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Brian Eno’s new album is #5 in the SDE Surround Series

Dolby Atmos Mix delivered exclusively on blu-ray audio

By Paul Sinclair

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140

(Quick link to pre-order)

A Dolby Atmos Mix of FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE, the forthcoming album from Brian Eno, will be released exclusively via SDE as a limited edition blu-ray audio.

Eno needs no introduction. Musician, producer, visual artist and activist, he first came to international prominence in the early Seventies as a founding member of Roxy Music, followed by a series of solo albums and collaborations. His work as producer includes albums with Talking Heads (such as Fear of Music and Remain in Light), Devo, U2 (The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby et al), Laurie Anderson and Coldplay, while his long list of collaborations include recordings with David Bowie (Low, Heroes, Lodger & Outside), Jon Hassell, Harold Budd, John Cale, David Byrne, Grace Jones and most recently with his brother, Roger, on Mixing Colours. In August 2021, they performed together for the very first time at the Acropolis in Athens. 

Brian Eno’s visual experiments with light and video continue to parallel his musical career, with exhibitions and installations all over the globe. To date, he has released over forty solo albums including Here Come The Warm Jets, Another Green World, Ambient 1: Music for Airports, Apollo: Atmosphere and Soundtracks, Small Craft On A Milk Sea and Lux to name just a few. In April 2021, he launched EarthPercent, which raises money from the music industry for some of the most impactful environmental charities working on the climate emergency.

About the new album

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE is Eno’s 22nd studio album and was recorded in his West London and Norfolk studios. The long-player sees Brian sing on the majority of tracks for the first time on an album since 2005’s Another Day On Earth.

It includes the song ‘There Were Bells’ which concerns the current climate emergency, a theme that is explored throughout the album and ‘We Let It In’, a haunting hymnal in which Eno’s daughter Darla sings an angelic counterpoint to Brian’s vocal. 

The album is made up of 10 distinct songs and Brian has experimented on the record using tonal over major chord changes. Of it, he says, “My voice has changed, it’s lowered, it’s become a different personality I can sing from. I don’t want to sing like a teenager, it can be melancholic, a bit regretful. As for writing songs again –  it’s more landscapes, but this time with humans in them.

I like creating worlds, that’s what I do as an artist. Now after quite a long absence of humans in those worlds I have tried putting one in and seeing how they feel in the world I’ve made.”

‘We Let It In’ from FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE. This sounds wonderful mixed in Dolby Atmos.
What is the SDE Surround Series?

For the uninitiated, The SDE Surround Series is an ongoing collaboration between SuperDeluxeEdition.com and likeminded artists and record labels, where we deliver spatial audio via physical product. The products are available exclusively via theSDEshop.com and the programme started in January this year, with a blu-ray audio of Tears For Fears’ acclaimed album The Tipping Point. That was quickly followed by xPropaganda’s The Heart Is Strange, Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Driven and most recently Shakespears Sister’s Hormonally Yours (due later this month). SDE is proud to announce FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE as the fifth release in this series – thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support for these products.

The SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio of FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE will be available to pre-order for two weeks only and will feature the following audio streams:

  • Dolby Atmos Mix
  • Stereo Mix (48 kHz / 24 bit)

Naturally, the Atmos Mix was created by Brian Eno himself. He pushed the boundaries with this spatial audio version (would you have expected anything less?). This is what the mix engineer, Emre Ramazanoglu, had to say about Brian’s work on the Atmos Mix of FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE:

It was fascinating approaching this Atmos mix with Brian in the room. He approached the mix in an extremely unorthodox fashion, removing the concept of a ‘front’ in the mix stage. It’s a fully immersive experience unlike others I have mixed. The song was still kept at the heart of the Atmos transformation though and he paid enormous attention to the position of each element and how that supported the piece as a whole. There will be also be differences from the stereo mix other than the spatial reimagining, due to the creative process that involved certain elements being subtly different from the original stereo masters.

Emre Ramazanoglu, Mix Engineer for the album

I have heard the Atmos Mix and concur with Emre. It’s spectacular spatial audio mix of a wonderfully atmospheric album. This is one you do not want to miss!

