Award-winning engineer Andrew Scheps explores the power of spatial audio with students
Thursday 30 April 2026
One of the music industry’s leading immersive sound engineers, Andrew Scheps, says spatial audio has the power to capture more than just a performance.
A GRAMMY award-winner, Andrew - whose credits include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Jay-Z and Low Roar - spent two days at LIPA running workshops with Sound Technology students, exploring the possibilities of immersive audio.
Spatial audio creates 3D soundscapes that enable listeners to feel surrounded by music rather than positioned in front of it. Its growth has accelerated over the last five years with streaming services, including Apple, Tidal and Netflix, adopting immersive sound technology system, Dolby Atmos.
Andrew, who was named MPG Atmos Mixer of the Year just three days before his visit, spent most of his time with the students focused on immersive recording, including microphone arrays and how best to capture spaces.
While much of his professional workflow still begins in stereo before expanding into a spatial mix, he emphasised that recording with immersion in mind from the outset offers something fundamentally different. “It’s hard to describe, but there’s something amazing about a good immersive recording that makes you feel like you’re back in the space where it happened rather than listening to a really good recording of it. You can’t do that after the fact, and it blows my mind every single time I hear it.
“For performances that are a one off in a space, say a string quartet in a church, I feel it’s amazing to record this way because that’s your one opportunity to capture the listener experience rather than just the performance.”
Andrew, who is a LIPA Companion, also took part in Q&As and was part of a panel discussing the future of recorded sound. He says he enjoyed his time with students. “They’re really attentive and ask very good questions – especially about immersive recording. They’re clearly excited by it and its possibilities.”
Find out more about our Sound Technology course
