Multi-channel sonic experience is derived from a myriad of technologicalprocesses, shaped by market forces, configured by creative decision makersand translated through audience taste preferences. From the failed launch ofquadrophonic sound in the 1970s, through the currently limited, yet sustainedniche market for 5.1 music releases, a select number of mix engineers andproducers established paradigms for defining expanded sound stages. Whereasstereophonic mix practices in popular music became ever more codifiedduring the 1970s, the relative paucity of multi-channel releases has preservedthe individual sonic fingerprint of mixers working in surround sound. Moreover,market forces have constricted their work to musical genres that appealto the audiophile community that supports the format. This study examinesthe work of Elliot Scheiner, Bob Clearmountain, Giles Martin, and StevenWilson to not only analyze the sonic signatures of their mixes, but to addresshow their conceptions of the soundstage become associated with specificgenres, and serve to establish micro-genres of their own. I conclude by arguingthat auteurs such as Steven Wilson have amassed an audience for theirmixes, with a catalog that crosses genre boundaries, establishing a mode oflistening that in itself represents an emergent genre – surround rock.