A world of sounds and textures await you…
The Sample Instrument Libraries
Created or Collaborated On by Stephen O’Connell
Pianobook Releases: FREE Libraries for You to Download
PROJECT AMALGAM: ANALOGUE
12 layers of analogue synth goodness you can blend how you like...
I had an idea, I wanted to share my love of analogue synthesis, but I wanted to embrace the advantages of sampling. I didn’t want to simply recreate the sounds I had made on my synth, I wanted to push them into new possibilities. Mix them, morph them, repurpose them in ways I could never physically achieve on the synth alone. A nexus between synthesis and sampling that would create a fun, performable instrument with cool features, effects and textures. A mixture, a blend, an amalgam of sounds and capabilities.
SNOWFALL
Like an icy breeze across a frozen lake…
Fully intending to simply abandon these 11 test samples in favour of a more detailed version later, I got a bit lost along the way. After playing around with a bunch of FX in Kontakt, I ended up creating a cool, little library that has this transfixing sound, like an icy breeze over a frozen lake. It reminded me of the score to Somersault by Decoder Ring, and I just fell in love with it, deciding it needed to be shared in its own right.
Fauxillon
Household glasses in fancy clothing...
Fauxillon (foe-i-lon) is a crazy experiment from my Kontakt tutorial series. In order to show everything I wanted to, I thought “what if I sample some glasses and a synth and build a warped carillon-like instrument?” Well… I think it came out a little 80s synth-like, but I love it all the same.
Ambedo
The morphing textures of a cinematic string synth...
I’ve always had a love for the classic string synth sounds, from the Solina and other analogue synths. They are beautiful and captivating, with real emotion and conviction behind their sound. They are synthetic, yes, but raw and organic too. Through this library, I want to share this beautiful sound with you, imparting my passion for them and hopefully providing you with inspiration on your next track.
Kaleidoskye
A sparkling guitar swarm library for a lush landscape…
Inspired by Christian’s electric celeste sparkle library video, the idea of creating a swarms/sparkles library with delay pedals came to me a few days later. As one of my favourite effects to muck about with, I had a number of delay pedals at my disposal and I thought it could be cool to try and get the swarms texture to be largely played by these delays instead of plucking the strings. My aim was to create a shimmering wall of guitar plucks that filled the soundscape with a beautiful texture, working well as a background layer with movement and interest.
MelloSaw
A warm, analog, brassy synth through vinyl and tape emulation for a nostalgic kick...
Have you ever grown so used to the way something sounds, only to realise that it should never have sounded that way in the first place? My introduction to 80s sci-fi films and their amazing cinematic synth-based scores came not through pristine digital copies, DVDs or even new tapes. So often, they were introduced to me a decade later, on home recorded VHS tapes that had years of wear, warping and distorting both the visuals and audio in unpredictable ways.
Metallurgic Alchemy
Metallurgic Alchemy is a synth drone library, based on granular synthesised metallic-like textures, with performance functionality built in...
Metallurgic Alchemy was born out of the idea of creating a drone library that had my most used production techniques at my fingertips, to create low bass drones and risers with movement. Filter cutoff and resonance sweeps, saturation, blends between layers and my personal favourite a tremolo effect all allow you to perform movement in the drones and risers, shaping the sound as you play.
SUBVERSION: Dark Force Audio
Working with the amazing sound designer, Tarek Mansur, Stephen helped bring the instrument alive by designing the UI layout, creating custom graphics for the controls and scripting the interface and functionality of the instrument.
See It In Action
In this video, Stephen checks out how Subversion sounds and how it can be used, as well as chats with Tarek Mansur on how the instrument came about and what’s next for Dark Force Audio.