Genelec The Ones bring Dolby Atmos to Stockholm’s iconic Atlantis Studios

Historic Stockholm facility Atlantis Studios has made the move to Dolby Atmos with the assistance of Genelec’s The Ones monitors.

Since opening in 1960, the former cinema has hosted sessions from some of the region’s biggest stars, including the likes of ABBA, The Hives, Cardigans, Roxette and Kent, as well as attracting some of the biggest names in international music, from Quincy Jones to Green Day and Elvis Costello to Primal Scream.

Renowned for its vast collection of vintage equipment, original echo chambers and musical instruments, Atlantis is now set to establish itself at the forefront of studio technology capabilities, adding a high-end Atmos mixing room kitted out with Genelec The Ones Smart Active Monitors.

“The latest upgrade saw us install a 7.1.4 system,” explained mix engineer Stefan Boman. “I was really keen on doing that because I did some stuff in 5.1, but that never really took off as there weren’t any proper platforms. I wanted to get into Atmos because you could see the trends and the investment behind it.

“We decided to invest in Atmos, and I heard that Dolby were coming over here to do some work – so I decided that we had to be equipped for immersive by then,” Boman continued. “We had to be done within a week and a half, so I called in favours from builders. There were some really late nights, but it worked out pretty well.”

The upgrade saw the mix room transformed from one created with 5.1 in mind to a fully immersive space certified by Dolby.

“Obviously for 7.1.4 we needed to add more speakers,” said Boman. “We worked out the best possible places for the monitors in the room, installed them and then calibrated the space with the help of Dolby engineers to gain the certification. We couldn’t have planned it any better.”

Boman, who has been using Genelec monitors since the mid-‘90s, said he has been continually impressed with the quality of the sound.

“I’ve had Genelec monitors for a long time, they fit my ears,” he noted. “When I first heard The Ones, I was so impressed with the definition. On most speakers you can hear it’s to the left or to the right but on these you can locate sounds with such precision – you can say things like ‘it’s 5 degrees to the left’! I was just blown away, I could really hear the pan definition. That really helps in an Atmos room.”

The system chosen by Boman features The Ones family of coaxial three-way point source monitors – specifically the 8351s for the L-C-R positions, 8341s for the surrounds and 8331s for the ceiling channels – all complemented by a 7370 subwoofer. “I really like it,” said Boman about mixing on the new Atmos system. “It’s natural sounding and I never get surprised when I bring tracks home or listen somewhere else. I just hear the mix decisions I made.”

Boman continued: “The first job I landed was Roxette, with a complete remix of their big hits. They asked me before the new space was built and I said I would love to do it, but I didn’t have a room. Eventually, they gave it to a US mix engineer because they really wanted to get it out early. By the time the mixes were ready, my room was about done, so they called me and asked if they could listen to the mixes in my studio. I thought it would be interesting, so I said ‘yes’.

“We heard the mixes, and Per from Roxette came by. So I asked if I could try out one song to see what we could do. I did the song and they came back and said ‘okay, it can be like this!’. So I ended up getting all the songs. It was a really good first real Atmos gig.”

From this starting point, the Atmos work has continued to grow for the studio.

“I think these days around 80% of the things I do are Atmos,” Boman commented. “I wanted to be involved in Atmos early on so I didn’t have to get on board later when everyone is doing it. It turned out to be a good move.”

While Atlantis has seen a high demand for Atmos mixes, Boman explained that it is the new creative possibilities that have particularly sparked his interest.

“With an Atmos mix you’re trying to invent stuff, that to me is the most inspiring thing,” he reflects. “Even though there are quite a lot of Atmos mixes out there, people are still trying to figure out how to do it in the best way. There are several different approaches, and you have to decide whether you want to be bold or conservative. I really enjoy being in the song, and all the new possibilities, and think ‘oh wow, I can do this now’.”