2022 was a landmark year for immersive music – both for contemporary new releases and remixes of classic albums – and that momentum carries through 2023 thus far, 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 the upcoming slate of 5.1 & Dolby Atmos music releases likely to hit shelves before 2023 is out. It’s looking like a great time to be an immersive music fan!
Artist: Birdsong At Morning
Title: Bound (2008)
Format: Digital Download
Immersive Mix By: Alan Williams (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 8/4/2023
The first offering of a four-part series of EPs issued in six-month intervals, Bound introduced the richly-textured arrangements of Birdsong At Morning with a decidedly laid-back, acoustically oriented sound. Each successive release would expand that palette, increasing both the tempo and energy. The remaining EPs – Heavens, Vigil, and Lumens – will be treated to similar immersive updates and released over the course of the next year, eventually gathered together into a single collection entitled Annals of My Glass House.
There are no immediate plans for a physical release of the immersive mixes; they will be made available exclusively as high-resolution 5.1 FLAC downloads through IAA’s online shop. There are two versions available on August 4 – the standard edition, which contains a 5.1 mix of the album along with a PDF of graphics, lyrics, and credits; and a deluxe package that also includes an instrumental version in 5.1 surround.
Artist: ABC
Title: The Lexicon Of Love (1982)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 8/04/2023
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 40th anniversary reissue. Though it’s also available as part of a larger deluxe edition, The Lexicon Of Love is the twelfth entry in SuperDeluxeEdition.com’s “Surround Sound Series” of standalone Blu-Ray discs with spatial audio mixes.
The Atmos mix really showcases Trevor Horn’s opulent production, revealing tons of interesting details that were buried in the stereo version. Anne Dudley’s orchestration throughout “Valentine’s Day” and “The Look Of Love” is featured primarily from above, along with some previously-unheard percussion and synth blasts. The rear channel shouts of ‘who got the look!’ and ‘where’s the look!’ were expected in the latter tune, but very entertaining nonetheless.
Artist: Chlara
Title: Love Ya (2023)
Format: SACD, Digital Download
Immersive Mix By: Andrés Mayo and Martín Muscatello (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 8/11/2023
Love Ya is the keenly anticipated fifth album from the British-born Filipina singer/songwriter Chlara. The album is her first featuring all original material since her 2014 debut, "Unstoppable," all self-penned meditations on love and life except for Chlara’s uniquely ethereal reframing of David Bowie’s iconic “Heroes” track.
Highlights include the recent singles “I Is The Loneliest Letter” and “Come To Bed.” Also ear-catching are the blissful chill-out groove “Sunburn” and the sensual bedroom ballad “747.” We at IAA are thrilled to offer the album as an exclusive immersive digital download through our online shop, with high-resolution 5.1 FLAC files as well as Dolby TrueHD/Atmos MKVs.
Artist: Snarky Puppy
Title: Empire Central (2022)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Nic Hard (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 8/11/2023
The jazz fusion band's 15th outing was among their most successful to date, netting them the 2022 Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Recorded over eight nights in front of a live audience in Dallas, the album features an impressive cast of players included the late funk keyboardist Bernard Wright.
Empire Central also marks the band's first entry into the world of immersive audio, with the Dolby Atmos mix crafted by longtime collaborator Nic Engineer. Though the Atmos mix has been available to stream for nearly a year, the lossless TrueHD presentation on Blu-Ray will surely present a notable sonic upgrade.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: The Broadsword & The Beast (1982)
Format: 5CD/3DVD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1)
Release Date: 9/1/2023
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.
The set does indeed contain a wealth of surround material across the three DVDs, including the original 10-track album and more than 20 associated studio recordings from 1981-82. As if that wasn't enough, the third DVD contains the band's 1982 Live In Germany performance newly-remixed into 4.1 surround sound.
Artist: The Who
Title: Who’s Next/Lifehouse (1970-72)
Format: 10CD/Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 9/15/2023
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. This elaborate reissue is set to deliver the final word on this period of the band, including dozens of previously-unheard studio and live recordings from 1970-72 across a massive 11-disc box set.
The most exciting aspect of this reissue for audiophiles is undoubtedly the Blu-Ray disc containing brand-new 5.1 surround sound & Dolby Atmos remixes of the original nine-song Who’s Next album and fourteen(!) associated studio recordings by Steven Wilson.
Artist: TesseracT
Title: War Of Being (2023)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Bruce Soord (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 9/15/2023
For their fifth studio album, British prog-metal pioneers TesseracT return with a career-high release that is among their most conceptual, dynamic and sonically intricate to date. The story revolves around an inter-dimensional journey undertaken by two characters within The Strangeland, a world made to reflect the socio-economic state of our own.
The Blu-Ray edition featured 5.1 surround & Dolby Atmos mixes from The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, who previously helmed the 5.1 rendition of 2015’s Polaris.
Artist: Bruce Soord
Title: Luminescence (2023)
Format: 2CD/DVD, Streaming, Digital Download
Immersive Mix By: Bruce Soord (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 9/22/2023
Inspired by the idea of finding inner peace, The Pineapple Thief frontman Bruce Soord's latest solo outing "Luminescence" explores the difficulty of living in the metropolis of the modern world. Born from days exploring various cities whilst on tour, tracks from the album feature recordings from Soord's various wanderings captured on his field recorder. Recorded between January and June of 2023, the album features a six-piece string sections recorded & arranged by Andrew Skeet.
