Alex McArthur has received the Visions of Sound Award 2025 for his work on Seal II, which he remixed in Dolby Atmos at PMC Studio London. The award recognises outstanding immersive music mixes, particularly Dolby Atmos releases on Blu-ray.
McArthur, an award-winning producer and mix engineer renowned for his work with indie and alt rock, collaborated closely with PMC’s assistant mix engineer, Phil Millross, working under the guidance of veteran producer Trevor Horn and engineer Tim Weidner, both of whom helmed the original 1994 release.
The spatial mixes build on PMC Studio London’s earlier album reworks of Seal’s eponymous debut album, mixed in Dolby Atmos in 2022 by Weidner as the format began to gain industry traction. With Seal II, the team focused on preserving the integrity of the original recordings while expanding them into a fully immersive audio experience.
“The goal was to stay true to the original mixes while bringing them into the Atmos format,” explains McArthur, describing how the soundscape was expanded to create a room-filling, immersive listening experience while allowing for selective creative enhancements.
McArthur also credits PMC Studio London’s monitoring environment, equipped with PMC MB3 XBD Active main monitors and Ci series speakers, widely regarded as a global reference system for Dolby Atmos music mixing. “It really highlighted the differences between the original mixes and our current mixes,” he says, explaining how it helped guide the team in maintaining the original album’s character.
“It was a huge privilege to work on this project,” adds Millross. “It was amazing to hear the original stems of such a beautiful record brought to life in the Atmos format. It’s great to see some of these historic records being reproduced and remixed with the original producers and artists to help to further drive adoption of Dolby Atmos music.”
Originally released in 1994, Seal II includes the global hit Kiss from a Rose. The newly released 30th anniversary edition features a two-CD and Blu-ray box set with 10 previously unreleased recordings. The Blu-ray includes both a high-resolution stereo version of the album and the new Dolby Atmos mix created at PMC Studio London.
The Dolby Atmos version of Seal II is available now on Blu-ray and via streaming platforms including Apple Music and Tidal.
