2022 was a landmark year for immersive music – both for contemporary new releases and remixes of classic albums – and 2023 looks to continue that momentum, with more than ten upcoming physical Blu-Ray or DVD releases already available to pre-order and at least that many rumored or pending announcements.
In this article, we break down twenty-three upcoming immersive releases likely to hit shelves before 2023 is out. It’s looking like a great time to be an immersive music fan!
Artist: Van Der Graaf Generator
Title: The Bath Forum Concert (2023)
Label: Cherry Red/Esoteric
Format: CD/DVD/Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Stephen W Tayler (5.1)
Release Date: 3/10/2023
Fresh off his excellent work on the acclaimed Charisma Years box set, Stephen W Tayler collaborates with VDGG once again for this live release capturing the band’s March 2022 performance at the Bath Forum.
The band are at their most intense, performing vintage tracks such as “Childlike Faith In Childhood’s End,” “La Rossa,” “Man Erg” and “House With No Door” alongside newer composition such as “Interference Patterns,” “Every Bloody Emperor,” “Go,” and “Alfa Berlina.”
Artist: Ten Years After
Title: A Space In Time (1971)
Label: SuperDeluxeEdition (Chrysalis)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Chris Kimsey (5.1 & Atmos), Larry Keyes & Al Lawrence (4.0)
Release Date: 3/17/2023
Arguably one of the best surprises of 2022 was SuperDeluxeEdition.com’s “Surround Sound Series” of limited-run ‘High Fidelity Pure Audio’ Blu-Ray discs. Announced in late January, release #6 in the series is bound to be one of the most exciting and jam-packed with content to date.
Ten Years After’s A Space In Time includes a whopping five(!) unique audio options, including new stereo, 5.1 & Dolby Atmos remixes by original producer Chris Kimsey as well as the original 1971 stereo mix and rare 1973 quadraphonic version.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
Label: Pink Floyd Records
Format: 2CD/2LP/2Blu-Ray/DVD
Immersive Mix By: James Guthrie (5.1 & Atmos)
Release Date: 3/24/2023
Pink Floyd’s 1973 conceptual masterpiece celebrates its 50th anniversary in March 2023, and the band is commemorating the occasion in style with a lavish new deluxe edition. Of particular interest to audiophiles and immersive music aficionados are the two Blu-Ray discs featuring James Guthrie’s brand new Dolby Atmos remix of the album as well as the 2003 5.1 surround mix (previously released on Super Audio CD).
A notable omission from an otherwise comprehensive set is Alan Parsons’ 1974 quadraphonic mix, previously issued in digital form as part of the 40th anniversary ‘Immersion’ edition.
Artist: Hawkwind
Title: Days Of The Underground: The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979
Label: Cherry Red/Esoteric
Format: 8CD/2Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1)
Release Date: 3/31/2023
This massive new box set from Cherry Red/Esoteric covers iconic progressive/space rock outfit Hawkwind’s entire late 70s output, during which the band’s music was defined by Dave Brock and Robert Calvert’s writing partnership.
The set includes three studio albums – 1977’s Quark, Strangeness and Charm, 1978’s 25 Years On (also known as Hawklords), and 1979’s PXR5 – newly-remixed in stereo & 5.1 surround sound by Steven Wilson. If Wilson’s 2013 5.1 remix of Warrior On The Edge Of Time (1973) is anything to go by, this set is sure to be a slam dunk for Hawkwind fans.
Artist: Blackfield
Title: An Accident Of Stars: 2004-2007
Label: Snapper/KScope
Format: 6CD/Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1)
Release Date: 3/31/2023
Blackfield began in 2001 as a collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and Israeli musician Aviv Geffen. An Accident Of Stars celebrates the band’s output from 2004-2017, encompassing five studio albums and a live album. The set also collects Wilson’s now out of print 5.1 mixes of Live In New York City (2007), Blackfield IV (2013), Blackfield V (2017) on a single Blu-Ray disc.
Artist: Mr. Big
Title: Mr. Big (1989)
Label: Evosound
Format: SACD, Digital Download
Immersive Mix By: TBD (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 4/21/2023
Following the same release format as the 2021 Lean Into It reissue, Evosound is set to release Mr. Big’s iconic 1989 self-titled album as a Hybrid Multichannel SACD (with remastered stereo & brand-new 5.1 mixes) in April 2023.
We at IAA are also thrilled to announce the album will additionally become available as a digital download through our online shop, with high-resolution 5.1 FLAC files as well as Dolby TrueHD/Atmos MKVs. The Dolby Atmos mix will likely also appear on the Apple Music & Tidal streaming services.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: RökFlöte (2023)
Label: InsideOut
Format: 2CD/Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Bruce Soord (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 4/21/2023
Following the early-2022 release of The Zealot Gene, Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson surprised fans by announcing a follow-up – RökFlöte – for Spring 2023. Whereas King Crimson’s Jakko M Jakszyk handled the 5.1 mix of The Zealot Gene, this time Anderson has enlisted The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord to create 5.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes of the album. The first two singles are already streaming in Atmos and sound well up to Soord’s usual high standard.
