How to resolve AdBlock issue? Spitfire Audio RESONATE
A cinematic percussion library that really resonates like no other
Created in close collaboration with (Dame) Evelyn Glennie, a solo percussionist, Spitfire Audio releases RESONATE as a cinematic percussion library that really resonates like no other - on account of unlocking the other-worldly mystery, magic, and tension of orchestral percussion’s power of resonance, realised from tuned and untuned instruments colliding across 14 signals, then spinning out towards new frontiers of texture, tone, and dimension as hits, strikes, and spine-tingling scrapes giving way to essential cinematic reverberations, carefully captured in the hallowed (Lyndhurst) Hall at London’s legendary AIR Studios so favoured by Hollywood, helpfully housed in the British sound-specialising music technology company’s award-winning plug-in (AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS-ready) that loads into all major DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) without the need for any additional software to feature for the first time the likes of a water tank, thunder sheet, timpani (played like never before), and barrel drum acting as resonators so every impact has a memory - as of June 9…
As a really resonating introduction to the sound adventure that is RESONATE, Spitfire Audio in-house composer Lucie Treacher’s insight is obviously on the mark, musically speaking: “A traditional sample library is often about sampling things in isolation, but what if we were to let our instruments interact, resonate, and collide together? What if, for instance, we were to put a thunder sheet over a barrel and bow it? Evelyn Glennie is a virtuoso percussionist and educator, and she’s always been a huge influence to me, coming from a similar neck of the woods in the north of Scotland. She’s on a mission to teach the world to listen, and she herself experiences sound through vibrations in different parts of her body. RESONATE really is alive with resonances as a percussion library that’s beyond rhythm. It’s about colour and performance, and Evelyn Glennie’s conjured these incredible landscapes of sound. We’ve used technology and warps to elongate these sounds and bring out the quirks and magic in these performances. This library’s great for refreshing your existing orchestral palette, but it also adds individuality to epic scores and blends brilliantly with cutting-edge sound design - think Hildur Guðnadóttir and Johan Johansson.”
Such superlative Scandinavian sound design deserves mentioning, as does the fact that half the magic of sound itself has been disregarded for years. After all, films and trailers have delivered gigantic hits in epic technicolour, but neglected the essence of percussion’s power: resonance. Reality dictates that a real orchestral strike lives on long after the initial impact dies away - in reverberations that rumble, pierce, rattle, and sing. Such aftershocks have the power to thrill and terrify, lure and intrigue in equal measure, and now - thanks to RESONATE - they are readily available, at anyone’s fingertips.
Fortunately, by working with Dame Evelyn Glennie as the world’s premier solo percussionist with over 100 international awards to her notable name so far (including the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour), Spitfire Audio has been able to release RESONATE as a cinematic percussion library that really resonates like no other - on account of unlocking the other-worldly mystery, magic, and tension of orchestral percussion’s power of resonance, realised from tuning and untuned instruments colliding across 14 signals, then spinning out towards new frontiers of texture, tone, and dimension as hits, strikes, and spine-tingling scrapes giving way to essential cinematic reverberations, carefully captured in the hallowed (Lyndhurst) Hall at London’s legendary AIR Studios so favoured by Hollywood. However, rather than replicate common concert sounds or repeat trailer hits Hollywood has so overused, RESONATE explores and unlocks the boundless potential of orchestral percussion - from first strike to final reverberation, resulting in a treasury of sounds that beautifully bridge the gap between traditional and experimental scores.
Saying that, then, the instruments involved in RESONATE’s canny creation and elegant execution will willingly assist anyone with bringing brazen audacity to straight- ahead orchestral tracks, while dialling up the epic on music that is already uniquely theirs at the same time. The resulting sounds can be used to conjure up strange new rhythms of sci-fi worlds, the propulsive rush of relentless thrillers, and the surreal passion of lives lived with full hearts - users need only channel Evelyn Glennie’s glorious ethic of percussion-without-preconceptions. Put it this way: whereas other instrument libraries help users to realise the scores already in their heads, RESONATE inspires its users to discover those scores that they could never dream up in silence. So, rather than following the musical masses’ well-trodden hit-then-hit pathway, RESONATE’s instruments impel its users to take an alternative hit-then-listen route - making music out of the forgotten sounds left dancing on the air, in other words.
Which instruments are involved in RESONATE’s canny creation and elegant execution, exactly? Explains Spitfire Audio in-house composer Lucie Treacher: “The library is actually divided by the resonators - the vessels, if you like - over which the instruments have been played. There is a TIMPANI here, but it has not strictly been played; Evelyn Glennie has put her homemade BARIMBULUM on top of it, and let the instruments resonate together. The BARREL resonator’s Ensemble patch condenses its Drum, Metal, Bowed, and Wooden samples into three handy kits - BARREL KIT, METAL KIT, and SUPERBOWL KIT. Something that’s really nice about these kits is that the cymbal-like sounds are mapped to the black notes, so it feels like you’re playing a drum kit - sort of reaching upwards and outwards, which is quite ergonomically pleasing. The SUPERBOWL... is, of course, a mallet which you can drag across a surface of an instrument, and it creates an incredible wail - you can really hear that sweet stillness around the sound.”
Exact examples notwithstanding, THUNDERSHEET - think razor-sharp crescendos, hollow gongs, and quivering cries - and WATERTANK - with thin crashes, deep quakes, and organically pitch-shifting resonators - are also available, likewise paired, stacked, struck, and bowed with many other co-resonating instruments to create an unparalleled collection of cinematic hits, scrapes, textures, and tones. Thereafter, those 49 techniques and pairings - launched themselves towards infinite layers of dimension - are sent by RESONATOR down 14 possible signal paths, both organic and treated, including seven unique mic perspectives (such as underwater placement, contact mics attached to resonating chambers, and boundary mics spread throughout Lyndhurst Hall), before being filtered through six possible after-effects, including a stretch feature for long sustained sounds (solely), allowing users to change the playback SPEED of the sample. Well worth mentioning is RESONATOR’s GRID mode, making for a welcomed collaborative tool, whereby users can discover and combine thousands of sound permutations to create a sonorous ensemble of endless inspiration.
It is surely only fitting for Lucie Treacher to provide an ardent closing commentary that is as appropriate as her heartfelt opener: “RESONATE is a really unique library, and it's immersed in Evelyn Glennie’s individuality as a musician. It's sure to give your sound palette a lot of sophistication, and it’s really amazing to have her performances at your fingertips. You can really hear her passion as a performer in every strike.” After all, every impact has a memory.
RESONATE is available as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD)-ready plug-in that loads directly into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for a time-limited promo price of £149.00 GBP/$179.00 USD/€179.00 EUR until June 30, 2022 - returning thereafter to its price of £199.00 GBP/$249.00 USD/€249.00 EUR.
Owners of SPITFIRE PERCUSSION and SCRAPED PERCUSSION can purchase RESONATE for a special time-limited promo price of £129.00 GBP /$159.00 USD/€159.00 EUR until June 30, 2022 only.