The SDE-exclusive blur-ray order of the album comes with a numbered (#5) SDE slipcase (click to enlarge)
The benefits of spatial audio via physical product

Reasons you should own this blu-ray:

  • It’s the only way to enjoy the Dolby Atmos mix of the album via a physical product
  • You don’t need to sign-up to a streaming service such as Tidal or Apple Music to hear the spatial audio mix
  • The Atmos Mix on the blu-ray is not compressed, whereas it is on streaming due to bandwidth restrictions
  • You own the product, you are not renting it from a digital service provider
  • The blu-ray audio is an excellent format for music and you don’t want to see it die off
  • Supporting SDE with these initiatives leads to similar collaborations with labels/artists and we are keen to bring your more in the near future

The pre-order window for this limited edition blu-ray audio opens today and will close in 14 days’ time on 29 September. Numbers manufactured will be published at a later date, so you will know just how limited this physical product is. Additionally, this blu-ray will ship with a numbered SDE collectors’ slipcase.

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE on SDE-exclusive blu-ray will be released on 14 October 2022 in collaboration with UMC. Pre-order the blu-ray by using this link to the SDE shop or the button below. For more spatial audio on the SDE shop, go here.

TECHNICAL NOTES: This blu-ray audio requires a blu-ray player. Decoding the Dolby Atmos mix requires a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV Receiver/Amp. The Dolby Atmos mix will ‘fold down’ to 5.1 or stereo if a Dolby Atmos decoder is not detected.
EU SHIPPING NOTES: If you are ordering from the EU please be aware that that goods may be subject to import VAT when they arrive from the UK. The prices the SDE shop charge you do not include VAT

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

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140 Comments

140 thoughts on “Brian Eno’s new album is #5 in the SDE Surround Series”

  1. I’ve just spent a wonderfully transcendental experience with Brian Eno. This being my first ever purchase of Blu-Ray Audio, I had no preconceptions of what it would sound like – it really is quite amazing! Eno’s voice eerily chants sermon-esque passages throughout, never dominating or irritating. Come bathe in his font of blue and gold and you’ll foreverandever wish there was more. Thank you @Paul Sinclair for bringing music to life with your SDE Surround Series.

  2. Just taken delivery this morning and I have now had my first listen in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD surround…. Wow it is hauntingly beautiful in both musical content and the surround mix.
    The Booklet is really nice too and very well presented, keep up the excellent work Paul and SDE team in bringing us these surround releases on blu-ray…. I eagerly await to see what the next release may be?

  3. Time to find a different delivery provider than The Post Orifice. “48 hour delivery” is a joke at the moment. It has moved from being handed in to the nearest sorting office in 60 hours and now won’t be anywhere near me until at least Monday, providing they decide to do their job. Never sure how strikes are supposed to raise public support by naffing people off.

    1. Royal Mail aren’t perfect but there’s no one else that’s going to come close in terms of systems integration and overall accountability. Yes, the strikes are annoying.

  4. I’ve ordered this big surprise too. I was first surprised to learn there would be a new Brian Eno album and I wished for a surround release in silence.. Great SDE made this possible and Brian did the faithful mix himself! Like the other releases I really appreciate this wonderful initiative! Maybe there is a slight change for more BluRay releases >> Brian Eno’s solo work

  5. I’ve order all of the SDE blu-rays so far.

    I’ve said it before and it bears repeating – if you start a subscription services for these beauties, you can happily sign me up :)

  6. I was away abroad when this announced and have only just decided to roll the dice and buy a copy.

    Do I like Brian Eno’s solo work? No idea, I have never given it a chance. However if any atmos mix is going to really test my system and give me a feeling of immersion it could well be this particular release.

    Here’s hoping.

  7. I’ve never liked any Brian Eno stuff I’ve heard, but I’ve ordered it anyway so that I have 4 of the 5 SDE blu-ray releases. Still kicking myself over not picking up a copy of Gibert O’Sullivan.

  11. I’m sure this will be excellent. I’m very interested in Surround Sound music, and Eno. However, I don’t do ATMOS so I don’t think this is going to work for me.

  12. This is an excellent series. I’m really glad you’re championing multichannel releases and this one should be stunning. Brian Eno really understands sound – the only music I have of Brian Eno in multichannel, is his score for the For All Mankind documentary. I’m preordering without hesitation.

  16. When I saw “Eno” and “Atmos” this became a no-brainer purchase for me.

    Thanks Paul! Looking forward to hearing this.

