More than four years after Dolby Atmos music made its debut on the Tidal streaming service, it’s looking like the immersive format will be here to stay for the foreseeable future. New albums continue to appear at a breakneck pace not only via streaming, but also via Blu-Ray disc and high-resolution digital download.
However, as has always been the case with surround and immersive music, the overall quality and approach to mixing music in the new format varies wildly. It quickly becomes apparent that every mixer has their own philosophy with regards to utilization of the expanded soundstage: some tend to opt for a more-conservative ‘expanded stereo’ presentation, while others prefer to really experiment with all the newfound possibilities that spatial audio affords.
If you’ve just invested in a Dolby Atmos system, the choice of available material to test your system with might seem overwhelming. In a follow-up to our article of the same name from earlier this year, we highlight ten Dolby Atmos music tracks that best showcase the variable mixing approaches to the format–as well as offer a fully-immersive demonstration-quality experience for new listeners.
Artist: Spoon
Song: “Held” (from 2022’s Lucifer On The Sofa)
Format: Digital Download
Mixed By: Jim Eno

Austin-based rock outfit Spoon’s tenth studio album, Lucifer On The Sofa, was originally released through Matador Records in February 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. Rather than relying heavily on overdubbing and editing–as they did for its predecessor, 2017’s Hot Thoughts–the band instead opted to cut much of the album live at drummer Jim Eno’s Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, Texas. The end result is simultaneously polished and raw, capturing all the unrefined energy of Spoon's live performances and presenting it with the sonic excellence of an expertly-crafted studio production.
Lucifer On The Sofa also marks the band’s inaugural foray into the realm of immersive audio, with drummer Jim Eno overseeing the Dolby Atmos mix. Though Spoon was actively making music during the early-2000s heyday of the Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio formats, none of their albums from that era were made available in 5.1 surround sound.
"Held” serves as a powerful opener, setting the tone for the album with its punchy guitars and relentless rhythm. The song actually begins with the sounds of the band tuning up, further immersing the listener in the album’s no-frills live-in-the-studio concept. Britt Daniel’s vocals are almost completely isolated in the center speaker, while Eno’s drums extend from the front channels up into the height array.
Artist: Big Big Train
Song: “Beneath The Masts” (from 2024's The Likes of Us)
Format: Blu-Ray
Mixed By: Bruce Soord

Originally founded by songwriter Greg Spawton in 1990, English progressive rock band Big Big Train have continued to endure more than three decades later. Now signed to InsideOut Music, the band released The Likes Of Us–their 16th(!) studio album, and the first to feature Alberto Bravin’s vocals–on March 1, 2024. The CD/Blu-Ray edition contains 5.1 surround sound & Dolby Atmos mixes from The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, marking the first occasion that a Big Big Train studio release has been remixed in an immersive format.
Big Big Train have long followed in the footsteps of the classic British art rock acts of the 1970s with their extended story-based compositions, and The Likes Of Us continues this tradition with the nearly 20-minute longform epic “Beneath The Masts.” Acoustic guitar first appears solely from the rear surrounds, while the lead vocals and piano seem to hang right in front of your face. Horn blasts from above alternate with keyboards below, giving way to furious solos from Rikard Sjöblom on guitar in the side surrounds and Claire Lindley on fiddle in the rears.
“Since you only have 120 objects to work with in Atmos, it was a challenge to fit everything in. I had to be really creative in terms of the grouping. Greg [Spawton] came down to listen in my studio and he loved it. [The Likes of Us] really was made for surround sound.”
Bruce Soord, February 2024
Artist: The Church
Song: “The Hypnogogue” (from 2023’s The Hypnogogue)
Format: Digital Download
Mixed By: Darrell Thorp

Released through Communicating Vessels Records in February 2023, The Hypnogogue pays homage to classic art rock concept albums like Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974) and Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1979). The album boasts a dystopia-tinged narrative about Eros Zeta, an aging rock star hailing from the dilapidated near-future world of 2054. He seeks out Sun Kim Jong, an occult Korean scientist with a machine that could supposedly revive his stalled career by “pulling music straight out of dreams.”
The Hypnogogue is also the band’s first album to receive an immersive mix, created by Darrell Thorp and mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios in London. The Atmos mix is interesting in that it makes fairly-sporadic use of the center and side surround speakers, but the rear surrounds consistently feature ancillary elements like percussion and backing vocals. The four height speakers, on the other hand, are employed quite aggressively for key instrumentation like acoustic guitars, keyboards, and vocal effects.
The ambient piano intro to the title track gives way to an eerie guitar pattern in the front right speaker, as the drum reflections bounce off the height speakers and a second guitar fires up in the rear. Acoustic guitars percolate from the top array and percussion pops up from behind, along with the 'did you make the reservation' backing vocals. As the track builds in intensity, violin joins from rear left and synthesizers swirl through the side speakers.
Artist: Gentle Giant
Song: “Winning” (from 1977’s The Missing Piece)
Format: Blu-Ray
Mixed By: Steven Wilson

