A new album from Molécule (aka Romain Delahaye-Serafini) features immersive mixes created using L-ISA 3.0 spatial audio mixing software. Entitled RE-201, it sees the French artist working alongside Jamaican legends including Johnny Clarke and Big Youth, delivering his ’s own brand of techno.
Accompanied by French Touch pioneers such as Boombass from the Cassius duo, Etienne de Crécy and DJ Falcon each of the album’s elements are mixed into an immersive soundscape by sound designer and Radio France immersive audio innovator, Hervé Déjardin .
Molécule is no stranger to creating in spatial audio, and is known for integrating 360° experiences to his live concerts – also using L-ISA immersive audio technology. The release of RE-201 again sees Déjardin at the controls. The result is an emotionally engaging spatial experience, rich with Jamaican flavour, beat-driven spatial movement, and immersive nuance.
The immersive experience created with L-ISA 3.0 is integral to the recording: ‘The way I used spatialisation for this album was to work on micro-movements to emphasise the grooves, the pulse, and the irresistible urge to dance,’ Molécule says. ‘With spatial audio, we expand our palette of colours. The listening experience becomes richer and more intense. The listener is in the sound.’
Having been at the forefront of the house and dub scene since the early 2000s, Molécule is well versed in the tools used in its creation. On RE-201, he builds on his knowledge of the Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines – the album title itself referencing the contemporary Roland Space Echo – while leveraging modern immersive mixing.
Prior embarking on his first immersive recording project, Molécule had built a solid base of knowledge in live performance, also using L-ISA immersive audio technology: ‘I had the privilege of doing a club tour using spatial audio presented in L-ISA, and the experience is radically new, and incredibly exciting,’ he relates. ‘It is inspiring not only for the audience, but also the artist – we are all together in the sound, literally enveloped by it.’
He adds that this brings an elevated dimension to the collective concert experience: ‘It’s conducive to communion, journeying, collective trance. It adds a much more personal notion of perceiving elements and sounds.’
While Molécule has honed his live performance and spatial mixes, he says that the opportunity for emerging artists is enormous, and ready to explore: ‘Today, there are quite simple and affordable tools that allow one to spatialise compositions on a simple laptop. One of these is L-ISA Studio, which allows artists to create movements on a laptop, record their spatialised mix, and then export it in different formats. It’s accessible to all producers.’
Molécule is now planning immersive shows in support of the album.
See also:
Molécule finds new space (recording -22.7° C)
More: www.l-acoustics.com
