Cine Golden Eagle Award · Wildscreen Golden Panda Award
Axel Drioli
Spatial Audio Designer, Sound Recordist & Director
I design immersive audio that takes people places they can't otherwise go — from the Cambodian rainforest to the Angolan desert to a 180-loudspeaker theatre in London.
Capabilities
What I do
Spatial & Immersive Audio
Storytelling design and direction; Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos, binaural; multi-channel loudspeaker design (4.0 to 180+ channel arrays); 360/VR/XR direction and production; spatialisation programming.
Wildlife & Field Recording
Fieldcraft and wildlife tracking, soundscape ecology, ecoacoustics, bioacoustics, long-form expedition recording in extreme environments.
Bioacoustics & Research
Sample contributor to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Merlin database; Bioacoustics in R; ecoacoustic survey methods; scientific collaboration; field-testing audio hardware in extreme environments.
Direction & Production
Documentary direction, immersive storytelling, installation design, hardware integration, expedition leadership.
Music & Performance
Composition, music production, live performance (recording artist as Axel Wild), cross-cultural collaboration, sample library development.
Tools & Platforms
Pro Tools, Reaper, Ableton Live, Max/MSP, Unity, Unreal, IRCAM Spat, L-ISA, d&b Soundscape.
How we can work together
Services
Freelance Services
Time and craft on a deadline — the technical work, delivered project by project or on retainer.
- Sound recording & field recording
- Spatial audio design (Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos, binaural, multi-channel loudspeaker systems)
- Post-production mixing & sound design to picture
- Atmos delivery & remixing
- System design & installation consulting
Who it's for
Sound supervisors, broadcasters, podcast networks, branded content studios, mastering studios, record labels, ad agencies, and XR/immersive studios.
Thought Leadership & Consulting
Expertise from a field practitioner with experience almost no one else can claim — for teams and institutions who want direct access to it.
- 1:1 spatial audio consulting calls
- Guest lectures & university teaching
- Conference talks & keynotes
- Workshops & short courses
- Jury & panel work
- Podcast guesting
Who it's for
Universities and audio programmes, conferences, industry publications, and brand R&D teams.
Selected work
Production credits
My Garden of a Thousand Bees
2021Sound Recordist — Passion Planet / WNET / HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
PBS Nature S40E1 (US, 2021, streaming through 2028); Jackson Wild Summit 2021 premiere.
Wildscreen Golden Panda Award 2022
Visit projectThe Journey 360
2018Immersive Audio Designer & Producer — UNICEF
20.4 loudspeaker screenings at SXSW, Sheffield Doc Fest, Seattle Film Festival, UN HQ Bonn, Downing Street, Future of Storytelling Summit.
Cine Golden Eagle Award — Best VR Documentary Short
Visit projectAuditorial: The Silent Spring
2021Spatial Sound Design, Mix & Master — The Guardian / Google / RNIB / R/GA
Web release on Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Philharmonia Orchestra — Audience of the Future / VR-Sound Stage
2019–2022Spatial Audio Producer & Technologist — Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Shakespeare Company, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Punchdrunk
Multi-million-pound UKRI-funded research programme; global tour with 12.4 loudspeaker array and frame-synced VR.
HOA-SSR Immersive Database
2021–2023Director, Producer & Spatial Audio Specialist — Force Technology / Huawei / Meta / Oticon / Bang & Olufsen
Six-figure R&D programme producing one of the most advanced 360 video and audio databases worldwide for hearing aid and noise-cancelling research.
Into The Himalayas
2020Sound Design, Foley, Spatial Audio Mix & Delivery — Habitat XR / Riverbank Studios / UNDP India
Jackson Wild 2020 “Best 360° Storytelling” finalist.
BBC Springwatch
2020Wildlife Sound Recordist — BBC Studios Natural History Unit
Episode 4, Beddington Farmlands. BBC Two.
Across Continents Trilogy
2020–2027Director, Producer, Expedition Leader — Sounding Wild
Wings / Sounds / Music Across Continents — four-year overland series across the African-Eurasian flyway, with brand partners including Zeiss, KEF, Zoom, Soundly, Kowa, Reynolds Microphones, Benro.
Singing With Nightingales
2024–2026Spatial Audio / Performer — Sam Lee
Glastonbury 2025 (Woodsies Stage); Shambala 2024–2025; UK tour through 2026.
Trusted by
Clients & collaborators
- PBS Nature
- BBC
- The Guardian
- UNICEF
- Philharmonia Orchestra
- Royal Shakespeare Company
- Sam Lee
- Passion Pictures
- Marshmallow Laser Feast
- Punchdrunk
- Wildscreen
- The Ellen Fund
- Royal National Institute of Blind People
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Force Technology
- Meta
- Huawei
- Oticon
- Bang & Olufsen
- Sonova
- Habitat XR
- Sky VR
- L-Acoustics
- KEF
- Soundly
- Zoom
- Zeiss
- Reynolds Microphones
- Benro
- Kowa
Career
Experience
Sounding Wild
10/2019 – Present · London, UKFounder, Director & Spatial Audio Lead
Sounding Wild creates immersive audio experiences from original field recordings gathered across continents — sound installations, documentary sound, original music, and artistic collaborations. Leads expedition brand partnerships (Zoom, Zeiss, KEF, Benro, Kowa, Soundly, Reynolds Microphones) and live performance integrations with Sam Lee. Sound Category juror, Wildscreen Panda Awards (2022).
XRHUB Limited
06/2019 – Present · London, UKDirector, Spatial Audio Lead
Co-directs studio with Ben Huss-Smickler, delivering technically demanding XR experiences across headset reproduction and large loudspeaker arrays. Produced one of the most advanced 360 video and audio databases worldwide for a cohort of clients including Force Technology, Huawei, Meta, Oticon, and Bang & Olufsen.
Spatial Audio Labs
11/2018 – 10/2022 (absorbed into Sounding Wild) · London, UKFounder & Spatial Audio Director
Founded and ran a spatial audio creative studio serving XR, film, installations, and orchestral immersive experiences. Roster included UNICEF, Philharmonia Orchestra, Habitat XR, Mixed Immersion, Sky VR, Visualise, and Polygon Productions.
University College London
2017–2019, 2025 · London, UKSpatial Audio Lecturer & Mentor
Lecturer in Spatial Audio practice on the Immersive Factual Storytelling MA (2017–2019). Mentor on the Designing Audio Experiences MA (2025); co-designed the original 2018 course framework that became the basis for the programme.
Education & continuing study
- SAE Institute, London — Bachelor's Degree, Audio and Music Production. 2015–2017.
- Organization for Tropical Studies — Bioacoustics in R. 2020.
- Oxford Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford — Animal Behaviour: An Introduction. 2020.
- Wildeye — Wildlife Sound Recording with Chris Watson and Jez Riley-French. 2017.
Get in touch
Let's work together
Open to remote post-production, spatial audio consulting, system design, and music supervision work — project-based or retainer, globally.
London, UK · open to remote & global work