Listening to in Dolby Atmos Streaming, via Tidal/Apple/Amazon

[fredblue]

sticking with a Dance-y vibe

4 from Galantis from 2016, 2019 and 2021 and a cool 2021 track from Detroit House Artist Marc Kinchen (MK)

 

[fredblue]

a variety of Dance & Rock collabs with Dutch DJ Star Martin Garrix including Bono & The Edge & AREA21

 

[fredblue]

Urban Afro Dance-y Beats from Anni3 including 2 different versions of "Jekasoro"; one with no Heights and the other with Dance Duo Seeb (and plenty Heights! )

 

[fredblue]

Canada-based UK & German Dance Duo M-22's very Atmos-sy single from 2021 "Need You There"

Meduza & Goodboys 2019 Dance single "Piece Of Your Heart"

Topic & A7S collab on this suitably space-y Dance-y 2024 single with a World Music flavour, "Out Of My Head"

Topic & Oliver Cronin Club Banger "1,2,3" from 2023

 

[fredblue]

next up is a selection of quite different tracks that while they all make solid enough use of Surround in a more conventional 5.1 sense, i thought they each quite well illustrated how different engineers use the Heights and how the bandwidth limited streaming quality affects that as well in some instances.

Country singer Morgan Wallen's new single "Love Somebody" has what i feel is a very good mix, with well balanced use of Atmos; synths, percussion, vocal reinforcement, slide guitar and accents are all emanating from up above and at the track's crescendo the Heights are mixed with greater fullness which is cool.

JORDY's new single has little going on in the Heights, some percussion/shaker at one point and rather tinny vocal refrains. it is hard to know if the vocals are intentionally pinched or as a result of digital compression (due to the limitations of streaming Atmos, not DRC) but either way it's kinda underwhelming use of the technology.

John Duff's "Be Your Girl" just has muted reverb of the entire mix in the Heights (to my mind rather pointless use of Atmos but the track's Surround-y enough otherwise )

The Scarlet Opera 2024 single "Someone's Gotta Love 'Em" makes good use of the Heights with effects, rhythm guitar, vocals, piano, keys and the usage of Atmos and Surround suits the layered nature of the track itself

and Mary J Blige's new track "Breathing" from her forthcoming album "Gratitude" only uses the Heights very sparingly on a couple of occasions for some Harp-plucking! glistening? kinda.. but a glistening use of Atmos' opportunities to me it is not!

 

[fredblue]

4 Singles from 2021-2022 from Arizona Singer-Songwriter Alec Benjamin

 

[fredblue]

2 new singles from UK Pop/R&B writer/performer Jay Sean

a beautiful set of mixes from Canadian R&B/Soul Artist Rhyan Douglas including their 2024 EP "Circles" and their new single "Hillside" featuring Savannah Ré

 

[fredblue]

Swedish Popstar singer/songwriter Sophie Zelmani's achingly gorgeous EP of 3 new songs with appropriately yummy Atmos mixes

(p.s. don't fret, it's all in English, despite the title of the Single! )

 

[fredblue]

here's a bunch more beauties been filling up me lugholes with delicious Atmos goodness

2 x 2024 singles from UK Singer/Songwriter Tim Gallagher

2 x new singles from Californian singer/songwriter Olivia O'Brien "All The Time" & "lower"

and 5 tracks from London DJ & Producer Juls' upcoming album "Peace and Love"

 

[fredblue]

new track from the forthcoming solo album by Years&Years singer Olly Alexander with fab Atmos mix (his other new song "Dizzy" from the same upcoming LP that i posted up at QQ recently also has a great mix worth checking out )

new single by African Singer/Songwriter/Producer KiDi

new Afrobeats single by Nigerian Artist Lojay

June 2024 R&B/Soul single by L.A.-based Saudi Arabian singer Tamtam

 

[fredblue]

..and to finish off for today (don't worry i'll
be back here at the weekend with another load of Atmos goodies! ) the next 2 posts will feature a selection of Dance/House Music tracks by Rodriguez Jr., who i'm sure will be familiar to many of you here for their brilliant Atmos Pure Audio Blu-ray release of their 2023 album "Feathers & Bones" which has an excellent active mix.

anyway, to start with here's some new Rodriguez Jr. singles from 2024 and 2 x tracks from 2020 which all also make great use of Atmos

 

[fredblue]

here's a nifty Afro-House Rodriguez Jr. collaboration with Darque & Thandi Draai

..and a Rodriguez Jr. single with Berlin Singer-Songwriter Bandleader Jan Blomqvist, who also has an Electronica EP of their own in Atmos which includes the collab track with Rodriguez Jr. if you wish to compact/consolidate your Library

 

[fredblue]

just a quick sneak peek of some of the tracks i've been playing today, which i hope to share with you fine folks on the weekend ❤

get ready gang, there's a ton!

