Psytrance Goes 3D: The rise of Dolby Atmos

Marc Hiard | 03 October 2025 | ENG | FR | DOCX | 3MB

Psytrance has always pushed the boundaries of sonic exploration. With the arrival of Dolby Atmos in electronic music, the genre finds itself at the forefront of a true revolution — transforming the listening experience into something fully immersive, multidimensional, and beyond stereo. One of the pioneers of this movement is Burnout Theory, a Belgian psytrance producer and sound designer who has embraced Atmos as a core part of his artistic journey.

From Cinema to Dancefloors

Originally created for movie theaters, Dolby Atmos allows producers to place each sound within a 360° space — above, behind, and all around the listener. While stereo is limited to left and right, Atmos builds a sonic bubble that surrounds the audience. Adopted by Apple Music and Tidal in 2021, Atmos is slowly reshaping electronic music. For psytrance, with its hypnotic soundscapes and swirling effects, it feels like a natural evolution.

“Psytrance already lives in three dimensions. With Atmos, we can finally give each sound its own space,” say several producers exploring this new format.

Burnout Theory – A Pioneer in Psytrance Atmos

Burnout Theory is a psytrance artist and sound designer from Namur (Belgium). After thirty years as a performer and clown across Europe and Japan, he turned personal burnout into a path of creation — building a new artistic identity through electronic music and sound design.

• No presets.
• No pre-made samples.
• Every sound crafted by hand in Serum, Vital, and other tools.

The result: a unique, authentic, and powerful sound identity.

In 2022, he released his first full-length Dolby Atmos album Wonderland, making him one of the first psytrance artists to adopt the format. His 2024 follow-up, Welcome to Psylia, continues to expand this immersive exploration.

A New Way to Experience Trance

Mixing in Atmos requires advanced spatial design:

• Kicks in the center of the body.
• Effects swirling above the head.
• Pads & atmospheres stretching in all directions.

For listeners, two main experiences emerge:

1. Binaural on headphones – where spatial precision already surprises.
2. Club Atmos systems – where the dancefloor becomes a collective 360° immersion.

Towards a New Era of Psytrance

Though still niche, Dolby Atmos in psytrance is growing fast. Labels are watching closely, festivals are considering immersive installations, and pioneers like Burnout Theory are paving the way. With Dolby Atmos, psytrance no longer just sounds different — it becomes a total sensory experience.

🎧 Listen:

👉 More:
– Burnout Theory YouTube |
– Facebook |
– SoundCloud

INFO/DEMO/BUY: https://mage.si/burnouttheory
When Psytrance Goes 3D: Burnout Theory and the Rise of Dolby Atmos
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