What Happened When I Met Phil Collins (and Steven Wilson)

What happens when two generations of sonically obsessed musicians sit down in a room together?

I recently had the opportunity to attend a special Dolby Atmos listening event for Phil Collins’ seminal 1981 debut solo album, Face Value. Before the spatial playback, Phil Collins sat down for an intimate, in-depth conversation with producer, artist, and spatial audio maestro Steven Wilson, who mixed the new Atmos release.

Remarkably, Phil admitted he hadn’t listened to Face Value as a complete piece of music since making it nearly 45 years ago.

Listening to them deconstruct the record was a masterclass in production dynamics:

Bedroom Demos & Brian Eno: How raw home demo tracks recorded on an 8-track, like the synth pads and drum machine on “In the Air Tonight”, made it straight onto the final master tapes thanks to lessons learned working with Brian Eno. 

The Accidental Gated Drum Sound: The story behind stumbling upon that iconic drum tone alongside Hugh Padgham during Peter Gabriel's Intruder sessions. 

Eric Clapton’s Single Note: Why Eric Clapton ended up playing just one single, perfectly placed note on "If Leaving Me Is Easy". 

Translating to Spatial Audio: How Steven Wilson approached mixing the album into Dolby Atmos with absolute fidelity to the original balances, reverbs, and dynamic choices.

I’ve written a deep dive into their conversation and the sonic legacy of Face Value for Now Spinning Magazine.

Read the full article here: