you're doing. Am I understanding correctly that the form of payment is Credit/debit only, right?

 

[sjcorne]

Am I understanding correctly that the form of payment is Credit/debit only, right?

Yes, that's correct.

 

[GOS]

Yes, that's correct.

Got it! My first purchase in under my belt. And, it's A Slight Departure, with insturmentals. One of my all-time favorite albums.

 

[GOS]

Got it all downloaded, worked flawlessly. A very professional experience. OK, so I am extremely familiar with the 5.1 version from years ago. It sounds great, but does have some loudness issues in many passages.

I have only listened to a couple minutes of some key songs that I love. Oh hell. This is a MASSIVE upgrade to the 5.1 disc I have. Some of the acoustic guitar strumming that happens alongside louder moments sounds simply amazing. The clarity this brings, space, fidelity is just wonderful. 5 minutes into this and I'm loving it.

I've always felt this particular album (A Slight Departure) is a monster album, just no contest (for me) compared to Signs & Wonders.

 

[GOS]

Hey Jonathan, we can take this to PM if needed. I use various media players, as titles seem to behave differently in their ability to play in order across media players. Ugh.

The mkv version of these individual songs do not play in order for me. Either VLC or media player classic. Each time I load up the songs, it plays in a different order. I just don't know why they can't play in order. Any ideas?

 

[sjcorne]

Oh hell. This is a MASSIVE upgrade to the 5.1 disc I have. Some of the acoustic guitar strumming that happens alongside louder moments sounds simply amazing. The clarity this brings, space, fidelity is just wonderful. 5 minutes into this and I'm loving it.

Alan will be very pleased to hear this

It's funny because I think he was nervous about these and the Annals 5.1/Atmos mixes not going out to a mastering house (all his stuff that came out on Blu-Ray was done through Gateway, I think?), but they sound so good delivered 'flat' like this. The Signs and Wonders Atmos is perhaps even more revelatory - the dynamic slam when the drums kick in at the end of the "The Logical Song" is astounding.

The mkv version of these individual songs do not play in order for me. Either VLC or media player classic. Each time I load up the songs, it plays in a different order. I just don't know why they can't play in order. Any ideas?

That's odd - I just loaded them into my VLC and it seems to be interpreting the tags correctly?

 

[GOS]

Alan will be very pleased to hear this

It's funny because I think he was nervous about these and the Annals 5.1/Atmos mixes not going out to a mastering house (all his stuff that came out on Blu-Ray was done through Gateway, I think?), but they sound so good delivered 'flat' like this. The Signs and Wonders Atmos is perhaps even more revelatory - the dynamic slam when the drums kick in at the end of the "The Logical Song" is astounding.

That's odd - I just loaded them into my VLC and it seems to be interpreting the tags correctly?

View attachment 111675

I think I figured out the play order. It's a very odd thing. So, I have to high-light all the songs, then I have to literally hover my mouse over song 1, then right click then hit play and it goes in order. If the mouse is hovered over any other song than 1 (even though they are all high-lighted) it will start with the song that I hovered over. It seems odd to me, and I'd think many people would not know this little oddity. But seems to be the case.

You know what I mean. It's not like loading a single mkv file (with all songs in a single mkv file) where it knows to start at 1 and progress through.

 

[GOS]

You most likely convinced me to also purchase Signs & Wonders, though from a musical standpoint, S&W just never quite clicked with me like Departure. That's just a personal preference and easily not the same with other fans.

 

[GOS]

I'll be honest, Departure grabbed me right out of the gate when I heard Devil's Stomping Ground. I mean, it has an acoustic base yet sounded so menacing to me. Not sure if that was the intent, but WOW, it grabbed me by the throat, and I've been a fan ever since.

 

[humprof]

You most likely convinced me to also purchase Signs & Wonders, though from a musical standpoint, S&W just never quite clicked with me like Departure. That's just a personal preference and easily not the same with other fans.

I'll reconsider A Slight Departure if you reconsider Signs & Wonders. But let's buy 'em both!

 

[GOS]

I'll reconsider A Slight Departure if you reconsider Signs & Wonders. But let's buy 'em both!

Deal! I own both physical multi-channel versions. I'm sure tomorrow am I'll wake up and buy the IAA Atmos of S&W.

 

[sjcorne]

I started with Evidence Unearthed (the opening track "Tell All The World" hooked me), then went back and discovered the Birdsong stuff. It's all great!

 

[bgf1973]

Great album! I am interested in The Atmos mix but I don’t know why mkv Atmos files in my OPPO 203 and Marantz AV 6013 only sounds in 7.1

 

[sjcorne]

...and here's the Atmos for Signs and Wonders: https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/pro...ve-edition-birdsong-at-morning-atmos-mkv-mp4/

It was nice to take advantage of MKV's video capabilities for once, since all the songs have music videos

 

[Juggsnelson]

Any chances of these new mixes getting a physical release?

 

[dodec]

The Atmos mkv version of A Slight Departure seems to be missing the last track Lead Me On. It’s only included in the instrumental version of the album.

 

[sjcorne]

The Atmos mkv version of A Slight Departure seems to be missing the last track Lead Me On. It’s only included in the instrumental version of the album.

This should now be fixed.