Dave Kerzner -The Traveler (DTS 5.1 Bluray) included in Surround

[peterzach]

This is not cheap to be able to get the surround but it is included in the following options(125,250,500).
You can see the info here:



I really like Dave Kerzner's music.
His first solo album (New World-Deluxe) is fantastic as it has all the epic prog element's thrown into this release. I like this album just as much as some of my prog fav's(Genesis-Foxtrot,Pink Floyd-DSOTM,Yes-Fragile,etc).
You can check out his music at bandcamp.

I know Dave is super keen on getting his music out in surround and I believe this is his first studio album that he is releasing in surround as well. Dave has done some live stuff in surround and I think he does want to go back and redo some of his older stuff in surround.

Pretty impressive list of musicians on this latest album.

"For the first time Kerzner has combined collaboration his band mates from four different bands/projects: In Continuum, Sound of Contact, Mantra Vega and Arc of Life! Featuring an all All Star cast of Prog musicians including Fernando Perdomo, Durga McBroom, Nick D'Virgilio, Marco Minnemann, Randy McStine, Matt Dorsey, Francis Dunnery, Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, Alex Cromarty, Stuart Fletcher, Ruti Celli, Joe Deninzon and more!"

 

[GOS]

Well Damn, you weren't kidding about pricy. So, only way to get the 5.1, is for US $250? I think? Ughhhhhhh. Love the music.

 

[GOS]

Oops, I now see there is a US $125 version, that also includes the DTS 5.1. Still....hmmm.

 

[peterzach]

Well Damn, you weren't kidding about pricy. So, only way to get the 5.1, is for US $250? I think? Ughhhhhhh. Love the music.

I have sent Dave K. a question about it. I know he is super busy as he is involved in so many musical project's and he does his own mixing and authoring of cd's,dvd/bluray as well I believe. He must not sleep much as not sure how he fit's everything in time wise and respond's to people at different websites as well. I hope he has time to drop by and chime in. I think $125 is the cheapest for physical copy from what I can see.

 

[peterzach]

If you want to read more about this album and see an interview link with Dave K. from here:

https://www.progressiveears.org/forum/showthread.php/29100-Dave-Kerzner-The-Traveler

 

[4-earredwonder]

Oops, I now see there is a US $125 version, that also includes the DTS 5.1. Still....hmmm.

Gene, it's a BD~A 5.1 in 96/24 resolution. Very tempting indeed. Love the music, as well!

 

[DuncanS]

I really like Sound Of Contact, had a listen and this is excellent. Ordered the $125 CD/BDA, comes to $167 when P&P & UK tax added.

 

[Dave Kerzner]

Hi it's Dave K here. Yes currently that's the only way to get the 5.1 but it's a special version that is hi res 24/96k. I'm also working on eventually releasing a single Blu-Ray that has a Dolby Atmos mix that can be scalable to 5.1 or 7.1 but if you like 5.1 hi res then the lowest is the box set. The other discs are nice and there's some fun extras in there as well. Perhaps the best justification for paying a bit more is the fact that an Indy artist such as myself doesn't sell thousands of surround Blu-Rays (like Pink Floyd would or other big artists). So, it helps fund such projects which personally I love to do even just for the art of it existing. I plan to mix all of my albums or at least most of them in surround. This will be the first studio album of mine in surround and one cool thing about it is that it's really almost like two albums in one because both the standard album AND the second disc's 50 minute multi-part "The Dream Realm" are on the Blu-Ray.

 

[Glentheed]

Hi it's Dave K here. Yes currently that's the only way to get the 5.1 but it's a special version that is hi res 24/96k. I'm also working on eventually releasing a single Blu-Ray that has a Dolby Atmos mix that can be scalable to 5.1 or 7.1 but if you like 5.1 hi res then the lowest is the box set. The other discs are nice and there's some fun extras in there as well. Perhaps the best justification for paying a bit more is the fact that an Indy artist such as myself doesn't sell thousands of surround Blu-Rays (like Pink Floyd would or other big artists). So, it helps fund such projects which personally I love to do even just for the art of it existing. I plan to mix all of my albums or at least most of them in surround. This will be the first studio album of mine in surround and one cool thing about it is that it's really almost like two albums in one because both the standard album AND the second disc's 50 minute multi-part "The Dream Realm" are on the Blu-Ray.

