Q&A: Surround Sound Audio - with Stefan Kazassoglou:

As we've been working with Stefan at Binary Cell studios in Liverpool quite a lot recently, we thought a short Q&A with him on the importance and development of surround sound within music would make a pretty interesting blog post. I can tell you that once you've heard music in surround sound, either as a static mix (where the sounds are not moving around from speaker to speaker in the mix, but are placed/panned into the surround field/speakers and left static) or as a surround mix with movement (sounds being bounced around a room between speakers within a 5.1, 7.1, 8.1 etc set-up), its very easy to become irritated with actually how static the stereo music we consume and make is!

If you have a 5.1 surround sound system connected and correctly configured, here is a free 5.1 surround sound mix of our latest single 'Are You Dumb?' ft. Miski that Stefan has completed for the purpose of this post/Q&A. It's definitely worth a listen if you have access to a correctly set-up gaming speaker system/home cinema. FYI, this file is a surround sound encoded WMA file (23mb). If you would like a higher resolution file in the form of a FLAC file, just reply to this post and one of us will email you a link. (For non-5.1 system owners, the stereo mix of 'Are You Dumb?' is also available for free download on our below blog post too, if you're interested...)

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Stefan and the wonderful world of Binary Cell studios...

What is Binary Cell and why did you decide to set up this project?

Binary Cell is a new studio complex in Liverpool city centre comprising of 5 project studios and a 36sqm 5.1 surround sound mixing and mastering studio, we call it the Octagon. There are also a 48sqm live room and a vocal booth... and that is just one floor of the building.

Currently we are developing the 1st floor into a multipurpose studio space for larger scale recordings but also as a film and photo studio. For this purpose we are installing a 6x10m green screen at present. In the not too distant future we will also be starting to run events in this space, and to kick start this side of Binary Cell we are hosting exhibitions for the Liverpool Biennial 2010, including an exhibition by New York-based Ted Riederer, and German Artist Philipp Jordan.

Stereo has been the default format of music for decades, what do you feel the surround sound audio format can bring to the enjoyment of music?

Recorded music is an illusion. The aim, since early recording days, has been to perfect this illusion. Surround sound is one step closer to making the recording more believable.

For me there are two cornerstones in recorded music. One, the purist/classical approach where the aim is to emulate reality as closely as possible, and with the highest fidelity. Two, (usually) through electronic and experimental music, the aim to create a meta-reality (beyond reality). The moment you add reverb to your vocalists voice you can place them into another 'room', in relation to lets say the drummer. The illusion is that you hear both instruments in one room but using the sound signatures of two rooms: this is meta-real. Of course, in between these are an infinite number of gradiants.

Using surround sound enriches both scenarios. From the purists point of view you can recreate approximate reality more accurately. For the abstract user/fantasist: the palette of possibilities has been expanded by a yet to be defined amount. Additionally, from a sound engineers point of view, though the complexity of the mixing setup is increased, once you have got to grips with it, mixing is less about compromise [ie EQ-ing bass line against bass drum] but more about spatialisation, which is immense fun!

Do you feel surround sound has the potential to become a more standardised format as technology moves forwards? With Dolby Digital making ever changing updates to their technology and the latest (on general sale) AV technology being BlueRay, what scope is there for this?

Definitely. With Blu-Ray and a new standard called Pure Audio Blu-Ray we have finally reached the point of passing to the consumer a studio grade master in full resolution. DVD, and any previous format, compressed the signal or had some other loss. Mp3's were (and are) practical but were born out of the need to transfer fast over slow connections and store a lot in limited spaces. Over time, bandwidth and the storage of audio in full resolution is not going to be an issue. Blu-Ray might even be the last physical medium we will use before we all start streaming content in full. It is a milestone, and in my opinion there is no going back.

I've seen stats suggesting there are around 100,000,000 surround systems in homes around the world, this indicates there is a substantial market for the general sale of music in surround sound formats. If music was made available in this format, what do you feel would be needed to help people with existing surround sound/home cinema set-ups make the transition to consuming audio/music in surround sound formats? 

Essentially, the availablity of a wide range of content!

Why is the collaboration between HeavyFeet and Binary Cell an exciting one for you? Do you have a vision to expand this relationship in the future?

On a personal level I really like the music. My head was bouncing up and down the whole time I was mixing it - and that is always a good sign.

Binary Cell is planning some surround sound releases in the future and I see HeavyFeet being a part of the first bunch we'll be putting out there.

Anything you want to plug?

http://www.binarycellstudios.com

Mike HF