The three-disc deluxe edition includes a DVD with both Luminescence and the bonus album Our Ship Sails At Dusk mixed in 5.1 surround sound by Soord. Additionally, a Dolby Atmos mix of Luminescence will be made available to stream and as a TrueHD/Atmos MKV download through IAA's shop!
Artist: XTC
Title: The Big Express (1984)
Format: CD/Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 9/22/2023
After a four year hiatus, the acclaimed “Surround Sound Series” of XTC reissues is set to continue with 1984’s The Big Express. Originally thought to be lost forever, the multitrack tapes for this album (plus its three B-sides) were finally located in 2022 and newly-remixed by Steven Wilson in stereo, 5.1, and - for the first time in the series - Dolby Atmos. Two “pitchblack playbacks” of the Atmos mixes were already held for a select number of fans by L-Acoustics in London and Los Angeles.
Artist: Barclay James Harvest
Title: Baby James Harvest (1972)
Format: 4CD/Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Stephen W Tayler (5.1)
Release Date: 9/22/2023
Following 2023’s acclaimed Once Again CD/Blu-Ray release, its 1972 follow-up Baby James Harvest - the band's final record for EMI/Harvest - is next to receive a deluxe package.
This new expanded edition features four CDs and a Blu Ray disc with brand-new 5.1 surround sound and stereo mixes by Stephen W. Tayler. The set additionally includes the original stereo mix remastered from the original master tapes, along with bonus tracks drawn from singles released in 1972 and 1973.
Artist: Hawkwind
Title: Space Ritual (1972)
Format: 10CD/Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Stephen W Tayler (5.1)
Release Date: 9/22/2023
Space Ritual was recorded during Hawkwind’s December 1972 UK Tour, which followed the release of the band’s recent studio album Doremi Fasol Latido.The live show was a continuous audio-visual experience linked together by Robert Calvert’s poetry recitation.
This 50th anniversary limited-edition deluxe set comprises 10 CDs and a Blu-Ray disc, featuring new mixes by Stephen W Tayler of all three complete concerts recorded on the tour at Liverpool Stadium, Sunderland Locarno and Brixton Sundown. Of most interest to audiophiles is likely the Blu-Ray disc containing Tayler’s 5.1 surround sound mix of the original Space Ritual album, plus complete versions of “Brainstorm,” “Time We Left This World Today” and “You Shouldn’t Do That.”
Artist: Richard Wright
Title: Wet Dream (1978)
Format: Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 9/29/2023
To honor what would have been his 80th birthday, the Pink Floyd keyboardist’s underrated 1978 debut album gets the deluxe treatment with brand-new stereo, 5.1 & Dolby Atmos remixes from Steven Wilson.
Upon rediscovering this record, it becomes hugely apparent how much of Richard’s DNA runs through Pink Floyd. His distinct rhythm patterns, song structure and style of play exudes throughout, shining a light on his unique talent and influence on modern music.
Artist: Steven Wilson
Title: The Harmony Codex (2023)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 9/29/2023
Steven Wilson is set to release his seventh studio album, The Harmony Codex, through Virgin Music on September 29. 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: TBD
Title: Quadio
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: TBD
Release Date: October 2023
Perhaps in response to the success entities such as SuperDeluxeEdition.com and Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings have found with immersive music on Blu-Ray, Rhino Entertainment – Warner Brothers’ catalog division – have suddenly revived their their long-gestating series of “Quadio” reissues containing newly-remastered digital transfers of quadraphonic mixes from the 1970s.
A second batch of four releases is rumored to appear this October, with possible candidates for future release including best-selling albums by the likes of Deep Purple (1972’s Machine Head & 1974’s Stormbringer), James Taylor (1972’s One Man Dog & 1975’s Gorilla), Randy Newman (1972’s Sail Away & 1974’s Good Old Boys), Jackson Browne (1974’s Late For The Sky) and more!
Artist: Yes
Title: The Yes Album (1971)
Format: 4CD/LP/Blu-Ray, Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 11/24/23
Despite having already received a fantastic deluxe release in 2014 with new stereo & 5.1 remixes by Steven Wilson, Warner/Rhino are due to raise the bar this November with a definitive 50th anniversary box set celebrating Yes' classic third studio outing.
The set is due to include a number of previously-unheard rarities and outtakes (including a dedicated mono mix!), but surely the most exciting aspect of all is a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix of the album by again by Wilson.
Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: The Seeds Of Love (1989)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Though fans may recall that The Seeds Of Love received a long-awaited deluxe reissue in October 2020 – complete with a new 5.1 remix of the album by Steven Wilson – Wilson recently revealed via social media that he’d taken another crack at the album, this time in Dolby Atmos.
This new Atmos mix will undoubtedly become available on the streaming services, but we’re hopeful for a Blu-Ray edition in the vein of 2022’s The Tipping Point or this year’s acclaimed reissue of The Hurting (1983).
