LIVE music fans will be able to listen to recordings of concerts through the ears of the experts on the sound desk, thanks to new technology developed by a PhD researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Bill Evans, who also lectures in the Department of Contemporary Arts at the University, has created two virtual listening positions for the video version of prog-rock supergroup Flying Colours’ new Second Flight: Live at Z7.
The first allows fans to listen to the concert as if they were in the front row, while the second replicates the sound from the front-of-house mixing console, where the sound engineers sit during the show.
Assistant engineer Tom Price, and mix engineer Rich Mouser used Evans’ psychoacoustic and sonic modeling techniques to create the two virtual listening positions.
“The experience of hearing a concert in a specific time and place is as much a result of psychoacoustic and physiological factors as auditory ones,” said Evans. “Most surround mixes give you at best an artificial sense of location unrelated to a real venue. With Second Flight, you hear the concert as you would have heard it sitting in specific locations in the venue where the show was recorded. This takes the listener a big step closer to experiencing the show live.”
Evans points out that while fans often stealthily record shows and post them, it is highly unlikely that they could create this sort of immersive experience. As a result, artists and record labels who use his technology could deliver a unique product that is integrated into the Blu-ray or DVD so you can’t get it by simply downloading the mix. “These location-specific mixes can be add-ons to an existing title, integrated into a main release, or made into a special addition,” said Evans.
In addition, the team have created a version of the concert which replicates this surround sound over headphones, so you can take the concert with you on your device and listen to it wherever you are.
The “headphone surround” innovation was adapted by Bill from video game technology to re-create the front-row surround mix for standard headphones.
“One of the biggest things that has impeded sales of 5.1 and other surround products is that you have to sit in the sweet spot in a space with multiple speakers placed in exactly the right way, preferably in a treated room,” said Evans. “That’s not realistic for most fans. The ability to get the same experience on regular headphones—including the Bluetooth headphones and headphones for smartphones and tablets favored by many fans—will enable artists and labels to break through this barrier.”
Mascot Label Group, Flying Colors’ record label, is also excited about the new technologies. “I’ve usually been disappointed by attempts to capture the live concert experience in recorded music,” said Director of A&R Jim Pitulski, “but Bill Evans has taken an exciting step forward. We’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Bill and Flying Colors on the concept’s maiden voyage.”
