Out now is the Beach Boys' legendary 1966 Pet Sounds album, newly mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos by Giles Martin. Martin, the son of famed producer George Martin, is the man responsible for the heralded recent Dolby Atmos mixes for the recent spate of Beatles reissues. The cutting-edge Pet Sounds mix is available via Apple, Amazon, and Tidal.
We caught up with Giles Martin and asked him about how he managed to provide a new and fascinating look for one of the most beloved recordings in music history: “Well, things are never done, are they? They have life to them. And the stereo mix is great, y'know, it's not immaculate — there's no such thing as an 'immaculate' mix. And, y'know, listening to the stereo vs. the mono, the reverbs are very different on the stereo to the mono. It's quite a bit wetter. So, I was making sure it was not going to be wetter than the stereo, in fact, I think it's a little bit drier than that even though it's an Atmos, which does create a sense of space. The great thing about this is you have a reference — they can listen to the mono, the stereo, or the Atmos version. I would never be as arrogant (as) to say I've made the definitive version of Pet Sounds. What I've done is I've made a Dolby Atmos immersive version of Pet Sounds that hopefully people will love and enjoy.”