    Hey, any chance of Brian signing these? :-)

        1. I’ve sent multiple emails to customers impacted, so you should already know this (if not, the emails will probably have gone to spam folders).

  17. Ordered this like the 4 others previously, but alas this may be my last because I’m still waiting on numbers 3 & 4 in the series to be delivered to my humble abode.
    Shakespeare Sisters won’t ship out until 9/30 anyways so that’s not going to be delivered anytime soon…..
    I’m hoping to get this title, so far the xPropaganda Atmos set the bar on Audio Quality……

  19. Paul, this a more a technical question related to atmos files. Can they not be just burned on a blu ray? I am referring to Revolver SDE and the much complained fact that Blu Ray is not included but maybe the files for download.
    Thank you.

  20. Here’s a question that might sound a bit greedy…

    Does this come with a download code? It’s just I’d like to listen to the album on my headphones as well as in my lounge, without having to buy it twice over.

    Thanks!

    2. I used to think that too but then heard the recent Moby Reprise blu-ray and blows the CD out of the water even on an average speaker system. Because I suppose my favourite genre is electronic/synth music I went for volume with my speakers and trust me blu-rays sound amazing.

  21. I’ve ordered this. There are so many gems in Eno’s back catalogue that beg the immersive/surround treatment. As most of you already know, ‘Music for Airports’ even included instructions on how to wire a third speaker (or second pair of speakers) to produce a more immersive sound, using a simple Hafler/’L-R cancellation’ circuit.

  23. This sounds fascinating and congrats on getting Eno involved – that surely is a bit of a coup?!?

    PS Just to let you know that you’ve duplicated some of the text in the piece (where the sound engineer talks about how Eno set up the Atmos mix).

  25. Obviously this is a no-brainer being a collector of Eno/Ferry/Roxy-albums through many years so thank you Paul for this unique opportunity.

    ‘Another Green World’ is a favourite of mine,would be great to listen to a new Atmos mix.

    Another favourite,Bryan Ferry’s masterpiece ‘Mamouna’ featuring Eno’s sonics would be interesting but who would be buying besides a few lunatics?

    Other artists of interest for future projects would be Kate Bush,John Foxx,Daniel Lanois,or perhaps David Sylvian’s ‘Gone To Earth’.

    In the meantime I’m enjoying TFF ‘The Tipping Point’,superbly mixed by genius Steven Wilson,recommended to be played at maximum volume!

    Cheers,
    Henrik

  26. Another no-brainer and always happy to support the excellent work you do – and get to hear another of my long term favourite artists. Great work Paul, thanks!

  27. Only used my Blu-ray player for movies and no way set up correctly for audio – but this will motivate me to do so!

    Followed Eno ever since I heard another green world playing in a store in 1977 and to the poster who asked where to start with his huge back catalogue, my personal favourite is before and after science (still have the 4 cards it came with).
    A great mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, with spider & I being a personal favourite.

    2. Yes 100% with you on Before and After Science – I have my four cards too and managed to get my copy signed when Eno did an appearance at the Virgin Megastore (RIP) in Paris at the launch of A Year with Swollen Appendices. Happy times…

    3. I think you’ll be surprised at the quality although I have a 4K tv I use average speakers rather than the built in TV sound and music blu-rays sound amazing. I’m no audiophile but the difference is noticeable even to me.

  29. Christmas has come early! Excellent choice for the next installment of the SDE surround series. So excited to hear what the guru of experimental sonics does with Atmos. Ordered!

  30. Ordered – coming a nice, varied, collection. Eno’s a legend… and so is Paul for all the hard work on getting this and all the other releases out. Thanks!

  31. Hi Paul. Great news – will definitely pre-order! One question I had was if it would be possible to allow a hi-res download to be included since many of us, I believe, would want to have this in our digital libraries for mobile listening. Is that a possibility? If not, many of us would have to repurchase the CD or download elsewhere for this convenience. Thanks as always!

    2. Thanks! I will bear what you say in mind, although I do think it’s probably unlikely since it adds cost/complexity to the task which might not appeal to labels.

  33. Ordered! Thanks Paul, this is a real surprise and sure will be a treat for the ears. Looking forward to listening whilst finally finishing reading Brian Eno’s Diary book.

    Great that the shop still had copies of Hormonally Yours left as just ordered one. How this album passed me by in 1992 I don’t know! It sounds fantastic in stereo so this new mix will be interesting to hear.

