Music Week
David Bowie LPs remixed in 360 Reality Audio by Tony Visconti to coincide with 75th birthday celebrations
by Andre Paine in Music Week, January 6, 2002
The David Bowie Estate has announced a series of releases from David Bowie’s catalogue that have been remixed and reimagined exclusively in 360 Reality Audio. The immersive music experience is driven by Sony’s spatial sound technology.
The content is the latest David Bowie music to be mixed in 360 Reality Audio, following Space Oddity, which is currently available on 360 Reality Audio-supported streaming platforms.
In conjunction with the ongoing Bowie 75 celebrations, longtime Bowie producer Tony Viscontihas crafted 360 Reality Audio mixes of Heathen, Reality, A Reality Tour (Live), The Next Day, and Blackstar. The albums, which are currently released by Sony Music, will be available for streaming in 360 Reality Audio beginning January 21 on Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer and Tidal.
Additionally, the David Bowie Estate and Sony are making available four archival live performance recordings that have been mixed and reimagined in 360 Reality Audio. The technology makes it possible to create a lifelike music experience, giving listeners the feeling that they are in a live concert setting.
The four songs are from David Bowie’s A Reality Tour, featuring live audio and video from Bowie’s final concert tour, to be livestreamed in 360 Reality Audio today (January 6) at midnight UK time (4pm PST) on the online platform Sony Square (via David Bowie’s YouTube channel). Listeners can use any set of headphones to hear the music in 360 Reality Audio via the livestream here.
Immediately following the livestream, viewers will be able to stream this performance with the Artist Connection app on a smartphone. With Sony-certified headphones and the Sony Headphones Connect app, users can also optimise their experience by analysing their individual ear shape to enjoy a custom immersive musical field. This sound field personalisation feature is only available for streaming with the Artist Connection experience.
Both the YouTube livestream and the Artist Connection viewing experiences will be available to the general public.
“The fan response to Bowie 75 has been nothing short of amazing,” said Lawrence Peryer, producer of Bowie 75. “David was always on the cutting edge of the latest developments in technology, so it was a natural fit to collaborate with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio team to bring fans a whole new way to experience his music. The reimagining of David’s music, which can be experienced at the pop-ups or via streaming, has given his lifelong fans and new listeners alike a reason to celebrate.”
“It’s been an honour partnering with the David Bowie Estate to help deliver special new fan experiences as part of Bowie 75,” said Jordy Freed, head of partner marketing & strategy, Sony Corporation of America. “We hope David Bowie fans everywhere enjoy listening to this iconic music in 360 Reality Audio.”
The Bowie 75 pop-up locations will remain open until late January, 2022. The Bowie 75 locations are at 150 Wooster Street, New York City and 14 Heddon Street, the London location where the cover of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders from Mars was shot.
The David Bowie Estate recently signed a landmark deal with Warner Music Group covering both recordings and music publishing.
