Stephen W. Tayler Q&A / Favorite Mixes / Life in Surround Video in the Works

[edisonbaggins]

Hey, all!

I am preparing a Stephen W. Tayler Life in Surround video.

The main objective is to celebrate his work and raise awareness, for the enjoyment of all.

He has asked me if I have specific questions for him, so I'm passing that on to all of you. I'll ask anything I think he can answer, remembering that NDAs are a thing.
So, ask away! He might not have time for an interview, but I will address the questions and answers in the best way I can think of.

Also, please list your favorite SWT works, to this point. I plan to discuss favorites.

Thanks for your input!

~ Baggy

 

[Clement]

I think @Stephen W Tayler has really grown as a surround mixer, become better and better with each mix. Does he feel the same way about his work? If so, how does he account for the growth; what were the key moments that he believes resulted in better mixes?

What are his favo(u)rite multichannel mixes of his own? Of other mixers whom he admires?

How does he feel about Atmos, and might there be some Atmos mixes in his future (without revealing titles)?

I really enjoy Da Capo! Does @Stephen W Tayler plan on other solo projects (if he's able to talk about such things!)

Thank YOU, Baggy, for ALL you do! Stay Surrounded. Comrade!

 

[edisonbaggins]

I think @Stephen W Tayler has really grown as a surround mixer, become better and better with each mix. Does he feel the same way about his work? If so, how does he account for the growth; what were the key moments that he believes resulted in better mixes?

What are his favo(u)rite multichannel mixes of his own? Of other mixers whom he admires?

How does he feel about Atmos, and might there be some Atmos mixes in his future (without revealing titles)?

I really enjoy Da Capo! Does @Stephen W Tayler plan on other solo projects (if he's able to talk about such things!)

Thank YOU, Baggy, for ALL you do! Stay Surrounded. Comrade!

Excellent questions, Clement!
I love Da Capo, too. It is definitely on the list.

 

[SHB]

Thank you Edison for arranging this interview. It is going to be fantastic. I love everything Tayler remixed. Especially, Be Bop Deluxe, Bill Nelson Red Noise remixes & Renaissance azure d'or. He did a nice job beefing up Marillion's Holidays In Eden. His VDGG remixes are well done too. I like Da Capo as well. VERY excited about the Camel boxset.
Question: What album or band would he love to tackle in the future if multis were available?

 

[jefe1]

Reminds me I need to listen to his remix of Barclay James Once Again.

 

[colsky]

Good work Mr Bagman and good luck with this

I'm struggling to think of questions at the moment, it's the end of a long busy day, but I shall return.

(one question I'd love to ask, but not a fair one I appreciate, is - I absolutely love the work you did on the Van der Graaf Generator Charisma Years set. What are the chances of a similar set for Peter Hammill's solo work?)

I have quite a few SWT surround mixes now. My favourites to date:

Van der Graaf - H to He and Pawn Hearts from the box set. I do prefer the music on the other 2 albums (Godbluff and Still Life), but I appreciate the surround mixes of the first 2 more. Perhaps there was more to work with?

Hawkwind - Space Ritual - absolutely amazing mixes on both the surround and the 3 separate gigs in stereo. This set is one of my prize possessions!

Barclay James Harvest - Once Again. This isn't an album that I had previously on any format, but I love the songs and the surround mix.

Van der Graaf - The Bath Forum concert. Given there's only 3 musicians, the surround mix is a fantastic piece of work.

I'm sure the Camel albums mixed in surround from the forthcoming boxset will join this list! I grew up with Camel music, and these are some of my favourite albums. I bet it was so hard for Stephen keeping quiet about this one, amidst all the speculation and silence of the last few months relating to this!

 

[edisonbaggins]

I appreciate the surround mixes of the first 2 more. Perhaps there was more to work with?

I think this is a great question.

We share a lot of favorite choices.

 

[Dynamic Editor]

Hey, all!

I am preparing a Stephen W. Tayler Life in Surround video.

The main objective is to celebrate his work and raise awareness, for the enjoyment of all.

He has asked me if I have specific questions for him, so I'm passing that on to all of you. I'll ask anything I think he can answer, remembering that NDAs are a thing.
So, ask away! He might not have time for an interview, but I will address the questions and answers in the best way I can think of.

Also, please list your favorite SWT works, to this point. I plan to discuss favorites.

Thanks for your input!

~ Baggy

I don't really know questions to ask, but one way of farming questions is looking through previous interviews he has been a part of and seeing what questions piqued his interest. Of course, try not to overlap on questions, but the point is to see what drives him and work off that.

 

[Dynamic Editor]

Here's an interview on his site, and I'll edit in more to this comment as I find more: Stephen W Tayler - Experiential Evocation

http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/tayler_interview_july21.htm

 

[edisonbaggins]

I don't really know questions to ask, but one way of farming questions is looking through previous interviews he has been a part of and seeing what questions piqued his interest.

You are right, but I promise you that I do not have time for that. Part of the reason to engage the community.

 

[ar surround]

I have three of his remixes: The Moody Blues To Our Childrens Childrens Children; Barclay James Harvest Once Again and Renaissance azure d'or. I really like all three of them.

My questions:

- What are Stephen's objectives for a 5.1 remix of an album where a quadraphonic recording already exists? TOCCC and Once Again would be in those categories. I recall him mentioning on this forum that he simply had to go with what he had on TOCCC because of the bouncing down employed on the 8 multitracks that were existed.

- Does Stephen ever utilize state-of-the-art demix technology where the multi-tracks do not afford acceptable remixing into 5.1? Or perhaps where the multis for all of the tracks of an album are simply not available?

- What is Stephen's philosophy when it comes to utilization of the Center and LFE channels?

Thanks for doing this interview, Mike!

 

[sjcorne]

What is Stephen's philosophy when it comes to utilization of the Center and LFE channels?

Some info here:
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/qa-...award-winning-producer-engineer-and-musician/

....there are no set rules, but some things just work – a bit like in stereo, where double-tracked instrumentation just sounds and feels good when you hard-pan it left and right. Also, I’m not a fan of completely separating a lead vocal into the center channel. I tend to use it for central focus, rather than isolation.

 

[The56Kid]

Love the work that Tayler did on the Bebop catalogue, but I’d like to know if he agrees that Futurama came up short sonically and mix-wise compared to its brethren. If so, why? Going in, I fully expected Futurama to really shine in 5.1.

 

[Godman]

Barclay James Harvest's Time Again and all 4 VDGG are beautifully done. We know that SWT was involved in the first recording of the supergroup UK ( Wetton, Bruford, Holdsworth and Jobson) around 1979 and that the original tapes are unfortunately lost. The last UK live reissue ( Wetton Jobson ) was butchered in 5.1 with dreadful reviews here. Would he have a second go at it given the opportunity?

 

[Simplepast Presentperfect]

Love the work that Tayler did on the Bebop catalogue, but I’d like to know if he agrees that Futurama came up short sonically and mix-wise compared to its brethren. If so, why? Going in, I fully expected Futurama to really shine in 5.1.

What didn't you like specifically in the mix compared to the others? If I remember right he used basically the same approach as in the other releases, for instance his placing of vocals, bass and drum center in the center channel.

 

[Clement]

Mixing strikes me (and i'm only a fan–never mixed) as both an art and a science; do you agree? If so, how does each aspect impact your decisions as a mix master (and this fan does view @Stephen W Tayler as a master!)?

 

[CINERAMAX]

Atmos?