WCA #601 with Gert Keunen – Immersive Audio, "Stereo Was a Nice Try," a Dozen Careers, and Brewing His Own Beer

For episode 601, Matt sits down with Belgian musician, mastering engineer, and sociologist of music Gert Keunen — recommended to the show by past guest John Greenham. Gert has spent 35 years saying yes to nearly everything music: seven albums of his own, the nu-jazz project Briskey, a PhD in the sociology of music, four books on pop history, stints as a record-label staffer and newspaper critic, teaching at conservatories in Ghent, and most recently a deep dive into immersive audio that produced his book STEREO – Was a Nice Try. He joins from the Flemish countryside — where he also runs a 200-liter brewery and grows his own hops — to talk about how he manages time across all of it, why he learns best by teaching, how ADHD and dyslexia shaped an offline, notebook-driven discipline, and why he believes the future of immersive music is composing in 3D from the very first note rather than up mixing stereo.In This Episode, We Discuss:Living a Passion-Driven Life Across Music, Academia, and BeerManaging Time When You Do a Dozen Things (and Cycling to Clear the Mind)Growing Up in Flanders: Flute, Pink Floyd, and a Cracked Cubase on an AtariWhy He'd Rather Create Music Than Perform ItA PhD in the Sociology of Music and Four Books on Pop HistoryTeaching Music History, Sociology, and Production in GhentGoing All-In on Mastering for a Year with Friedemann Tischmeyer and Ian ShepherdHow ADHD and Dyslexia Shaped His Offline, Notebook-Driven LearningWhy Teaching Is How He Actually LearnsDiscovering Immersive Audio Through Apple Spatial Audio on EarbudsWhy a Good Immersive Mix Makes the Headphone Experience BetterWriting STEREO – Was a Nice Try Because No Good Handbook Existed"13 Reasons Why Dolby Atmos Sucks" — and His RebuttalsCreating Immersive From the Ground Up vs. Upmixing StereoA Format-Agnostic Workflow: Object, Channel, and Scene-Based, Then Choose Atmos or Auro-3D LaterTeaching Immersive at a Conservatory With a Dolby Atmos RoomTranslating Student Tracks to a Live Immersive System at Ghent's Winter CircusPricing Mastering, Student Discounts, and Treating Gear as the Real PaymentGear Acquisition, Buy-and-Return, and "a Hobby That Pays for Itself"Finding Community Online Through Chris Salim's MCCRunning a 200-Liter Brewery, Growing His Own Hops, and Why Beer Is Like Making MusicMatt's RANT!: TimeLinks and Show Notes:Gert KeunenSTEREO – Was a Nice Try (book)Briskey Ian Shepherd on WCAFriedemann Tischmeyer / Mastering Academy Nuendo (Steinberg) Chris Selim on WCACredits:Guest: Gert KeunenHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith