Lightning Review

The deviants at Dark Side Of The Tune have unleashed their latest sample library, Queen’s English, a spoken-word dealio from everyone’s favorite fun-gal, Miss T, an English dominatrix.

The disc is broken down into six sections, Fetish, Mistress, Street, Food, Bible and Vulgarity. Some of the sound bites flat out don’t work, such as the Street section which has Miss T stating: “I’ll bust a cap in your ass.” However, several of the other sections, especially the vulgarity and fetish action will appeal to a certain segment of the electronic music production populace.

The sounds are presented in 24 bit / 44.1kHz or 16 bit / 44.1 kHz sample rates, but there really isn’t much of a difference between the two. A couple of our staffers also thought that the last word at the end of some of the samples were “cut off abruptly.”

A decent concept from Dark Side, but the endeavor could benefit from longer, more interesting passages. Power Rating: 60%

Dark Side Of The Tune’s Queen’s English costs $29.99 or $8.99 for the MPC kit. More information on Queen’s English.

Seattle’s Dark Side of the Tune has released three sample libraries for Akai’s MPC samplers. Bent-O-Box, Drum Abrasion and Lost Percussion. The sample libraries are gritty, abrasive and could suit your derelict productions very nicely.

Drum Abrasion features acoustic drums and various found instruments that are smacked around with warm tube saturation, tube mic’s and compression to create a bigger and beefier organic palette.

Bent-O-Box takes circuit bent toys and tortures them with analog distortion and modulation to create unearthly guttural noises and screeching digital mayhem.

Lost Percussion ingests new and vintage analog synthesized drums and spits out circuit bent pulsating beats.

Dark Side of the Tune’s MPC kits come in 500 or 1000/2500/5000 format, cost a very reasonable 8 or 9 bucks depending on the amount of samples, and are available now. More information on Dark Side of the Tune MPC kits.

Native Instruments has released Deep Reconstructions, a collection of multi-effects based on the powerful sound processing features of the KORE platform. The new KORE Soundpack provides a wealth of advanced effect configurations that can be used to tweak and transform any audio material in innovative and inspiring ways, for direct use in KORE 2 and in the free KORE Player.

Deep Reconstructions offers 150 complex effect patches with 1,200 Sound Variations, which draw on both the KORE effect algorithms and on the integrated engines of REAKTOR, ABSYNTH and GUITAR RIG for their signal processing power. Through intricate combinations of delay, reverb, modulation, pitch shifting, resampling, filtering and dynamics processing, signals can be sliced, frozen and sequenced with spectacular and unconventional results.

Despite the complexity of the underlying effect configurations, the operation of Deep Reconstructions remains entirely straightforward thanks to the KORE user interface. The unified parameter mapping within KORE 2 and KORE Player gives immediate, intuitive control over the sonic characteristics of the effects, making them ideal for live performance and for creative sound manipulation in the studio.

NI’s Deep Reconstructions is available now for $79 / €69. More information on Native Instruments Deep Reconstructions.

Clavia claims to have “hand picked some of the planet’s best synthesizer sound programmers to create their individual – and ultimate – Nord Wave sound banks. The mission was to bring out the big, bad synthesizer in the Nord Wave, and to exploit its unique sonic character to the limit.”

The banks reflect the musical heritage and sound preferences of each and every programmer with plenty of personality. Look for vintage and skyscraper huge sounds in the US bank, modern characters that cuts through the everyday mush in the progressive Canadian and Italian banks, and a unique mix of Belgian-French haute couture from our friend Xavier Tribolet in the French bank.

More information on the free Clavia Nord Wave sound files.

Puremagnetik has released two new Live Packs to their collection of Artist Kits: Human Beatbox Kit and Funky Constructions. Both kits are designed for the newest features in Ableton Live 8 and include a generous collection of Live Clips, one-shot percussion and more.

Adam Matta’s Human Beatbox Kit comes packed with a fully programmed beatbox Drum Rack and a collection of dynamically expressive Live Clips. Designed specifically to take advantage of the latest features in Ableton Live 8, Human Beatbox Kit is a unique addition to Puremagnetik’s line of Artist Kits.

Biboulakis Funky Constructions is a fine collection of fresh beats and hot grooves, Funky Constructions employs many of the advancements in Ableton Live 8. Loaded with over 100 expertly produced loops, Funky Constructions is a resourceful toolbox for creating instant dance floor jams.

Puremagnetik works on a subscription service. More information on Puremagnetik Human Beatbox Kit and Funky Constructions.

