Meet the immersive aUdio MUSIC Man

His name has been synonymous with multichannel music for years, and now Steven Wilson is a prime mover in the Dolby Atmos music revolution. Steve May chats to the prolific, prog-rock producing legend…

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STEVEN WILSON IS the industry's go-to guy for immersive music. A producer and engineer, as well as the instigator of psychedelic rock outfit Porcupine Tree, his multichannel mixes of classic albums have kept the surround sound torch burning for decades.

His surround mix of the Porcupine Tree album Fear of a Blank Planet was nominated for a Grammy, and his résumé covers new stereo mixes and immersive takes on recordings by King Crimson, Hawkwind, Yes and Roxy Music, amongst others. Increasingly, he's working with Atmos, notably mixing the latest Porcupine Tree album Closure/Continuation, as well as Tears for Fears' The Tipping Point, in the 3D format.

HCC caught up with Wilson shortly after experiencing the Atmos mix of Closure/Continuation at a Pitchblack Playback event, held in the London showroom of L-Acoustics Creations (see HCC #335). The album is a remarkable example of immersive audio; a multi-layered prog-rock tour de force that pushes the envelope when it comes to sonic design.

Our conversation was recorded over Zoom, with Wilson in his home studio. He begins by confiding that while he dropped in during the L-Acoustics setup, to check all was well, he never stayed to listen to the album in its entirety...

'I've heard it too many times. It took a long time to make and mix, so it'll be a while before I would actually listen to it through choice. That's kind of inevitable by the time an album is released.