Sounds like Dave and Paul Sinclair should get together and do a SDE release.

 

[Dave Kerzner]

I've been getting some DMs and direct messages/emails about this subject but I really don't mind (and even prefer) talking publicly about it so others can get the answer as well. I've been asked if I'm going to mix my albums "New World" and others in Dolby Atmos. The answer is yes to that. I am planning to do that and I do have an Atmos system in my studio. Then, the questions have been: does it cost a lot to do? The answer to that is YES it costs a lot to even purchase and install a good 7.1.4 system in the studio. But, if you're both the artist and producer/engineer as I am it doesn't really cost that much to do except mainly in time. One of the things I didn't do but should have is "print" all the audio tracks either during or after all the mix sessions were done. I always print when I'm using analog gear but I don't always print if I'm using plug-ins and I think that's unwise to do because... if you want to open the ProTools session 5-10 years later those older plug-ins probably won't work!!!! Soooooo... you can either remix/re-process (not a bad idea in some cases) or keep all your older computers with older versions and re-open the session and print like you should have done in the first place! haha. Well... when I have time to revisit New World with an Atmos mix I know it's going to be a lot of that as I did that album in 2013/2014. Fortunately I do save my old computers but what a hassle. If I had just printed everything to audio waves it'd have been so much easier. BUT I think I'll use this as an excuse to swap out some plug-ins for the real thing in analog as I have quite a variety of choice pieces I could run things through... the key challenge being not to over-do it. I'm sensitive to that though. Not everyone is.

 

[Glentheed]

I've been getting some DMs and direct messages/emails about this subject but I really don't mind (and even prefer) talking publicly about it so others can get the answer as well. I've been asked if I'm going to mix my albums "New World" and others in Dolby Atmos. The answer is yes to that. I am planning to do that and I do have an Atmos system in my studio. Then, the questions have been: does it cost a lot to do? The answer to that is YES it costs a lot to even purchase and install a good 7.1.4 system in the studio. But, if you're both the artist and producer/engineer as I am it doesn't really cost that much to do except mainly in time. One of the things I didn't do but should have is "print" all the audio tracks either during or after all the mix sessions were done. I always print when I'm using analog gear but I don't always print if I'm using plug-ins and I think that's unwise to do because... if you want to open the ProTools session 5-10 years later those older plug-ins probably won't work!!!! Soooooo... you can either remix/re-process (not a bad idea in some cases) or keep all your older computers with older versions and re-open the session and print like you should have done in the first place! haha. Well... when I have time to revisit New World with an Atmos mix I know it's going to be a lot of that as I did that album in 2013/2014. Fortunately I do save my old computers but what a hassle. If I had just printed everything to audio waves it'd have been so much easier. BUT I think I'll use this as an excuse to swap out some plug-ins for the real thing in analog as I have quite a variety of choice pieces I could run things through... the key challenge being not to over-do it. I'm sensitive to that though. Not everyone is.

I love New World. Got the cd and the live blu-ray and would happily buy an Atmos version too.

 

[Dave Kerzner]

I love New World. Got the cd and the live blu-ray and would happily buy an Atmos version too.

That's good to know! Thank you!

My music tends to be very atmospheric and rich with either sound effects or lush/dense arrangements featuring keyboards and/or real orchestral instruments like strings. That style of production lends itself well to a 5.1 or Atmos mix. I'm experimenting with a philosophy on how to do it. For me, the goal is to make it a spacial 3D type experience without being too gimmicky or distracting. This is a challenge! Gotta be careful in my opinion. Positioning has to be well thought out as to why its there... especially with the heights because aside from ceiling reflections and jets passing by (which I do have on occasion! haha) there aren't really many things that happen up there in reality... yet surround formats can allow one to break reality and put things where they normally wouldn't be such as if the listener was standing in the middle of the band or even listening from the drummer's perspective on the drum panning (which for some reason I prefer as a listener).