ProducerLoops.com and Chimp Spanner are back with the second incarnation of Ambient Metal Constructions, a new Apple Loops / WAV / MIDI construction kit that blends the dulcet tones found in ambient music with the distorted metal guitars and drums found in rock and heavy metal.

Ambient Metal Constructions 2 is the eleventh release from the Producer Loops Sample Label and combines the sounds of ultra low tuned modern metal with sweeping cinematic ambience. It was created by Chimp Spanner, an instrumental progressive rock project created by UK based multi instrumentalist and composer, Paul Ortiz.

This new release features both traditional Construction Kits which include a main mix and the broken-down elements and Modular Loops, which aren’t specifically designed to be played together. However, all of the loops in Ambient Metal 2 are in the key of ‘B’ and recorded at 90 BPM so, you can play practically any loop with any other loop, within reason.

This pack weighing in at 960MB (including all of the formats) has been created with usability in mind. It includes 24-bit loops influenced by Dream Theatre, Toto, Brian Eno, Vangelis and many other legends. It’s suitable for rock artists looking for some extra grit, as well as ambient and soundtrack composers looking for an alternative edge to their sound.

Specifications:
» 960 MB Total Data
» 276 Files (Each Format)
» ACIDized Wave Files
» Apple Loops / AIFF Files
» MIDI Drum Loops
» All Loops at 90 BPM
» All Loops in key of ‘B’
» 44.1 kHz / 24-Bit
» PC/Mac Compatible
» Royalty-Free (No Exceptions)

ProducerLoops.com’s Ambient Metal Constructions 2 is available for now for $40 / £29.95 / €35. More information on ProducerLoops.com Ambient Metal Constructions 2.

Sony Creative Software has now released a new vintage video game sample and loopmusic library dubbed, 8 Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey. The collection covers original music and sounds from the Apple II, Commodore 64, Nintendo NES and Gameboy, and the Atari 2600.

Each system library has everything from drums, bass and synth to special effects.

Sony’s 8 Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey costs $41.95 for the CD and $39.95 as a Digital Download. More information on 8 Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey.

Native Instruments has released Urban Arsenal 2, a follow-up collection of production-ready sound material for contemporary hip-hop and similar music styles, and their new Maschine. Created in collaboration with established urban music producers and sound designers, the latest entry in the KORE Soundpack range delivers a further assortment of professional groove material and instrument sounds for use in KORE 2 and the free KORE Player software instrument.

Expanding on the first collection, Urban Arsenal 2 provides even more authentic hip-hop grooves and drum kits, which can be easily tweaked and transformed through the advanced sound shaping and control features of the KORE platform. Over 1,000 sampled drum sounds form the basis for 40
groove sets and 32 drum kits, including material created by CLP, Dobie, Montana Beats and ProjectSAM. With over 15,000 overall groove variations, a powerful “Instant Remix” function and many other creative features, Urban Arsenal 2 makes it easy to lay the sonic foundations for
contemporary hip-hop tracks.

The groove material of Urban Arsenal 2 is complemented by a variety of sample-based instrument sounds, offering an assortment of brass, strings, basses and leads with a special focus on analog synthesizer tones. Additionally, the sound pack includes over 80 new presets based on the integrated engine of the Massive synthesizer, with a range of inspiring leads, sub basses, pads and other sounds specifically designed for urban music styles.

Similar to the first collection, many sounds in Urban Arsenal 2 have been processed and pre-mastered using a range of premium outboard gear, including a special “dubplate resampling” process in the acclaimed “Dubplates & Mastering” studios in Berlin for authentic vinyl feel.

NI’s Urban Arsenal 2 is available now for download in the NI Online Shop for $119 / €99. More information on Native Instruments Urban Arsenal 2.

Zenhiser, an Australian concern, has unleashed Ultra Minimal Tech House Drum Kit 01, a new, economical sample library.

Zenhiser claims this new library is “one of the most up to date Minimal / Tech House drum kits on the web.” This dynamic collection of over 170 Minimal and Tech House drum sounds has been crafted, tweaked and manipulated to create a collection of tight low end kick drum samples, high frequency hi hat sounds, percussion and minimal snares and claps for Minimal House and Tech House music in the 44.1 kHz, 16 bit WAV file format.

Zenhiser’s Ultra Minimal Tech House Drum Kit 01 Sample Library costs $14 and is available now for download. More information on Zenhiser Ultra Minimal Tech House Drum Kit 01 Sample Library.