    I’ll finally complete my 5.1 system when Sonos release the sub-mini next month.

  34. Can I ask Paul, what criteria do you use when sending out the blu-rays with the numbering? Is it in the order you get the orders, random or otherwise? Ordered this morning and hoping for a low one!
    Also, got the first edition of the TFF blu ray when it came out. Is the special slipcase mentioned elsewhere different to that one?

      1. Paul just to let you know, I received a message from the Eno team and it reads as follows:

        “Announced today is the Blu-ray format of FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE. Super Deluxe Edition are issuing a numbered, limited edition version of the album in Dolby Atmos & HD as part of their SDE Surround Series, available worldwide.”

        I’m not bothered either way but you might have some disappointed people Paul. I suspect someone at the Eno shop got their wires crossed.

  35. I just bought an album I never would have done if it wasn’t for the fabulous SDE Surround Series.

    I’m sure you’re delighted to get to release an Eno album, and he should feel the same about the coverage SDE will provide in promoting his new album.

    The talk of familiarity to Vangelis – I’d love to see Jon and Vangelis’s The Friends Of Mr Cairo album on an SDE surround sound release. It’s one of my all time favourite albums to listen to.

  36. Such a gift to be able to order these exclusives here every once in a while. I’m SO looking forward to this. I ordered all exclusives so far and will continue to do so. Huge Eno fan. Ordered one for me and my neighbor. I can’t wait to hear the Atmos mix and of course in due time what else is in the pipeline. Vangelis and Jarre, wow!! Brian Eno is legendary of course. I saw a Roxy Music concert just earlier this week. Eno left RM ages ago but the guy on bass looked like him (but wasn’t).

  38. Paul: Does this include any bonus content (such as the video of a song off this release that you recently posted)?

    Assuming no since there was no mention in your article…but doesn’t hurt to ask.

    Thanks!

      1. Well this is my third and I don’t even own a compatible system… yet!
        Looking forward to playing these when I do get one.

        Can’t wait to hear more about the exciting plans.

  43. Congrats Paul!

    Don’t really know Eno’s work but the approach to the Atmos mix caught my attention as does mention of JMJ and Vangelis (RIP). I adore Atmos mixes that put you in the middle of the music (e.g. Kraftwerk, Air, Steven Wilson) versus barely using the back and ceiling speakers (Beatles – Taxman).

  44. After listening to Eno’s “There Were Bells” I can’t wait to hear this track and the rest of album in ATMOS. If he’s at the controls mixing/directing the audio placement and channel designation, I have to imagine this is going to be a sonic delight. And if this release doesn’t finally convince my wife that four holes were needed in the ceiling for additional speakers…nothing will.

    1. I too hope this will really show off how ceiling speakers can create a 3-D dome of music around the listener.

      I was going to hang 4 black down-firing speakers from our ceiling but id told my spouse about my plan, she vetoed it (black speakers would look ugly hanging from a white ceiling). So we compromised on 4 in-ceiling speakers with white grills, but I was able to get bigger, better speakers (Focal 300 ICW 8s) as a result :-).

      1. No compromise at all Derek – I bet those 8″ Focals sound fantastic [I use Focal in the car and love their speakers]. All my speakers in my home audio chain are Klipsch so I went with 4 of their in ceiling PRO-180RPC 8″…zero regrets.

        1. She got her wishes but I got better speakers: so I guess it was a win-win, except for our finances (the Focal’s were almost twice as much as I had planned to spend). I am really glad I went with 8″ versus the 6″ or 5″ though. They can give some solid bass when needed but are also clear and open-sounding, and integrate well with my other speakers. Now I am finding my front R and L speakers are lacking in mid-range. The only limit to upgrading is the money to do it!

          I love Atmos mixes and hope they can continue to be put on Blu-rays (thank you Paul for your efforts). I feel we are in danger of losing them from Universal with the Beatles Revolver decision to only make the Atmos version available on streaming. Reminds me of when mp3s and iTunes came on the scene and took a huge bite out of CD sales. I was hoping Blu-ray and 96/24 resolution would replace CD, with CD/BD 2 disc sets of all albums as people transitioned from CD to BD. But instead, and after the failure of DVD-A and SACD , digital resolution went backwards to mp3 which I always found appalling. At least streaming resolution is now getting back to CD resolution and one can buy downloads of Cd or higher resolution, though not many albums are available in 96/24.