Originally released in August 1977 through Capitol Records in the United States and Chrysalis Records in the United Kingdom, The Missing Piece was Gentle Giant’s ninth studio album and now the latest to be remixed by Steven Wilson as part of an acclaimed reissue campaign from the band’s label Alucard Records.
The Missing Piece is something of a transitional work in the band’s catalog, as side one sees them veering away from their usual eclectic sound towards more-accessible pop (“Two Weeks In Spain”), soul/funk (“Mountain Time,” “Who Do You Think You Are?”), and even punk rock (“Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It”) stylings. Side two quickly delves back into the experimental realm, featuring the insane percussion-laden “Winning” as well as one of the band’s most heartfelt compositions: the largely-acoustic “Memories Of Old Days.”
From an immersive standpoint, “Winning” would have to be the standout track on the album. This song simply has to be heard in Dolby Atmos–even the 5.1 mix doesn't quite do it full justice. Percussion dances around the top speakers, with the rest of the band quickly fading in from below. Guitars and keyboard duel each other front-to-back as the drums roll all around the room and Derek Shulman’s voice commands the center speaker. At around the three-minute mark, the tom-toms wildly swing between the side speakers in tandem with the percussive racket overhead.
Artist: Madeleine Peyroux
Song: “Please Come On Inside” (from 2024’s Let’s Walk)
Format: Digital Download
Mixed By: Elliot Scheiner

Acclaimed jazz singer and songwriter Madeleine Peyroux has just released Let’s Walk–her ninth studio album and first in nearly six years. The 10-track collection may be her most diverse, intimate, and eclectic work to date, as she shares thoughtful views on both personal and societal concerns.
Let’s Walk incorporates elements from a wide variety of genres, including jazz, folk, gospel blues, Americana, chamber pop, and Latin rhythms. Developed partially during lockdown, all ten songs were co-written with longtime collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Jon Herington (Steely Dan, Lucy Kaplansky, etc). The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by multi-Grammy laureate Elliot Scheiner (The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc).
“Please Come On Inside” again makes full use of the immersive soundstage, with the talkbox in the rear speakers playing off Peyroux’s vocal upfront. Keyboards percolate from the rear left height speaker–along with tambourine largely in the rear right height–while Jon Herington’s guitar takes up residence in the front overheads. The talkbox later moves up to the front stage, ceding its position to the background vocals.
Artist: Yes
Song: “Roundabout” (from 1971’s Fragile)
Format: Blu-Ray
Mixed By: Steven Wilson

Originally released in November 1971, less than a year after its predecessor The Yes Album, Yes’ fourth studio album Fragile proved another massive success for the band. Though Fragile has been remixed in 5.1 surround sound twice now–first in 2002 by Tim Weidner, then again in 2015 by Steven Wilson–the new 4CD/LP/Blu-Ray Super Deluxe Edition contains a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix (again from Wilson).
The first reverse swell in “Roundabout” travels from back-to-front just like in 2015 mix, but the second one moves from the rear surrounds up to the front overheads–as if to say ‘that was 5.1, but this is Atmos.’ The rhythm section of Bill Bruford on drums and Chris Squire on bass appears woven into all seven ear-level speakers–though most prominent across the front stage–while Steve Howe’s acoustic guitar stays solidly anchored to the side left channel. Jon Anderson’s lead vocal comes in largely from the center, with it’s double-tracked counterpart now positioned up in the front height speakers.
Additional background vocals from Squire and Howe later appear from the rear height speakers, along with Wakeman’s organ from the rear left channel. During the ‘above the drifting clouds’ section starting at around 3:30, shakers wildly rove around the height array and additional percussion moves between the rear surround channels. Howe’s short solo just before the seven-minute mark glides around the height array to fun effect, taking us into the final chorus and epic ending with different voices spread all throughout the room.
Artist: Guy Fletcher
Song: “Shagpile Bed” (from 2022’s Anomaly)
Format: Digital Download
Mixed By: Guy Fletcher