Artist: Everything But The Girl
Title: Fuse (2023)
Label: Virgin
Format: CD/Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: TBD (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 4/21/2023
The British electro-pop duo’s first album in over two decades is set to receive the Dolby Atmos treatment, not just via streaming but also an inexpensive CD/Blu-Ray edition. The first two singles, “Nothing Left To Lose" and “Caution To The Wind,” are already streaming in Atmos on Apple Music.
Artist: Rush
Title: Signals (1982)
Label: Mercury/UMe
Format: CD/Blu-Ray/LP, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Richard Chycki (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 4/26/2023
Following the massive 40th anniversary super deluxe reissue of Moving Pictures (1981) last year, fans naturally assumed that 1982’s Signals would be due next for similar treatment. Once again, the set includes a Blu-Ray disc with brand new 5.1 surround & Dolby Atmos remixes from longtime collaborator Richard Chycki.
Chycki’s Dolby Atmos mix quietly became available on Apple Music some weeks ago and it’s a notable improvement over the prior 5.1 version, released on DVD-Audio as part of the Sector III box set in 2011 and then again on Blu-Ray Audio in 2015.
Artist: Bob Dylan
Title: Time Out Of Mind (2022 Remix) (1997)
Label: SuperDeluxeEdition (Sony)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Michael Brauer & Fernando Reyes (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 4/28/2023
Dylan’s 1997 comeback album – newly-remixed by award-winning engineer Michael Brauer for inclusion in the Bootleg Series Vol. 17 set – is disc #8 in the SDE Surround Series. The Dolby Atmos mix already available to stream via Apple Music
Artist: Ultravox
Title: Quartet (1982)
Label: Chrysalis
Format: 6CD/DVD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1)
Release Date: 5/5/2023
Following the acclaimed September 2022 Rage In Eden deluxe box set, the series is set to continue with 1982’s Quartet – originally produced by George Martin and mixed by Geoff Emerick – reissued in the same multi-disc configuration with new stereo & 5.1 remixes from Steven Wilson. Wilson’s 5.1 remixes of Vienna and Rage In Eden were incredible, so this upcoming release will likely be a must have for any Ultravox fans.
Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: The Hurting (1983)
Label: SuperDeluxeEdition (Virgin/UMR)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 5/12/2023
Announced just in time for the album's 40th anniversary on March 7, the ninth release in SDE's "Surround Sound Series" is Tears For Fears' classic 1983 debut LP The Hurting. As with last year's The Tipping Point, the Blu-Ray disc contains new 5.1 surround & Dolby Atmos remixes from Steven Wilson. Fans may recall a prior Blu-Ray Audio release of this album in 2013, but it only contained a stereo remaster rather than immersive mixes.
Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
Title: The Turn Of A Friendly Card (1980)
Label: Cherry Red/Esoteric
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Alan Parsons (5.1)
Release Date: 5/26/2023
Following the release of the February 2023 3CD/Blu-Ray deluxe edition, fans rejoiced when Cherry Red/Esoteric announced an inexpensive single disc Blu-Ray edition – featuring Parsons’ brand new 5.1 remix and a new remaster of the original 1980 stereo mix – for release this coming May. This should fit nicely on the shelf alongside the single-disc Blu-Ray editions of Tales Of Mystery & Imagination (1978), Eye In The Sky (1982), and Ammonia Avenue (1984).
Artist: A Bad Think
Title: Short Street (2023)
Label: Windmark Recordings
Format: Digital Download, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Bob Clearmountain (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 7/7/2023
Michael Marquart’s follow-up to X (2022) sees him once again teaming up with master mix engineer Bob Clearmountain to deliver a Dolby Atmos version. The album will feature 12 brand-new original compositions from Marquart, featuring personal lyrics about his experiences growing up in Wisconsin throughout the 1960s and ‘70s.
Artist: The Who
Title: Who’s Next/Lifehouse (1970-72)
Label: UMe
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
In what is surely the most anticipated reissue of the year for many immersive music fans and audiophiles, Universal have long been teasing an extensive multi-disc deluxe reissue of The Who’s 1971 classic. Intense speculation began when Pete Townshend first revealed that the set – along with a new Dolby Atmos remix of the album – was being worked on in early 2022. The set is also said to feature a number of previously-unreleased recordings from Lifehouse, Townshend's unfinished sci-fi rock opera originally intended as a thematic follow-up to 1969's Tommy.
This past July, Steven Wilson revealed to us that he’d remixed the original album (plus 14 additional songs recorded during that 1970-72 period) in 5.1 surround sound & Dolby Atmos for inclusion in the set. Rumors continue to fly online about the configuration, release date, and cost of the set, though an official announcement by the label has yet to be made.
