Immersive audio production on GENELEC's 45th anniversary reference disc

Mick Sawaguchi UNAMAS-Label / Fellow member AES and ips

This article is an introduction to the Immersive Audio production on GENELEC's 45th Anniversary Reference Disc - Sonic Discoveries. Which was consist of The CD will 44.1-16 2CH PCM, and the BD-A Disc will include 96-24 2CH PCM, as well as 48-24 11.1 CH DTS-X and Dolby Atoms, and Auro 3D 

in 96-24 11.1CH.

Production Crew

Executive Producer                             Siamäk Naghian       Genelec

Producer                                             Juho Martikainen      Genelec

Production Coordinator                     Seiji Murai       Synthax Japan

Music Director                                  Tetsuro Kanai

Recording/mix/mastering                  Mick Sawaguchi   UNAMAS Label

Assistant Engineer                            Jin Itoh           Synthax Japan

System Engineer                              Takeshi Mitsuhashi  Synthax Japan

Background of Production

At the AES INT CONFERENCE held in Tokyo in August 2018, the author gave a workshop lecture on the UNAMAS Label method as an example of the musicality and height miking approach to IMMERSIVE MUSIC RECORDING, and at the same time, UNAMAS LABEL's IMMERSIVE AUDIO music was demonstrated on 11.1CH at the GENELEC DEMO ROOM during the event.

Mr. Siamäk of GENELEC C.E.O., who was visiting Japan, asked me if UNAMAS Label could cooperate with him in creating an IMMERSIVE AUDIO reference disc that would be a reference for users. I suggested "I would be happy to cooperate, but since GENELEC has a great bass player named Juho, why don't you have him as a producer and make a new recording? “The project started and Juho, who was in charge of the director, selected the appropriate music and members for the composition with Cb, and finally the recording was scheduled for July 27-31, 2019 at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti on the shore of a lake in the suburbs of Helsinki. The recording staff consisted of five members from Japan and Germany. 

1 Details of IMMERSIVE production of 16 music 

Track-01 

The Air of the Lake part-01 from the Nature Whisper series

Mick Sawaguchi

I feel that all the sounds of nature on this earth are a wonderful orchestra. I started the Nature Whisper series with the idea of creating high-resolution immersive albums of only the sounds of nature played by the earth, not by musical instruments, and as of 2023, 23 albums have been released.

We live as a part of nature, and if we listen to each and every sound of this earth, we can picture in our mind's eye the purity that nothing is really added or subtracted.

   

Lake Nozori located in Agatsuma-gun, Gunma Prefecture, which belongs to Joshinetsu plateau National Park, is an artificial lake designated as the 22nd of the 100 best dammed lakes in Japan, and is surrounded by rich nature.

Visitors can enjoy the coolness of the plateau in summer, and in spring, the fan-like terrain with its blooming flowers allows visitors to hear the chirping of a variety of wild birds, including warblers, and enjoy the wonderful space surrounded by the calls of wild birds thanks to the terrain that reflects and amplifies the birds' voices 360 degrees. The waves of the lake are gentle, transparent, and have a relaxed rhythm, unlike ocean waves.

The field recording is a 192-24-4CH recording, and the material was designed to create an 11CHMIX.

Track-02

Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 114, D. 667 “The Trout”: I. Allegro Vivace

Track-03 

Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 114, D. 667 “The Trout”: II. Andante

Track-04 

Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 114, D. 667 “The Trout”: III. Scherzo (Presto)

Tarck-05 

Franz Schubert, Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 114, D. 667 “The Trout”: IV. Thema.  Andantino - Variazioni.  Allegretto

Track-06 

Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 114, D. 667 “The Trout”: V. Finale (Allegro Giusto)

Juho Quintet 

Joonas Pohjonen Apf

Petri Aarnio Vn

Ezra Woo Va

Sami Mäkelä Vc

Juho Martikainen Cb

The recording system plan is shown below. The main goal of this recording was to find the right balance between the piano and the string quartet, and to set up the main microphones to satisfy all performance and communication requirements.

Piano Quintet and Spider Tree 7.1CH miking

Trout is composed of Apf and Vn Va Vc Cb, and in the European recordings, they use each Spot microphones for the strings and Apf do not open the Apf lid too wide due to the less bleeding such as Decca Tree surround miking below. For the Apf, I brought a custom-made piano prop stick, to diffuse the sound into the hall, and the main microphones were used with a narrower height and distance than usual, with an emphasis on the strings.