British musician, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Guy Fletcher has appeared both on stage and in the studio with world-renowned artists such as Tina Turner, Randy Newman, Mick Jagger, Roxy Music, and Mark Knopfler. In 1984, he joined Dire Straits as one of two keyboard players and performed on their hugely-successful final two studio albums Brothers In Arms (1985) and On Every Street (1991).
His latest solo album, Anomaly (2022), is an eclectic mix of uplifting, quirky and romantic songs supported by a bed of beautiful synthetic soundscapes and crafted rhythms. The album features contributions from several outside musicians including pianist Jim Cox, guitarist Jeremy Bird, backing vocalist Sarah Ozelle, and Guy’s son Max. A multicolored journey into Fletcher's past, present and future, Anomaly was mixed in both stereo and Dolby Atmos at British Grove Studios.
The opening track “Shagpile Bed” sets the stage for the immersive presentation, with the drum extending out from the front stage up into the side and height speakers. Strummed acoustic guitars percolate from overhead, while double-tracked vocals and synthesizers burst from behind.
Artist: The Doors
Song: “Riders On The Storm” (from 1985’s The Best of The Doors)
Format: Blu-Ray
Mixed By: Bruce Botnick

Often hailed as one of the most innovative and influential acts of the 1960s, The Doors’ unique blend of rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, blues, psychedelia, and mysticism cemented them as key figures in the counterculture of that era. The band’s most famous lineup was made up of singer/poet Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore.
Nearly two decades after the release of the band’s career-spanning Perception box set (which contained new stereo and 5.1 mixes of all six studio albums), original producer/engineer Bruce Botnick has remixed The Doors’ catalog once again–this time in Dolby Atmos. Though the full albums unfortunately remain exclusive to streaming services such as Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music, Warner/Rhino have additionally come through with an audio-only Blu-Ray release of The Best Of The Doors (the 1985 double-LP compilation, rather than the 1973 11-track album of the same name).
From an immersive standpoint, unsurprisingly "Riders On The Storm" would have to be the standout track on this compilation. The rain and thunder sound effects are given much more prominence, with the rain taking up residence behind the listener in the rear surrounds and the thunder moving through the height array to spine-tingling effect. Towards the end, some never-before-heard Morrison vocals and finger snaps appear from above as well.
Artist: A Bad Think
Song: “10K Hours” (from 2024’s Cottonwood)
Format: Digital Download
Mixed By: Dave Way

Less than a year after the release of A Bad Think's last studio outing Short St. (2023), Marquart has impressively managed to write, record and produce an entirely new 10-track album. Much like the prior four immersive releases, Cottonwood covers a lot of ground genre-wise with elements of country/western, more mainstream ‘feel-good' pop/rock, progressive rock, and various other styles in between.
Whereas legendary mixer Bob Clearmountain sat behind the board for prior records The Savior (2019), Lifelike (2021), X (2022) and Short St. (2023), immersive mixing duties for Cottonwood have instead fallen to longtime Marquart collaborator and four-time Grammy award-winner Dave Way. Throughout his decades-long career, Way has worked with dozens of well-known artists including Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Mick Jagger, and Eric Clapton.
Right from the first notes of opening track “10K Hours,” it’s clear that Way’s immersive mixing modus operandi is quite different from Cleamountain’s. Drum sound fills up the entire room, with the snare extending upwards from the center speaker into the front heights. Whereas previous releases had Marquart’s distinctive voice almost entirely isolated in the center speaker, here he’s in the front ‘phantom’ center with just a bit of vocal signal spilling over into the center.
Artist: The Pineapple Thief
Song: “The Frost” (from 2024’s It Leads To This)
Format: Blu-Ray
Mixed By: Bruce Soord

Following 2020’s acclaimed Versions of the Truth, The Pineapple Thief continues to dominate Europe’s experimental rock scene. Recorded between September 2020 and July 2023, It Leads To This is the band’s 14th overall studio outing and fourth to feature Gavin Harrison’s drumming.
Though frontman and songwriter Bruce Soord has mixed the album in both 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Atmos, it’s the Atmos mix that offers the definitive immersive audio experience. Soord remains one of the few mixers to really take advantage of all the possibilities that object-based immersive audio offers. Though some individual sounds do appear largely isolated in specific speakers, other elements seem to float out into the room with pinpoint accuracy.
Lead vocals seem to hover right in front of your face, suspended between the front, side, and front height speaker pairs. Gavin Harrison’s drums similarly project upwards from the front stage, with reverbs and delays hitting off the back wall. The main guitar throughout “The Frost” hovers up in the front heights, while harmony vocals pop out of the rear heights and Steve Kitch’s keyboards swirl around the room.
