Alicia Keys: New Experience with Spatial Audio

Alicia Keys was at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London on Tuesday (11 APRIL 2023) to present a selection of songs recorded in Spatial Audio for Apple Music.

"This is my first time at Abbey Road!" Keys said to the audience, before playing six tracks to a small group of music industry insiders. Keys talked through the process of re-recording, remixing, and re-imagining her work using Dolby Atmos, and shared memories of songs in between dancing along to the music.

During the event, she also revealed another upcoming project.

"I'm doing a brand-new reimagined version of ‘If I Ain't Got you’ with a 90-piece orchestra with women of color and it is incredible," she said.

An iconic hit from 2003 album "The Diary of Alicia Keys," the new version of "If I Ain't Got You" will feature in upcoming Netflix prequel, "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" and Keys is shooting the accompanying video in London this week.

The track will also be available in Spatial Audio, which allows the listener to experience songs in theater-like surround sound.

"It's a real re-imagining of all the songs, all the music, all the tones, all the vocals, all the instruments," Keys explained to told the audience before playing some of her reimagined hits including "Girl on Fire" and "No One."

In an interview with the Associated Press after the launch event, the 15-time Grammy award winning singer shared her experience of listening to the tracks with attendees.

“While I was sitting there with y'all in there listening, I'm like, 'Man, I hear those horns. I hear the piano back here, I hear strings over here. I forgot strings are in there.' You know, you're hearing things that you hadn't heard before.”

Whilst Keys loves new technology, the vinyl format holds a special place in her heart.

“I think there's something very special about the tactile feel, you know, having a physical item. There's still so much love for that.”

She also has a specific cassette that inspired her.

“I was definitely listening to Marvin Gaye ‘What’s Going On’ on this one white cassette that I'll never forget. That’s what opened so much of song writing to me.”

While looking back on her own childhood access to music, Keys touched upon how young people today discover their favorite artists.

“The access is so there that there's nothing stopping you from making a playlist for all your favorite whatevers, you know what I mean? So I think in that way is really cool that you get the autonomy and you get to choose what you like and what you want to hear.”

Keys recently announced some Latin American dates in May and she's very excited to be performing in numerous countries for the first time.

“I've never performed in Mexico believe it or not. I've never performed in Colombia. So, you know, we're able to go to Brazil and Argentina and Chile, and it's going to be incredible. So very excited about that. And everybody over there is going crazy. Like, I really, really can't wait to be there.”

Keys will release eight albums in Spatial Audio exclusively on Apple Music from April 28th.