REVELATION

G.E.M.’s eighth studio album weaves cinematic sounds into a high concept narrative to create a powerful testament to resilience in turbulent times. Harnessing biblical imagery to explore themes of love and faith, REVELATION is divided into two complementary halves—Letters to Heaven and Letters From Heaven—that allow the artist to explore interiority before unleashing her showstopping vocals. Working with producer GONG on tracks that tap retro-dance vibes, contemporary R&B and experimental elements, G.E.M. designed the album with Spatial Audio in mind as a way to a way to expand its sonic dimensions to complement its epic themes. Below, G.E.M. shares some of her thoughts about the album with Apple Music: There’s a strong movie soundtrack vibe to the sci-fi and utopian world-building on REVELATION. How did the sound design bring this out? “For me, a ‘movie soundtrack’ style is a way of expressing dramatic tension. The album has a very simple theme—love. Love is the answer to all questions. The greatness of love encompasses and contains everything, which is why the overall sound design of this album feels grander and more majestic.” Did you consider anything in particular when designing the 360-degree panoramic sound for Spatial Audio? “I had lots of ideas about this from the early stages. I collaborated with quite a few musicians who all kept mixing in mind while arranging the music so that working on the panoramic sound later would magnify the ingenuity of those arrangements. Personally, I think that lots of songs—in Letters From Heaven [the second half of the album] especially—really bring out this sense of space.” Which three songs would you recommend in Spatial Audio and why? “‘GLORIA’, ‘PASSION’ and ‘THE END OF NIGHT’. The arrangement of ‘PASSION’ breaks a lot of norms, which will hit even harder in Spatial Audio. I’ve chosen ‘GLORIA’ and ‘THE END OF NIGHT’ because the Spatial Audio versions really manage to convey a sacred, heavenly feeling.” How did you ap