The main 7.1 channel is miked with what I call a Spider Tree, and the artist surrounds the main microphone in what I call a Subjective Surround. I asked Juho to explain in advance why I wanted to use a circumferential arrangement so that there would be no confusion on the day of recording.The Apf has Spot microphones, which are placed on the height FL-FR, and I used the example of the successful use of the height FL-FR in the Atmos mix sound design in the movie as a reference.

The ceiling height from the stage is 11.1m and the key of C for the piano is 443KHz. 

Tarck-07 Everything is Under Control

Track-08 In the End

Juho project

These are sound sources created by Juho himself, using both the synthesized music sound sources and live instruments, and I feel that this type of music with sound sources is very suited to Immersive Audio. The reason for this is that in classical music, the height CH component is inevitably dominated by hall tones, or ambience. whereas in the case of a sound source that is entirely realistic, it is possible to place a solid real sound in the height CH component as well. The trigger for this was when I listened to a BD-A disc produced by a German computer music unit called RICHMOND. The Auro3D playback space composed of real sound was very impressive, and I realized that a 3D space with real sound is a new expression.

This two music were sent to me in multi-track wav 96-24 format, 60 tracks in each, and after laying them out on the Pyramix DAW, I considered how best to organize them, and decided to place the rhythm and chord instruments on the main 9.1 channel called "Beds," the key melody and the PAD and chorus on the height 4 channels. 

I prepared 5 channels of reverb for the Beds and 4 channels of reverb for the Height respectfully. Although it is possible to combine all the reverbs into a single 11-CH reverb, we chose to separate the reverbs by layer to prevent the music from becoming dumpling with reverb components. This is a decision that can be made based on the type of musical conception. There is no particular rule for this, as it is up to you to decide according to what kind of musical concept you have in mind.

Tarck-09 El pilla-pilla

Tarck-10 B for Brazil

Track-11Utatteiidesuka

Shintaro Mieda Apf

Tomomi Oda Vox

Masashi Sekiguchi Vc

The recording was done at Kaze No Hall, Mitaka Arts Center TOKYO. Since it is a hall recording, it is not possible to punch-in editing like in a studio, but Ms. Oda, the vocalist, sang beautifully and we were able to finish the session by simply selecting the best take from the two or three takes we recorded.

I was worried about how to build up as immersive music, but in the end, I decided to use a Vox Ch in the height FL-FR and a Vc in the rear of the Beds. Again, the reverb for Vox is configured separately for the Beds CH and the Height CH.

Tarck-12 Giovanni Bottesini, Elegy No. 1

Joonas Pohjonen Apf

Juho Martikainen Cb

Track-13 Jean-Babtiste Barriére, Sonate No.4 in G Major I. Andante

Tarck-14 Jean-Babtiste Barriére, Sonate No.4 in G Major II. Adagio

Tarck-15 Jean-Babtiste Barriére, Sonate No.4 in G Major III. Allegro Prestissimo

Sami Mäkelä Vc

Juho Martikainen Cb

These are Cb futured music compositions that are very few. We recorded Track-12-15 on the morning and afternoon of the last day of recording.

Tarck-16 Southern Waves Part 1 from The Nature Whisper series

Mick Sawaguchi

Palawan is the fifth largest island in the Philippines. Much of the island has been designated a World Natural Heritage site due to its precious natural environment, with abundant wildlife, jungles, and sandy beaches creating a beautiful natural landscape.

The sound waves contrasting stillness and movement on both sides of the island, birds singing in the mangrove forests in the early morning, sparkling sounds hitting the coral beaches at high tide at night, wind blowing through palm groves and bamboo forests, sudden squalls and waves swirling on the rocks, and many other soothing sounds were field-recorded and composed.

Conclusion

It has been a valuable experience for me to be in charge of the entire process from recording to 11.1CH mixing to mastering for BD-A for the production of this world-wide reference disc. In particular, I would like to thank Genelec Japan and Syntax Japan for their extraordinary contribution to the realization of this reference disc. We hope that everyone who has this disc in their hands will enjoy it through comparative listening in a variety of Immersive Audio formats.