Artist: Steven Wilson
Title: The Harmony Codex (2023)
Label: Virgin
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Steven Wilson is set to release his seventh studio album, The Harmony Codex, through Virgin Music later this year. Wilson first teased the album in his recent autobiography A Limited Edition Of One – the book closes with a fictional short story of the same name – and has since revealed tantalizing few details about the project, including the involvement of longtime collaborator Ninet Tayeb and that much of the recording/composition was done with Dolby Atmos in mind. We expect it’ll surely be a new benchmark for immersive music production.
Artist: ABC
Title: The Lexicon Of Love (1982)
Label: Mercury/UMe
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
In a Summer 2022 interview, ABC frontman Martin Fry revealed that Steven Wilson created a new Dolby Atmos mix of the band’s classic 1982 debut album The Lexicon Of Love as part of a planned 40th anniversary reissue. There’s no official announcement yet on what shape the 40th reissue will take or when it will be released, though it’s rumored to also include the Mantrap short film.
Artist: Fish
Title: 13th Star (2008)
Label: Chocolate Frog Records
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Andy Bradfield & Avril Mackintosh (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Following the acclaimed Weltschmerz deluxe release in September 2022, the ex-Marillion frontman has long been teasing an extensive series of reissues covering his solo catalog. According to Fish’s latest news blast, the deluxe edition of 13th Star (2008) is on track to release later this year and will include a Blu-Ray disc with a new Dolby Atmos by Andy Bradfield & Avril Mackintosh. Marillion fans may already be familiar with Bradfield & Mackintosh for their stereo & 5.1 remixes of Script For A Jester’s Tear (1983), Fugazi (1984), and Clutching At Straws (1987).
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: The Broadsword & The Beast (1982)
Label: Chrysalis
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1)
Release Date: TBD
Following 2021’s acclaimed A (A La Mode Edition) box set, 1982’s The Broadsword & The Beast is next in line to receive the deluxe treatment. In July 2022, Steven Wilson revealed to us that he’d mixed a whopping 35(!) tracks in stereo & 5.1 surround sound for inclusion in the set and that this is set to be his final remix for the Tull series.
Artist: Gentle Giant
Title: Interview (1976) & The Missing Piece (1977)
Label: Chrysalis
Format: CD/Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
IAA readers voted the CD/Blu-Ray edition of Free Hand (1975) as the best immersive music release of 2021, so naturally there’s a ton of excitement for the next set of reissues in this fantastic series from the band’s label Alucard. Steven Wilson confirmed to us that, as of July 2022, he’d completed new stereo, 5.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes of Interview (1976) and that the band had approved his new stereo mix of The Missing Piece (1977).
No official announcement from Alucard yet, but hopefully these will be made available in the same CD/Blu-Ray configuration as Free Hand in the coming months. Fingers crossed for the inclusion of Interview’s quadraphonic mix as well!
Artist: Storm Corrosion
Title: Storm Corrosion (2012)
Label: Roadrunner
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Steven Wilson has long been teasing a 10th anniversary edition of Storm Corrosion (2012), the experimental one-off collaboration with Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt. Though the album was previously made available in 5.1 as part of the 2012 CD/Blu-Ray release, this reissue is set to include a brand new Dolby Atmos mix of the album.
Artist: The Pineapple Thief
Title: Cyclops-Era Box Set (TBD) (1999-2006)
Label: Snapper/KScope
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Bruce Soord (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Ever since Bruce Soord embraced immersive audio for his 2015 self titled solo album and The Pineapple Thief’s eleventh studio album Your Wilderness (2016) – the first to feature Gavin Harrison’s drumming – fans have wondered if he’d ever consider going back and remixing the band’s vast discography for surround.
Though an official announcement has yet to be made, Soord has on numerous occasions teased a massive reissue covering the band’s early years on the independent Cyclops label. The set is rumored to include new 5.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes of Abducted At Birth (1999), One Three Seven (2002), Variations On A Dream (2003), 10 Stories Down (2005), and Little Man (2006).
Artist: Elton John
Title: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player (1973)
Label: Rocket/UMe
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Greg Penny (5.1)
Release Date: TBD
Since the surprise 50th anniversary 3CD/Blu-Ray edition of Madman Across The Water (1971) appeared last year, there's been wild fan speculation over whether other classic '70s Elton albums would get the same treatment. Though most would have assumed that either 1972's Honky Chateau or 1973's Goodbye Yellow Brick road would be next-in-line, inside sources have indicated that 1973's Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player will instead be the next reissue.
Perhaps the most tantalizing prospect of this release for immersive music fans is the rumored inclusion of Greg Penny's long-completed 5.1 surround sound mix, originally produced for Super Audio CD release two decades ago!
