British loudspeaker manufacturer PMC has been chosen to provide the speakers for the presentation of an immersive audio experience at the first international exhibition devoted to the life of world-famous rock band, The Rolling Stones.
Entitled ‘The Rolling Stones – Unzipped’, this touring exhibition opens on 14 November at the Groninger Museum in The Netherlands. PMC’s speaker systems are also being used during the mixing of the audio soundtracks for the showcase event in Dolby Atmos at Capitol Studios, LA and PMC’s own Dolby Atmos mix studio at Highland Park, LA, California.
The Groninger Museum was host to a legendary concert by the band in 1999 and will house the exhibition until 28 February 2021, before it begins a tour around the world. Fans of the band will journey through the band's legacy, ending with a very special finale experience that takes the visitors into an iconic Stones moment, delivered in multi-dimensional Dolby Atmos Sound.
With PMC’s integral part in the development of Dolby Atmos for Music, the use of PMC by the Rolling Stones was an obvious choice for the exhibition’s finale presentation of their 2016 Latin America tour documentary, “Olé, Olé, Olé” and concert footage from the band’s ground-breaking concert in Havana, Cuba. Five large screens will immerse fans in this multi-dimensional experience, with an array of PMC’s new Ci140 speakers and as yet unreleased flagship active subwoofers the BST, providing 23 channels of Dolby Atmos soundtrack powered by in excess of 20,000 watts. The audio-visual system will take fans deep into the Rolling Stones world with a more immersive experience than was possible even at the concert itself.
This event marks the first public use of PMC’s Ci series, with the Ci140-XBD, custom designed for the Stones, providing the L, C, R channels. 12 channels of surround and rear effects come from the Ci140 and eight overhead channels feature the Ci65 model. Additional bass support is provided by the new BST active subwoofers.
Prior to the installation of the speaker system at The Groninger Museum, PMC is working with the Rolling Stones’ label, Universal Music (UMG), on the remixing of the audio soundtrack into Atmos. This work is being undertaken by Nick Reeves, staff engineer at UMG’s Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, in the PMC equipped Studio C using Dolby’s technology. Additional mixing is taking place at PMC own Dolby Atmos equipped Highland Park Studio in LA, California.
Before the unveiling of the new audio experience at ‘The Rolling Stones – Unzipped’, PMC plans to present the mixes to the band and its management at its UK-based facility for approval and sign-off.
Maurice Patist comments, “To be involved in a project like this, with the biggest band in the world, is a major honour for PMC. Our close relationship with UMG and Dolby led to the creation of a state-of-the-art Atmos production studio at Capitol Studios, which is hailed as the reference for this kind of audio mixing.” He continues, “UMG will be mixing the soundtrack at Capitol and also at our own Atmos facility in Highland Park, LA, before it is replayed to the fans at this spectacular exhibition using the same speakers used for the mix. No other speaker system can get the fans nearer to the essence of the band and it is going to be a real treat for visitors.”
PMC has been manufacturing professional grade studio speakers and domestic hi-fi products since 1991 and is the undisputed reference in professional audio for the rapidly emerging Dolby Atmos Movie and Music format. Its studio monitor speakers are used around the globe for mixing and re-mixing movie soundtracks and music for this multi-channel immersive audio experience.
For more information about the exhibition please visit rollingstones.com
Photo by Dave Hogan