  45. Any idea how this would sound on a Sonos Beam soundbar? I know it’s not “true” ceiling speaker atmos but wondering if anyone has one and can share their thoughts?

  50. I was not expecting this, what a big surprise , this makes me very happy, hope Paul get more of this kind surprises in the near future, ordered straight. Thanks Paul and team

    1. I was just thinking that, but don’t you think that’s probably why they’ve left it out of the super deluxe, so they can charge more for it as a separate release?

  52. I really don’t know what to do. I’m a big Eno and ambient fan, but I’ve never bought an audio blu-ray, and I have no special equipment. Just a basic blu-ray reader. Would I hear the difference ??

    1. Remi, you need to ‘decode’ the Atmos mix to get the benefit, although it should be stressed that it will sound amazing on a 5.1 system as well. Obviously if you think you might expand your system in the future then you might want to get it so you don’t have to pay through the nose via ebay etc.

      2. I have an Atmos-capable receiver but only 5.1 setup, and Atmos soundtracks are magnificent even in 5.1.
        Can’t wait for this as I am a great fan of Eno both ambient and ‘normal’, if you can use that word about him.
        Great work Paul!

  55. Eno have a great interview on 6music last year (?) in which he said that ambient is not something you listen to but somewhere you go. He likened it to a heavy metal gig in as much as you’re hit with a great wall of sound. It’s the immersion in it.

  56. Huge Eno fan.
    Dont have a suitable system yet (still researching) but I think this would probably be the first thing I will play.
    I can imagine that Eno has created something special for this. Looking forward to the standard album as well.

    Well done Paul for snagging another exclusive – and a perfect one for the format!

  57. Ordered! Can you work on getting “Revolver” now :D

    Just to clarify on the TFF and xP slipcases, Paul… do we have to order these or will they be sent to purchasers automatically? I may have missed a memo on this, so apologies if I’m asking a stoopid question. Thanks!

    1. You don’t have to order them. Everyone who ordered Shakespears Sister is getting a TFF slipcase in that package. The xProp hasn’t been designed/printed yet, but I’ll probably send those out with #6. At some point I’ll put them all up on the shop as individual products.

  60. This sounds very interesting to me if it is similar to Jarre/Vangelis. I am a bit of an Eno (solo) virgin – only having a couple of the Eno/Hyde collaborations which I like. If anyone has any recommendations as a starting point into Eno’s massive catalogue, I’d like to hear them please! Sorry if this is going off subject!!

    1. Don’t want to mislead anyone, but some of the synths/soundscapes do give me that vibe (which is obviously good). If anyone is on the fence, this is one to take a risk with because it’s a beautiful album and a beautifully immersive mix. I really mean that.

    3. I only have his Music For Installations boxset. Which I find intensely boring. Works very occasionally for me if I’m in *that* kind of mood – the kind of mood that doesn’t require music, just a vagualy intriguing background noise. But that was probably the prurpose of these recordings? How would this new album compare? Different, as there will be vocals, but how different?

    4. If you like his Eno/Hyde Collaborations then maybe start with something like Nerve Net which has a similar vibe.

      Personally my favourites are:
      – Before and After Science
      – Taking Tiger Mountain
      – Music for Airports
      – Another Green World

      But these are all quite different to his later output (Music for Airports in one of his earlier Ambient works).

      1. The new album is the best of both worlds. Some good songs set in an ambient type setting and a few instrumentals as well. It’s not Steps of course, so put away the Disco Ball.

    6. Michael, If you want some recommendations ( I have a shelf full of his solo stuff ) then “Lux” or “Small craft on a milk sea” are really enjoyable. Also, anything from the late 70’s is good if you want something that’s so chilling you will forget it’s on.

    7. You can’t go wrong with any of these for ambient etc –
      Music For Airports
      Apollo
      On Land
      Thursday Afternoon

      And for more active music –
      My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
      Another Green World
      Taking Tiger Mountain…
      Here Come The Warm Jets

    1. Having listened to the Atmos Mix quite a few times, I’m not sure I could listen to this any other way! It’s phenomenal. Some very Vangelis/Jean-Michel Jarre vibes in places…

      1. Ordered and can’t wait to hear this. Out of interest Paul for your Atmos set up do you have upfiring speakers for your heights or ceiling speakers?

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