Producer Stacks Vocals for Immersive Project

Pasadena, CA (October 30, 2025)—A recent session by multi-platinum music producer Matt Morales highlighted his stacked vocal technique and an immersive Dolby Atmos workflow, with AEA ribbon microphones at the center of the sound.

Morales, a member of the production and songwriting team The Elev3n, joined Atmos mixer Matt Cerritos at One on One Recording in Los Angeles to track choir vocals for singer-songwriter Stacey Ryan’s album Blessing in Disguise, which was released in mid-August. Because the album was conceived from the start as a Dolby Atmos release, Morales brought in Cerritos, whose credits include Kendrick Lamar, St. Vincent and Billie Eilish, to design a microphone setup tailored to immersive mixing. Working with the AEA team, Cerritos created a hybrid array using both figure-eight and hypercardioid patterns: N13 ribbons as main left/right spot mics, two R44 ribbons for side capture, and four KU5A supercardioids mounted overhead at 45-degree angles to record room ambience.

For Morales, stacking vocals, which involves layering multiple performances to create the fullness of a large ensemble, is a favorite production approach. In this session, four to five layered passes transformed just three singers into the sound of a full choir. “The N13 ribbons were incredibly transparent. Exactly how it sounds in the room is what you get on the mic. They also had a very open, almost three-dimensional quality, blending the room and choir vocals smoothly with minimal effort,” Morales said.

AEA 1029 VCA Compressor — A Mix Product of the Week

The session aimed to push the boundaries of what Atmos can do for vocal music, achieving precise localization and a rich, enveloping sense of space even with just a three-piece choir. Morales was impressed by how quickly they were able to dial in a sound. “The array really did the heavy lifting for us. We were able to get great sounding takes right away, with only a few small adjustments to the singers’ positions.”

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With the array delivering a balanced choir sound at the source, Morales turned to AEA’s 1029 stereo compressors to keep performances under control during the long day of tracking. “Choir vocals can get pretty dynamic, and the 1029 really glued everything together while keeping us from clipping,” he said. “It added just enough parallel compression on the front end to stay transparent and avoid unwanted color.”