Mike Mettler

It seems like everyone is riding the immersive audio wave these days, which ultimately isn’t such a bad thing at all to see our favorite format reach the ears of as many spatially interested and Atmos-curious listeners as possible. With that in mind, here are my choices for the ten best and most thoroughly immersive audio albums of 2023, which appear as follows in reverse order from 10 to 1. . .

Phil Manzanera likes thinking in 360 degrees. Ever since Steven Wilson turned in a stellar 5.1 mix of his band Roxy Music’s self-titled June 1972 debut album for inclusion in a 45th anniversary 3CD/1BD box set released in February 2018, he’s been hooked. Nowadays, the guitarist/composer is looking forward to hearing what Roxy will sound like in Dolby Atmos—and he just might get that wish granted sooner than later. Recently, Manzanera and music editor Mike Mettler got on Zoom to discuss which early Roxy Music track will be better served in Atmos, how Wilson’s 5.1 mix enhanced the palette of the band’s self-titled debut, and which Roxy release he feels will be the “ultimate” Atmos album.

Trevor Rabin is all in on leaping directly into the Atmos-mixing universe, having immersed himself in composing in surround sound for the 50 or so films he’s scored over the past three-plus decades—plus the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix he supervised for his new solo album, Rio. Recently, Rabin—the onetime Yes guitarist/vocalist/composer behind the somewhat unexpected No. 1 hit single from November 1983’s 90125, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”—and music editor Mike Mettler got on Zoom to discuss the creative surround arc of Rio, how his mentor influenced his compositional-oriented way of thinking, and what songs from his era of Yes would benefit the most from new surround mixes. . .

When The Orb and David Gilmour came together over a decade ago to produce the two-part, 49-minute ambient soundscape dubbed Metallic Spheres, there almost seemed to be a bit of unfinished business attached to what we were hearing—and now we know why. To take its music to the next level, original Metallic Spheres producer Youth has just recast it in Dolby Atmos as a more concise 40-minute edition duly renamed Metallic Spheres in Colour. Recently, Youth and music editor Mike Mettler got on Zoom to discuss how Metallic Spheres morphed into its current full-bodied Atmos Colour and shape, what notable Orb song seems ready-made for an immersive remix, and what else he’d like to mix in Atmos next. . .