Spatial Composition is not an entirely new concept; from Varèse’ Poème Électronique, Isao Tomia’s The Planets to the immersive music we experience at museum exhibits today, the element of space (location and movement of sounds) have been explored during the past 75 years. And of course, many music streamers are familiar with the Dolby Atmos mixes that have been at the top of popular music charts over the past couple of years.

Spatial Composition – The New Frontier poster. Research presentation event at Dolby Headquarters for the Audio Engineering Society and the Recording Academy.

Expanding the established elements of music composition (melody, harmony and rhythm), musique concrète brought us timbre – often cited as the 4th element of music – 75 years ago. Through decades of struggle for acceptance, it took a fundamental role in the development of electronic music. Are we at verge of the next musical disruption? Can space become the 5th element of composition?

New research by Julius Dobos reveals that the spatial element is more powerful than just a listening format. The use of space as a compositional tool during the composition process has the power to influence melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre, thus impacting the meaning and emotions of the music itself.  Supported by data from his two research experiments and over 200 focus groups listeners, this realization inspired Julius to apply spatial synthesis and spatial composition techniques to several new works.  As part of his presentation for the Audio Engineering Society and the Recording Academy, guests will experience the use of space in these immersive compositions in Dolby Atmos at Dolby Lab‘s San Francisco Headquarters on October 9.

If you can’t make it to the premier event at Dolby on October 9th, come to hear Julius’ talk at the AES Long Beach Convention on October 24th.  Here you can also read the Spatial Composition research summary and paper.

W2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed forgotten future: W1 album has been in the works for years. According to many, it’s been too long of a wait for a major new forgotten future release, but according to its creator, “good work takes time” – referring to the concept of W2: Time itself. On October 22nd, forgotten future gave an hour-long electronic music concert at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the invitation of Monsoon Festival. The track list included some fan favorites from the W1 and Realignment albums, as well as some W1 tracks not previously performed in forgotten future shows. But the surprise was the world premier of two brand new tracks, Circular Time and Bending Time, from the upcoming W2 album.

forgotten future electronic music performance. Concert footage courtesy of Thanh Viet Production.

“Traveling to Hanoi felt like a time travel to an alternate past on its own, so it was a fitting event to premier the first bits of an album that’s all about the interpretations of Time. The Imperial Citadel is rich in history, the area is full of cultural and textural layers, lots of details…  which also characterize the music, so it felt like the right pairing.” – said Julius Dobos, composer of forgotten future. “I also wanted to create some continuity between the previous albums and the new one, and playing tracks from the old and the new in the same concert was a natural way to connect them.”

The closing piece, Bending Time, featured Trang Pham, one of Hanoi’s top Dan Bau performers. (The Dan Bau is Vietnam’s original, traditional one-stringed instrument, which allows the player to intricately bend notes). The music presented an interplay between cutting-edge electronics and traditional Eastern colors, a duet between new and old musical expressions.

Track listing of the Hanoi show:

   (forgotten future pre-show ambience)
1. Circular Time (from W2)
2. This Time Back to the Lucky Blue (from Realignment)
3. Witnessing the Forces (from W1)
4. Energy Assembly (from W1)
5. Breakthrough Chroma Mix (from Live in California)
6. Parallel Realities Epic Monk Mix (from Realignment)
7. Return to a New Ending (from W1)
8. Bending Time (from W2)

Footage from this one-off electronic music concert will be published in the future.

SSJ – the original music composers of Dragon Ball Z (English score)

SSJ (Smith, Scott & Julius) takes a 21st Century spin on the iconic themes they originally composed for over 200 episodes of Dragon Ball Z. DBZ has been one of the most popular series on Cartoon Network, ever.  SSJ has announced two music shows in the series of live performances for July, in San Jose, California.

On July 14th, SSJ will be performing at MAGWest, playing some of the fan favorites as well as the live version of some themes the first time. After the show a panel discussion with the audience and an autograph session will follow.

On July 15th, SSJ will give an exclusive performance at the University of Silicon Valley. This concert will be hosted and live-streamed by YouTube celebrity Geekdom101 – Dragon Ball Z guru. More than a concert, the three composers will discuss their work, and, for the first time, share inside stories between the tracks. This will give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at their journey in creating the music for Dragon Ball Z.

Get your tickets to MAGWest, register for the USV performance or watch the live stream here on 7/15/23 at 8pm PST.

Creative Shop Music has announced the planned release of remastered, expanded editions of a range of Julius Dobos’ albums. The new series  of releases will include the platinum album Connecting Images, the now-classic Mountain Flying, and Epic, among others. Aside from an improved sonic experience, fans can expect to find previously unreleased bonus tracks on some of the remastered editions. The new digital-only album releases are scheduled for 2022.

Miura is sadly gone, but Berserk’s Guts is back – courtesy of Studio Taka. Live action Bersek film in pre-production.

Berserk Motion Comic Episode 3 ((Studio Taka)

Kentaro Miura’s name is synonymous with Berserk, a manga-based universe that has seen several adaptations. These have included novels, various animated films and even some video games. Reportedly, a live-action Berserk is under pre-production for HBO now. Fans have been long unhappy with the translation to screen as animations simplified the story and altered the manga’s original feel. The unfaithful execution of the 2016-2017 tv-series (along with its low animation quality) especially left followers disappointed.

Picking Up Berserk – with a Deserving Theme

Studio Taka, a fan-based studio with an international crew, has picked up the story and has been creating the Berserk motion comic in a uniquely cinematic style. Fans are finally getting the authentic storytelling and artful execution they have wished for for decades. By Episode 3, the creators felt the need for Guts (Berserk’s main, complex, twisted character) to receive his own musical theme. They turned to Julius Dobos for Guts’ Theme, which he composed in the Fall of 2021 and produced just in time for Episode 3’s release at the end of the year. One of the four variations of Guts’ Theme, titled Guts Quiet Rage, was used in the trailer of Berserk Episode 3, while the upcoming episodes will feature the theme’s other versions, including the bombastic Guts’ Epic Fight.  (You can listen to Guts’ Epic Fight on the sidebar of this page.)

Watch the Behind-the-Scenes mini documentary on YouTube and download Guts’ Themes on Bandcamp. All proceeds go to Action Against Hunger, who combat hunger worldwide, including the war-ravaged areas of Ukraine.