This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.
You've heard of 3D, and even 4D, but prepare yourself for 8D. Well, sort of.
If YouTube is your main source for music streaming then you may have seen something called "8D audio" in your suggestion bar.
8D audio is essentially an effect applied to a stereo track where songs have been edited with spacial reverb and mixing to make it seem like the audio moving in a circle around your head. This experience can only be achieved by wearing headphones, which the gimmick relies upon to create the illusion of a 360 degree space.
It sounds like this:
Hundreds of songs have been edited to have this special effect. Some viewers claims it makes it feel like they're listening live.
The editing involved in this technique is best explained by YouTuber Dylan Tallchief, who runs a channel about all things audio.
From his analysis, Dylan suspects that tracks have two main things done to them to achieve this effect: First, reverb is applied to the track, which adds an echo and spatial reflections. Essentially, it sounds as if the existing audio track is being pumped through a room.
To recreate the effect Dylan uses an audio program to attain the rotating effect. Using a 3D stereo panner, the audio is manipulated to make it sound like it's rotating around your head, though of course, you only have two ears, and the audio is still just stereo. The effect is that your brain is tricked into thinking there's more space than there actually is.
As fun as the term "8D" is, the audio isn't actually 8 dimensional. In an article on Mel Magazine by Eddie Kim, he explains, "Of course, there’s no actual new recording with 8D mixes of pre-existing songs. Instead, 8D music creators are using software that can manipulate a song’s various stereo parts, placing and moving them within a virtual 360-degree space."
So essentially, 8D is just another clickbait term that doesn't really mean anything.
Although many pop, hip-hop, and rock songs have been remixed in this format, more ambient songs like this one tend to lend themselves best to the mixing style, creating an eerie and encapsulating environment.
While some people find this form of music distracting, I find it mesmerizing, and I'm clearly not the only one. Two notable YouTube channels, 8D TUNES and Trillion - 8D Music, boast 5.4 million and 1.6 million subscribers respectively. They also aren't the only two channels to hop on the 8D audio train, several more channels have been popping up recently with videos reaching views in the hundred thousands. Both of the channels mentioned above have ads turned on.
Some 8D audio tracks have been criticized for being distracting because the sound moves too quickly in the spatial field. However, as the style evolves, the creators have been getting better at moving the music in a more desirable and calming fashion. What I really like about the slower style is that it feels like I'm in the room with the artist, and it also creates a virtual bubble in my headspace, allowing me to concentrate better.
Thanks to the growing number of 8D channels on YouTube, it's easy to find popular songs when you search for the song title along with "8D."
So sit back, relax, and let 8D audio make you feel like you've entered the another dimension.
