Composer, arranger and producer based in Brazil, Ricardo Bacelar describes his Jasmin Studio as ‘a kind of music lab’. His latest album, Congênito, is a mix of pop, world, jazz and fusion, and saw Bacelar record, produce, sing and play every instrument himself in the new WSDG-designed studio, recording in Dolby Atmos using a Solid State Logic 48-channel Duality Delta SuperAnalogue console.

Bacelar admits he is ‘testing all the time’ in the studio in Fortaleza on the coast of Northeast Brazil, where he has one of the most advanced Dolby Atmos certified residential facilities in Latin America – and beyond – in terms of its immersive audio capabilities.

He says that a key consideration for recording in Dolby Atmos is that it requires a new way of thinking. ‘The arrangement of the microphones is completely different in Dolby Atmos,’ he asserts. ‘For example, I use a Neumann KU 100 dummy head microphone or a Sennheiser Ambeo VR mic to record a truly immersive ambient sound, and also close mic instruments like the piano and drums, to be able to keep the dry sound in the overall mix.

‘In Dolby Atmos, the centre can be behind you and gives a new perspective to the listener,’ he continues. ‘But then we are challenging the norms of the industry, but if you have the courage, you should go for it. For me, Dolby Atmos is a new form of printing the aesthetics of music. Music is art. You must have courage and obey your heart, your brain, and your feelings. That way, you will create great music.’

On Congênito he used the Neumann KU 100 to record the overall ambience as well as a pair of Neumann TLM 103s, a Schoeps mic, a Shure SM57 and AKG 451 for dry sounds. For other percussion instruments, Bacelar again used the KU 100 for ambience and close mics with a Sennheiser e 904.

‘If you don’t add the KU 100 and record the ambient sound it sounds like you need reverb,’ he says. ‘It’s way too dry with just e 904 when it comes to the spatial quality of the sound.’

Already working on the next project, Bacelar is secretive on what it will be, but he’s certain about one thing: ‘With each of my albums, I go to a different space. Congênito was acoustic, the next one will be very different.’

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