Elis Regina's music is recreated in Dolby Atmos and the result is amazing

The voice of one of the biggest names in Brazilian music reaches your ears from all corners with a new remix that thrills fans and amazes the unsuspecting. Like our parents, music of Elis the Queen and poetry assumed by secondhand, has undergone an immersive listening treatment that causes the same awe and enchantment as a live show by the remarkable little girl.

A Universal Music Brazil re-released the masterpiece and song immortalized in the voice of Elis Regina remastered in the Dolby Atmos, known in Brazil as Space Audio. It is worth noting that it is the first Brazilian song to be released with technology, capable of provoking the so-called “astonishment of hearing”, with sounds that seem to come from all corners: beside, in front, behind and above.

The amazement grows as the level of realism of the musical experience offers, even more so when dealing with an icon that has not been with us for almost 40 years. Not only the voice, but also the alternation between moments of strength and subtlety of the instruments, accurately conveys the distance between the performer, the microphone and the supposed audience of what seems to be a live show.

To mark the forty-five years of the recording and release of one of the most outstanding national songs, João Marcelo Boscolli, music producer and son of the singer, said in a statement that they took the opportunity to restore some sound artifacts that did not belong to the original recording, such as small distortions and hiss.

The original version was recorded in stereo, that is, made to be heard in the traditional way. With the availability of Spatial Audio, it is now possible to listen to up to twelve different sound channels.

This means that a sound circle around the listener is created using the technology, which makes it possible for sounds to be placed anywhere in space and no longer just on specific channels.

How does Spatial Audio work?

According to Giovanni Asselta, Dolby engineer who also worked on the remastering of Elis Regina's music, the technology originated in 2012, initially created for the cinema. He explains that there is a combination of two usual types of mixing: bed and objects.

“The bed is the base, it's the sound I mix thinking about the speakers. One mix per channel. Object no. Object is what I mix for the room. So, we were able to add the bed and object, creating an immersive audio.”

Giovanni Asselta, engineer and technical director at Dolby.

Access to the experience only requires a simple headset. The son and strategist of Elis' legacy, Bôscolli, only makes an observation regarding the need to be careful with the immersive instigation.

“The mixing is now on an artistic path, no longer just technical, but care must be taken. If Elis is singing something super emotional, I can't put a drum beat going behind the listener's head. That would be like letting go of a laser beam during a dramatic performance by Fernanda Montenegro. Respect is needed”

João Marcelo Boscolli

Importance of music within the historical context of the dictatorship

The work reaches a universal character for dealing with issues present in the realities of young people at any time: the generation gap. Being written in the 70s, it also has a great energy of repression caused by the dictatorship. Soon, the feeling of discomfort that the song conveys became almost an anthem of movements that resisted the military regime. 

It is no wonder that the music, composed by Belchior, marked generations in Elis Regina's voice, appearing on the list of 100 best Brazilian songs in history of the magazine Rolling Stone.

In 1996, Belchior gave an interview to discuss his creative choices, warning that the lyrics have the mission of being blunt.

“It emerged from the explicit, direct desire to make an acidic, somewhat bitter song, reflective of this ever-changing condition of young people in the age of communication. However, the political commitment that this change entails – and because this change happens so often – I wanted to make a song that went beyond the mere narrative of the generation gap.” 

secondhand

“Como Nossa Pais” can be heard in Special Audio by Apple Music or by Tidal — access to both platforms is exclusive to subscribers. Take the opportunity to learn more about how Spatial Audio works in Apple Music.

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Sources: Mazatlán's Letters, Veja, Outline