Anyway, my general philosophy is to use the sides as a second expanded left and right and a way to separate things that were competing in the left and right stereo field. It can also be used as a sort of panoramic wide left and right in general. The heights I may experiment with putting some vocal harmonies and ethereal or high frequency content up there in addition to the ceiling reflections of a hall or other Atmos friendly reverberation. I have this plug-ing from "Cinematic Rooms" I'll experiment with. The rears in an Atmos system are an interesting question of whether you'd do things differently there vs. a 5.1. Yes and no as some things you'd put there would be better in the sides.

You know, I was thinking about doing a fun experiment you guys might like. I could take a song like "Stranded Parts 1-5" and do a variety of surround mixes of it and let people have them for cheap or free to give their opinions of what they like about each mix the best. Some mixes will be daring and some would be safe. That's a good song to do this experiment with because unlike most of my songs that I mix, this one was mixed by Tom Lord-Alge and he DID print all of the stems. But, it's also a song that has a lot going on in it. I'll let you know!

 

[SHB]

I love New World too! I love me some Sound of Contact in 5.1 too!

 

[Dave Kerzner]

I love New World too! I love me some Sound of Contact in 5.1 too!

I was all set to mix Dimensionaut in 5.1 for the 10th anniversary of the album but let's just say that something unfortunate and annoying got in the way of that and I've pretty much given up on the idea... even if I'll eventually do a 5.1 and Atmos mix of it just for myself and for fun. That said, I wrote a majority of the music and lyrics on that album so I do plan to cover the songs that are closest to me. Here's a sample of one of them that I just posted last night.

 

[peterzach]

That's good to know! Thank you!

My music tends to be very atmospheric and rich with either sound effects or lush/dense arrangements featuring keyboards and/or real orchestral instruments like strings. That style of production lends itself well to a 5.1 or Atmos mix.

You know, I was thinking about doing a fun experiment you guys might like. I could take a song like "Stranded Parts 1-5" and do a variety of surround mixes of it and let people have them for cheap or free to give their opinions of what they like about each mix the best. Some mixes will be daring and some would be safe. That's a good song to do this experiment with because unlike most of my songs that I mix, this one was mixed by Tom Lord-Alge and he DID print all of the stems. But, it's also a song that has a lot going on in it. I'll let you know!

Dave, thanks for letting us know what you are working on for 5.1 and Atmos.
If you guys/gals from QQ land haven't listened to Dave's musical output your ear's will thank you by checking out his music. If you like band's like Genesis,Yes,Pink Floyd at least for me Dave's music lands very nicely in with those type of band's. His music and Porcupine Tree(Steven Wilson solo),Pineapple Thief,Riverside,Neal Morse Band are my favorite band's in past 10 year's besides the classic band's that are still doing music.

I don't have an Atmos setup but do enjoy my 5.1 setup for music and 7.1 for movies.

"Stranded Part's 1-5", YES PLEASE, would love to check that out and would purchase the "New World" album in a heart beat in surround as long as fund's are available.

peter

 

[DuncanS]

I was all set to mix Dimensionaut in 5.1 for the 10th anniversary of the album but let's just say that something unfortunate and annoying got in the way of that and I've pretty much given up on the idea... even if I'll eventually do a 5.1 and Atmos mix of it just for myself and for fun. That said, I wrote a majority of the music and lyrics on that album so I do plan to cover the songs that are closest to me. Here's a sample of one of them that I just posted last night.

Thats a shame you can't mix the album. Please do do the 'cover' versions in surround, the songs are good, so to a large degree that is what really matters, the 'performance' assists a good song.

