"No drum machines were used on this album!" "No synthesizers!" These liner note proclamations were, for a time, a "cool" way to indicate a declaration of purity. But bands like Queen, who made these statements in the '70s and '80s, ended up later embracing these technologies to make great (and very popular) music.
A major legacy of the recording engineer is one of increasing access to rare and expensive studios and gear, as well as the portal to creating new and exciting audio experiences. Engineers are generally open to new technologies… or at least willing to learn about them, and not decide they're guilty until proven innocent.
On that note, I absolutely love making music with the immersive audio of Dolby Atmos. The additional channels allows for a freer form of mixing, one that needs less EQ and compression to cram an arrangement into stereo playback. It's a process that almost feels a bit like conducting an orchestra.
I've had a slew of people sit in my chair and listen to Atmos mixes in my tuned room. Their heads dart around excitedly as the backing vocals of Elton John's "Rocket Man (I think it's going to be a long, long time)" fly over their heads. They dance next to the speakers like they're in the room with Marvin Gaye while he's recording "What's Going On." And they freak out with excitement at hearing their own music presented in three dimensions. It's a beautiful thing, because it puts the listener right there in the middle of the mix. Spatial, immersive listening is the closest to a live music experience presented with recorded audio that most people will ever get to hear.
