It’s February, and as it’s been cold up here in the United States so let’s heat it up a bit with a couple of products just begging to be used in your next chart topping track. This month I’ll be looking over a couple of Hip Hop products that provide you with live instruments that normally wouldn’t be accessable to most people.
Nothing sets apart a track more than the use of live strings. Live string players are expensive and it takes a lot of experience to record and capture the nuances of these instruments. Big Fish Audio has made it a bit easier to include live strings in your Hip Hop, Pop, or R&B tracks with Urban String Sessions. Urban String Sessions provides and excellent assortment of live string loops recorded in a mid-size studio setting. Each loop includes various parts and sections broken out to allow for further arrangement and custom mixing. Any way you slice it I think you’ll love how quickly and easily these loops will fit with your music.
My second selection for the month contains live played Indian percussion played along with hip hop beats. Hip Hop India was played by master percussionist Sanket Athale. What truly makes this library stand out from ordinary ethnic percussion libraries is Sanket’s ability to incorporate expertly played Indian percussion with a modern approach. Take a listen to the demos and you’ll hear what I mean. Every instrument was recorded in complete isolation allowing you to select and choose the exact group of instruments of your choosing. No sample library one-shots will ever replace the nuance and feel of a live player and Hip Hop India is truly no exception.
Well it’s that time again for the pick of the month. Not only is it a new month but a new year. Everybody is ready to work off the holiday weight and begin the uphill climb of keeping our New Year’s resolutions. Here is a resolution for you that should be easy to keep: try something new. Don’t fall into the musical rut of always doing the same things. It’s a new year and a time to branch out and continue to expand our musical sound pallets. So this month, in that spirit, I present two products to help you think outside of the musical box.
Gypsy Cafe is a new project recently released by Big Fish Audio in cooperation with Dieguis Productions as part of the Xtended Series. This library is a little Gypsy, a little Parisian, a little Italian, and a lot amazing. It’s a perfect blend of old meets new as expert production quality as well as authentic instruments and players were used in the making of this project. Like all Extended Series products this library features construction kits that are packed full to the brim with intros, verses, choruses, endings, as well as multiple variations with each instrument included.
Next up for your consideration is the appropriately titled Mariachi. This library is also a Big Fish Audio library in cooperation with Dieguis Productions, and part of the Textured Series. As you might expect this library contains all the essential elements of Mariachi, Guitarron, Nylon Guitar, Vihuela, Violins, Trumpets, Gritos, and Choros. What you might not expect is how good these kits sound. Just check out the demo and you’ll see what I mean. So you are fairly warned, listening to the Mariachi demos will most certainly create an instant craving to drive down to your nearest mexican food restaurant for chips and guacamole with your favorite margarita. You’ve been warned!
Just a quick note to let everyone know we’ve just added 20 high quality download packs to our catalog. They styles are mostly electronica: house, hard dance, techno, trance, tech-funk, and some minimal. We also added an incredible Indian percussion download called “Indian Sessions Vol 1“, by KV Krishnan. Out of all the downloads, my personal favorite is “Tidy Trax“. Out of all the hard trance products out there, I believe “Tidy Trax” really nails the stylistic subtleties that are missed by less-authentic products. The basses and synths are well rounded and very warm, great melodies in all the instrumentals, and all the effects and “goodies” are unbelievable! Also be sure to check out the new book we now carry: “The Secrets of House Music Production”. It’s truly a wealth of knowledge that, until now, was kept tightly under wraps by the pros.