Thompson Twins / Into The Gap SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio

Exclusive to the SDE shop • David Kosten Dolby Atmos Mix • 5.1 Mix • Instrumental Mixes • 30 bonus tracks in stereo • #29 in the SDE Surround Series • Region-free blu-ray • Release date: 6 December 2024

The Thompson Twins 1984 album Into The Gap is being reissued for its 40th anniversary as an SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio which features a David Kosten Dolby Atmos Mix and a wealth of bonus material.

Into The Gap was the Thompson Twins' fourth album and their second as a three-piece of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway. Like its predecessor, Quick Step & Side Kick, it was co-produced by the much missed Alex Sadkin, a brilliant mixer and producer who worked with the likes of Grace Jones, Duran Duran, Simply Red, Arcadia and more.

The album was the band's commercial peak. The first three singles – 'Hold Me Now', 'Doctor! Doctor!', 'You Take Me Up', were all top 5 singles in the UK with 'Hold Me Now' reaching No 3 in America and No 1 in the US Dance Chart. A fourth single, 'Sister of Mercy' reached No 11 in Britain and 'The Gap' was released as a single in the USA and Germany. The album enjoyed a three-week spell at the top of the UK charts and went top 10 in America. It would go on to sell over 5m copies worldwide, including 1m in the US.

The stereo version of the album has been remastered at Abbey Road by Frank Arkwright and David Kosten has created a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix, for the SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio. David's forensic stereo rebuild and immersive work on Paul Young's No Parlez earlier this year was much-praised and you can expect the same with Into The Gap. Here's some thoughts from David on the mix:

"Massive treat for me to work on Into The Gap in Dolby Atmos. The icing on the cake being Tom Bailey visiting my studio for a listen and to make comments during the process. The original recordings sound so good and are brilliantly produced - all recorded on analogue tape at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, and transferred to digital for me to use at incredibly high resolution. I spent around a month rebuilding the album mixes from the individual parts on the multitracks, with as many of the original nuances, pan positions, effects and mix intentions retained as possible. 

And then onto mixing in Atmos - my mission was to really make use of all the speaker options, including lots of action in the centre, rear and overhead speakers, whilst maintaining the flow and integrity of the original stereo mixes. The music is often complex and multi-layered, so this was a perfect opportunity to hear all the lovely details and individual parts more clearly by opening up the tracks fully into the space. 

Being a total synth nerd it was awesome to hear all those great analogue tones and finally figure out how they managed to make certain parts work by layering multiple patches. The solo in 'Doctor Doctor' for instance - split across different synths, now opened up both left to right and front to back. A really distinctive part of what made TT so big was the unique layering of backing vocals, shared between Tom, Alannah and Joe's very different voices - and again here it was a no-brainer to allow these to have their own spaces around the listening space. All the percussion elements were recorded on separate tracks too, and these often worked a treat being placed around the room". - David Kosten

The blu-ray includes a massive 30 bonus tracks in stereo as well as offering the 1984 album in the following streams:

• David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix
• David Kosten 2024 5.1 Mix
• David Kosten 2024 Stereo Mix
• David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix
• David Kosten 2024 5.1 Instrumental Mix
• 2024 Stereo Remaster (by Frank Arkwright)
• 1984 Original Stereo Mix

The blu-ray is presented in deluxe rigid board packaging, the same as used for Richard Wright's Wet Dream blu-ray last year, and not the usual amaray case. However, this will ship will the usual collectible SDE slipcase and the dimensions are virtually identical!

The premium packaging and the extremely generous level of content has meant that #29 in the SDE Surround Series has a slightly higher price tag than normal. They are not all going to be this price going forward, but this is tremendous value for the content that you get (there's some savings to be made if you opt for the vinyl+blu-ray bundle).

Do not miss out. This product is a limited edition and has a 10 day pre-order window, which closes on 5 October 2024. Availability cannot be guaranteed after that date.

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TECHNICAL NOTES: This blu-ray audio requires a blu-ray player. Decoding the Dolby Atmos mix requires a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV Receiver/Amp. The Dolby Atmos mix will 'fold down' to 5.1 or stereo if a Dolby Atmos decoder is not detected. This product contains no video.

Into The Gap in the following audio streams:

• David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix
• David Kosten 2024 5.1 Mix
• David Kosten 2024 Stereo Mix
• David Kosten 2024 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix
• David Kosten 2024 5.1 Instrumental Mix
• 2024 Stereo Remaster (by Frank Arkwright)
• 1984 Original Stereo Mix

Doctor! Doctor!
You Take Me Up
Day After Day
Sister of Mercy
No Peace for the Wicked
The Gap
Hold Me Now
Storm on the Sea
Who Can Stop the Rain