Maison Melody AM:PM, the revolutionary new listening experience from award-winning composer Stephen Emmer is a breakthrough project in the music technology industry. With potential to change the way we experience music, and sound as a whole, we got chatting to Stephen to find out more…
UR: How did you get into music in the first place?
MY MOM WAS A BALLET TEACHER AND DURING A BREAK IN HER STUDIO I STARTED TICKLING AWAY ON THE OLD PIANO THERE. SHE CAME IN AND SAID: do you know what you are playing? I SAID NO. SHE THEN SAID: THAT’S BEETHOVEN.. I THOUGHT WOW AND NOW DECADES I STILL SAY WOW TO MUSIC:)
UR: Did you have other goals/dreams if it wasn’t going to be music?
I ALWAYS FANCIED BECOMING A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT WAY BACK. THAT WAY I COULD, BEING RESTLESS, MOVE EVERY 3 YEARS TO A NEW PLACE TO LIVE. IN MUSIC THAT IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY IT APPEARED, SO BOTH GREAT IN THAT RESPECT TOO.
UR:How do you spend most of your spare time outside of music?
MY LANGUAGE TEACHER ONCE SAID; try to make your hobby into work. years later i came to see him again and i said: I DID WHAT YOU SAID BUT NOW I DON’T HAVE A HOBBY ANYMORE. I DON’T LIKE CYCLING, FISHING, COLLECTING STAMPS….
UR: What’s your method for discovering new music?
WELL I HAVE A FANTIC CIRCLE OF FRIENDS WHO SEND ME TIPS, MUST CONFESS SPOTIFY DOES REALLY GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS NOW AND THEN AND I LISTEN TO ECLECTIC RADIO SHOWS FROM SAY KCRW, WORLDWIDERADIO , FIP FROM FRANCE, READ MOJO AND THE QUIETUS. HALF OF THE NEW MUSIC I DISCOVER IS OLD MUSIC THOUGH FUNNILY ENOUGH!
UR: Do you think the implementation of Dolby Atmos and 360 sound could be a new norm of listening to music?
I’M CONVINCED BECAUSE THIS AROUND IT DOESN’T DEPEND ON EXPENSIVE EXCLUSIVE SOUND SYSTEMS ANYMORE BUT CAN ALSO BE ENJOYED WITH HEADPHONES ON, SIMPLE AS THAT.
ALSO ITS HARD FOR ARTISTS TO INNOVATE IN THE OLD WAYS TODAY. AND AS BRIAN ENO ONCE SAID: OTHERWISE WE SIMPLY HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT MUSIC MIGHT BECOME THE NEXT WHALE OIL… HAHA
UR: Is the concept of Maison Melody something you’ve always wanted to explore?
IN A WAY YES BECAUSE ALREADY IN THE DAYS OF PINK FLOYD THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT AND IN RETROSPECT ALREADY ITS A BIT AWKWARD TO LISTEN TO SOUNDS FROM JUST TWO SPEAKERS NOW AS IT WAS BACK IN THE DAY TO LISTEN TO ONLY ONE SPEAKER. ITS LONG OVERDUE.
UR: Are there any ways in which this new technology could be pushed further and used in other sectors of our day-to-day lives?
YES, WHAT WE SEE NOW ALREADY IS THAT IMMERSIVE SOUND IS IMPLEMENTED IN CAR AUDIO SYSTEMS AT THE MOMENT AND NEXT TO THE HOME AND MOBILE LISTEN SETUPS I CAN SEE THIS BECOMING MORE THEN ONLY ENTERTAINING, F. E FOR MEDICAL AID FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED WHO NEED TO RELY ON SOUND COORDINATES AND FOR GAMING, FOR THE METAVERSE EXPERIENCES, FOR NEW LIVE EVENTS like abbas theatre in London, ETC ETC
[Urban Radar Music - Editorial - 7 March 2022]
