Phase 4 Stereo
Phase 4 Stereo was a recording process created by the U.K. Decca Records label in 1961.[1] The process was used on U.K. Decca recordings and also those of its American subsidiary London Records during the 1960s.
Phase 4 Stereo recordings were created with an innovative 10-channel, and later 20-channel, "recording console"[2] (actually a mixing console.) The concept of Phase 4 Stereo has no connection with Quadraphonic sound or "four channel stereo." But because there often are sounds out of phase, the records may also give pleasing results when played on Hafler circuit systems or other simulated four channel systems.
Approximately two hundred albums were released with the process, including popular music, "gimmick" records engineered to make the sound travel from speaker to speaker, records featuring percussion effects, and historical sound effect records. In 1964, a light classical Phase 4 "Concert Series" was produced.
In 1996 a CD, The Phase 4 Experience, was released with recordings from 1966 to 1979 (London 444 788-2 LPX/PY 871).
A space themed version, An Astromusical Odyssey, was arranged by Johnny Keating which included songs from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. A selection can be heard on YouTube.