Chris Bell Recording · Mixing · Dolby Atmos

When singer-songwriter Katrina Cain wanted to capture her new EP in a setting as authentic as her music, she turned to Mercenary Magnetics. The vision was simple: take 32 channels of Rupert Neve Designs preamps into the Hill Country and let the environment shape the sound.

We set up at a retreat outside Wimberley — stone walls, high ceilings, natural reverb you couldn't buy in a plugin. The Dante network let us run clean, long cable runs without signal degradation, and the Neve pres did what they always do: make everything sound warm, open, and real.

Katrina brought a band of Austin's finest session players, and over three days we tracked the entire EP live with minimal overdubs. The goal was to capture performances, not just sounds. When the musicians can hear each other breathe, you get a different kind of record.

The mixes were completed in both stereo and Dolby Atmos, giving listeners on Apple Music the full spatial experience. This is what Mercenary Magnetics was built for — bringing world-class recording to the spaces that inspire the best music.

Spatial audio isn't a gimmick and it isn't going away. With Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music all supporting Dolby Atmos, artists who skip the immersive mix are leaving half the canvas blank.

I started mixing in Dolby Atmos before Apple Music even announced Spatial Audio. I saw where the format was headed and made the investment early — certified monitoring, proper room treatment, and hundreds of hours learning how to make Atmos mixes that actually sound great, not just "different."

The reality is that millions of listeners are now hearing music in spatial audio by default on their AirPods and HomePods. If your record doesn't have an Atmos mix, Apple's algorithm generates one automatically — and an algorithm doesn't know your music the way your engineer does.

The cost of adding an Atmos mix to a project that's already being mixed in stereo is a fraction of the overall production budget. The music is already in Pro Tools. The stems are already organized. Going from a great stereo mix to a great Atmos mix is an extension of the same creative process, not starting from scratch.

Every record I mix now, I push for both formats. The artists who've done it don't go back.

Looking back on 2023, it was one of the most creatively diverse years I've had behind the console. From Lincoln Durham's raw, bone-rattling blues on "Resurrection Thorn" to Lauren Diamond's polished pop on "Good Enough," every project brought something new to the table.

The Dolby Atmos mixes this year were particularly exciting. Lincoln Durham's record was a masterclass in restraint — knowing when to push elements wide into the spatial field and when to keep things tight and punchy in the center. Rob Baird's "California Line" opened up beautifully in Atmos, with acoustic guitars wrapping around the listener in a way that stereo simply can't replicate.

Nakia's "Thrill-o-matic" was pure fun to mix in spatial — that voice deserves to fill a room, and Atmos lets it do exactly that. Dylan James Riley, Dallas Burrow, Oscar DeLaughter, and Final Child all added their own colors to a year that proved the format works across every genre.

Every one of these records was mixed with the same philosophy: serve the song, honor the artist's vision, and make it sound like a piece of art. The format is just the frame.

Some of the best records ever made were tracked in rooms that weren't "studios" in any traditional sense. Muscle Shoals was a converted coffin factory. Electric Lady was a basement nightclub. The sound of a space matters more than whether it has a control room window.

That's the idea behind Mercenary Magnetics' mobile recording service. I bring 32 channels of Rupert Neve Designs RMP-D8 preamps — the same Class A circuitry and mastering-grade converters you'd find in a top-tier facility — to wherever the artist wants to be. A Hill Country ranch. A historic church with 40-foot ceilings. A honky-tonk stage on a Saturday night.

The Dante network audio protocol means we can run long cable runs without signal loss, set up in unconventional spaces, and maintain the same audio quality you'd get in a million-dollar room. The preamps don't care where they are. They just make everything sound incredible.

If you've got a space that inspires you, I've got the gear to capture it. That's the whole pitch.

Apple Music launched a new curated series called "The Engineers" — a collection of playlists spotlighting the people behind the console. I was selected to be part of the inaugural group, with a playlist showcasing three decades of work across genres.

It's a recognition that the engineer shapes the sound of a record as much as any other collaborator. The playlist spans everything from Erykah Badu and The Eagles to Brian Blade and beyond — a career in track listings.

Special thanks to BMI and Mitch Ballard for making it happen. You can listen to the full playlist on Apple Music.

When the opportunity came to bring Selena's "Moonchild Mixes" into Dolby Atmos for Apple Music Spatial Audio, I knew it would be one of those projects you remember for your whole career.

Selena's voice is iconic — there's a warmth and power to it that transcends language and genre. The challenge with any legacy catalog project is honoring what made the original recordings special while taking advantage of what the new format can offer.

In Atmos, we were able to give Selena's vocals room to breathe in a three-dimensional space, surround the listener with the lush arrangements, and create an intimacy that feels like she's performing just for you. The percussion hits different when it's positioned in space around you rather than compressed into two channels.

The record is streaming now on Apple Music in Dolby Atmos. Put on a pair of headphones and close your eyes. That's the experience we built.

Sue Foley's "Pinky's Blues" was built the way great blues records should be — raw, honest, and tracked live with musicians feeding off each other's energy in the room.

We captured the sessions with the Rupert Neve preamps, keeping the signal chain as pure and transparent as possible. When you've got a guitar tone as distinctive as Sue's, the last thing you want is gear getting in the way. The Neves just let the sound through — clean, warm, and full of life.

Mike Flanigin produced, and the two of them have a musical shorthand that made the sessions effortless. The mixes were designed to sound like you're standing in the room — close enough to feel the amp vibrate, far enough to hear the whole band as one.

The record went on to receive critical acclaim and a full-page ad in the Grammy issue of Billboard Magazine.

Always a thrill to see studio work hit the national stage. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians brought it to Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show — a reminder that great music starts with great recording, and that the work we do behind the glass has a life far beyond the studio walls.

Edie and the band are the real deal — musicians who've been making records together for decades and still sound like they're discovering something new every time they play. That energy translates whether you're hearing it in headphones or watching it on late night television.