 

[Dave Kerzner]

Thats a shame you can't mix the album. Please do do the 'cover' versions in surround, the songs are good, so to a large degree that is what really matters, the 'performance' assists a good song.

I can mix it I just can't release it because I don't own the masters and they're licensed to a label. Fortunately, I own the masters and control the release of pretty much everything else I've produced so I can dig deep into surround mixing. The studio SOC songs I've covered could end up on a surround anthology I may release. In fact, besides The Traveler, that could be the next one in Atmos that I do. A little smattering of songs from my solo albums, In Continuum and SOC. I put together a 10-disc CD collection on my bandcamp page called "Corners of the Mind" so it'll probably be a Blu-Ray of the same title just cherry picking tunes from each album to be presented for the first time in immersive audio formats.

 

[cbmmm3]

I can mix it I just can't release it because I don't own the masters and they're licensed to a label. Fortunately, I own the masters and control the release of pretty much everything else I've produced so I can dig deep into surround mixing. The studio SOC songs I've covered could end up on a surround anthology I may release. In fact, besides The Traveler, that could be the next one in Atmos that I do. A little smattering of songs from my solo albums, In Continuum and SOC. I put together a 10-disc CD collection on my bandcamp page called "Corners of the Mind" so it'll probably be a Blu-Ray of the same title just cherry picking tunes from each album to be presented for the first time in immersive audio formats.

Hi Dave
Breakdown

a gem of a compilation. Go for the home run and re-issue this in 5.1.
what say ?

 

[Dave Kerzner]

Hi Dave
Breakdown

a gem of a compilation. Go for the home run and re-issue this in 5.1.
what say ?

I was asked by a label to create that title because they didn't carry some of the earlier stuff I did. I would do that in surround except it has a fair amount of live content and I already mix that in surround on the live Blu-Rays. So, instead, I was thinking about creating a similar type of compilation/anthology that's all studio tracks and picked even specifically for it being particularly well suited for an Atmos mix (ie. lots going on to spread around the speakers or lots of atmosphere or something else).

 

[Dave Kerzner]

Hey I have a question for you guys. What are you thoughts on having a 7.1 source playback on a 5.1 system vs. having a 5.1 source to playback on a 5.1 system? I'm currently mixing my latest album "The Traveler Special Edition" in surround and while I was going to do just straight 5.1 in 24bit 96k with DTS HD Master Audio, I might be able to fit 7.1 onto the Blu-Ray. So, it would be compatible with both 5.1 and 7.1 systems. Obviously it'll be great on a 7.1 system but do you think there would be any compromise playing it back on a 5.1 system? I might try it out myself and play it back on my system to see (best way to know) but if you have an opinion or any experience playing back 7.1 music sources on a 5.1 system (I say music because a film would be mixed differently).

The main issue I see is what the receiver will do vs. what I'd want to put in the sides. My idea for using the sides of the 7.1 is to create a panoramic wider stereo (or almost a second stereo to make the main stereo each have more clarity... say if keyboards were in the sides and guitars in the LR fronts). But, most receivers would just combine the sides with the rears for a 7.1 to 5.1 conversion and if that was the case then the approach should be more to do with things that would go in the back and separating them... which isn't as important and powerful as separating the front content but can still be useful, especially if you wanted to bring out anything from the rears vs. ambience (such as backing vocals or some ethereal keys).

Do you know what I mean? Basically, the sides (and height in the case of Atmos but I'm not doing Atmos yet) are a way to bring out clarity of parts in the mix by taking them out of the front L and R or even taking them out of the rear L and R and giving them a discrete focused source (as opposed to a position of panning between the 5.1 speakers). I like 7.1 a lot... but most people I know have 5.1 systems (and some have 7.1.4 Atmos systems)... and yet most people in general don't have either (maybe have a soundbar or Airpod Pros etc.). My main goal is for it to sound great in people's 5.1 and 7.1+ systems. Thoughts?