 

[Ick]

Could you please provide a link to the version of the album with the atmos tracks? I'm in Canada and tried what you said - clicking on multiple versions of How Much I Feel on Apple Music which were on multiple comps but non were Atmos and can only see one vsn of Life Beyond LA. Frustrating

I’ll have to admit it may not be worth the effort. They sound like 6 channel stereo, not a discrete mix. Super disappointed.

 

[Thonolan]

Grateful Dead - American Beauty

First listen to this Atmos mix. Even in lossy streaming, it screams Steven Wilson quality. That clarity in the instruments and voices is unmistakable! I may not be the biggest fan of The Dead, but I don't dislike them, and I'd absolutely buy this if they eventually released it in a standalone blu-ray edition. Wonderful distribution of the vocals throughout all the channels - the harmony vocals sound so full and satisfying. With all the different singers, their music lends itself really well to Atmos, even if instrumentally and structurally it's relatively simple.

 

[Blackwood]

Grateful Dead - American Beauty

First listen to this Atmos mix. Even in lossy streaming, it screams Steven Wilson quality. That clarity in the instruments and voices is unmistakable! I may not be the biggest fan of The Dead, but I don't dislike them, and I'd absolutely buy this if they eventually released it in a standalone blu-ray edition. Wonderful distribution of the vocals throughout all the channels - the harmony vocals sound so full and satisfying. With all the different singers, their music lends itself really well to Atmos, even if instrumentally and structurally it's relatively simple.

When I see albums like this brought up here again, it’s a reminder of some great mixes that many of us would easily offer our credit card numbers for if they’d give us Bluray.

Considering how the Dead is constantly offering new product (2025 subscriptions for the quarterly live releases was announced this week) it’s so disappointing that Atmos Blurays are never in the release mix.

 

[sjcorne]

I'd absolutely buy this if they eventually released it in a standalone blu-ray edition

Same here, but I think Rhino has enough surround material from The Dead to do a multi-album box akin the recent Joni Mitchell Asylum Years set.

1970 - Workingman's Dead

• 2001 Mickey Hart 5.1 mix
• 2023 Mickey Hart Atmos Mix

1970 - American Beauty

• 2001 Mickey Hart 5.1 mix
• 2022 Steven Wilson Atmos mix

1972 - Europe '72

• 2022 Steven Wilson Atmos mix

1975 - Blues For Allah

• Steven Wilson Atmos mix (finished in 2022, hopefully to be released for the 50th anniversary next year)

I was hoping that Wake of the Flood (1973) and From the Mars Hotel (1974) would also get Atmos mixes from either Wilson or Hart, but the 50th anniversary reissues of those albums have already come and gone

 

[Thonolan]

1975 - Blues For Allah

• Steven Wilson Atmos mix (finished in 2022, hopefully to be released for the 50th anniversary next year)

This album has a variety of influences and sounds that WILL sound amazing in Atmos.

I must check out the others. I'm familiar with Hart's 5.1 mixes, but I didn't know he had remixed Workingman's Dead in Atmos. I don't expect SW quality but hopefully it's worth a couple of spins.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

July 2024 EP with 5 distinct renditions of their track "Money Face" by L.A. DJ and Beats artist Sweatson Klank plus their "Inner Works" EP, "Reverie" EP, "Embers” EP and "A Free Mind" album, all with very cool Atmos mixes, i find "Inner Works" particularly lovely

I don't know anything about Klank; but I'd love some 'Kraak & Smaak' in Atmos Know of any?

 

[PurpleMoustache]

When I see albums like this brought up here again, it’s a reminder of some great mixes that many of us would easily offer our credit card numbers for if they’d give us Bluray.

Considering how the Dead is constantly offering new product (2025 subscriptions for the quarterly live releases was announced this week) it’s so disappointing that Atmos Blurays are never in the release mix.

The Dead Inc business strategy is literally a marvel:

Big, fan favorite show on streaming and CD
Box set announced alongside that with shows from that week/month that are deep cuts
Digital/streaming only “mixtape” albums
The occasional one off release
Daves Picks individual and sub (only through their site, not on streaming or sent to record stores)

They have the strategy down pat. A single show a year for the more casual fans, and a firehose for the true believers. I have to imagine any hesitation on releasing a blu ray of an atmos mix is to avoid seeming like they’re nickel and diming people (even though they kinda already are…)