Iain Morland | Music + Sound

SpectrumWorx demo tracks

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:44:39 +0000

I've created some demo tracks to show off the capabilities of SpectrumWorx, a creative sound-mangling program by Little Endian.

Click the play button below to listen to the audio stream on SoundCloud (you'll need Flash).

Loops - Iain by SpectrumWorx

The first drum montage demonstrates ten new SpectrumWorx presets that I designed. The other montages use existing presets, including signature banks by Martin Walker and Syndicate Synthetique.

Hybrid Factory

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:17:00 +0000

Precisionsound has released Hybrid Factory, a sample-based synthesiser for Native Instruments Kontakt 4, which I created and programmed.

The samples in Hybrid Factory were created using a wide range of techniques, including resynthesizing acoustic instruments; physical modelling; granular synthesis; processing Foley recordings; FM synthesis; sampling old cassettes; and convolving instruments with one another.

Hybrid Factory contains:

Over 1,160 stereo samples at 24-bit, 44.1khz quality
80 NKI presets, including basses, leads, keys and pads, demonstrating the capabilities of Hybrid Factory
Twelve unique impulse responses
A default NKI to use as a starting point for user patches

Hybrid Factory main interface - designed by Lars Westin

Here are some demonstrations of the sounds in Hybrid Factory. I added some third-party drums, but everything else comes from Hybrid Factory, with a few sound effects from the Biosphere and Sonic Laboratory libraries. (You'll need Flash to play the audio; click the button to hear the track):

All Your Base
Astral Cheeseburger
Electrify
Flow West
March of the Trilobites

Click here to visit the Hybrid Factory product page at Precisionsound, for more information and to purchase.

Quicksand

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:31:22 +0000

What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you? Could it be... walking through sand?

Quicksand is a mashup of an interview by Angela Saucier with train passengers in California. Stylistically it's a companion to my earlier Panther Track.

Click the button to play the track (you'll need Flash), or here to download it as a high-quality mp3 file (6.7mb).

The interview is used under a Creative Commons license. I'm grateful to Laura Gregory for assistance with the production.

Biosphere and Mechosphere

Sat, 5 Feb 2011 23:39:44 +0000

Precisionsound has released Biosphere and Mechosphere, two collections of looped soundscapes which I designed.

Biosphere and Mechospere synthesise original material from field recordings, Foley performances, generated noises, and human voices. Biosphere evokes environmental and biological processes, supernatural atmospheres, and living organisms; Mechosphere evokes electronic and mechanical devices, industrial spaces, and robotic creatures.

Each collection contains:

50 stereo 48khz 24-bit WAV files, between 1:01 and 1:10 in length, edited to loop seamlessly
1 program for all versions of Steinberg HALion
1 program for Native Instruments Kontakt 1 and 2
1 program with scripted interface for Native Instruments Kontakt 3 and 4 (full versions required, not the free Kontakt Player)

Biosphere and Mechosphere Kontakt 3/4 interfaces

Here are some demonstrations of the sounds in Biosphere and Mechosphere. Each is a reel of six sounds, with no additional processing (you'll need Flash to play the audio; click the button to hear the track):

Biosphere

Environments
Organic
Supernatural

Mechosphere

Electronic
Robotic
Industrial

Click here to visit the Biosphere product page at Precisionsound, or here to visit the Mechosphere page, for more information and to purchase.

One More Round (Obvious Mix)

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:45:33 +0000

One of the first cassette singles I bought was Bette Midler's From a Distance, the B-side of which was the jolly One More Round.

In the same year, 1990, Paul Simon released The Rhythm of the Saints, with its equally jolly The Obvious Child.

At last, Bette and Paul are brought together in One More Round (Obvious Mix).

Click the button to play the track (you'll need Flash), or here to download it as a high-quality mp3 file (4.8mb).

Credits: me - production; Laura Gregory - vocals.

Sonic Laboratory review

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:58:02 +0000

Sonic Laboratory, the sound effects collection which I designed, has received a 4 out of 5 review from music technology website Sounds and Gear.

From the review: "The care taken to design these sounds shows as soon as you listen. There's more than just a simple noise here and there, some of them have been stacked, layered and even seem to evolve a little bit. ... it's very good, very diverse, and it just plain sounds great."

Click here to read the full review, and to watch a video which demonstrates several sounds, as well as the Sonic Laboratory interface.

Sonic Laboratory is a Precisionsound product. Click here to visit the Sonic Laboratory page at Precisionsound for more information, and to purchase.

Sonic Laboratory

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:25:53 +0000

Precisionsound has released Sonic Laboratory, a toolkit of 500 sound effects which I designed.

Created by processing and deconstructing some of the strangest plucks, scrapes, thumps and noises from Precisionsound’s library of sampled acoustic instruments, Sonic Laboratory includes brutal hits, evolving soundscapes, atonal clusters, retro electronica, and more.

Sonic Laboratory contains:

500 stereo 44.1khz 24-bit WAV files
10 programs for all versions of Steinberg HALion
10 programs for Native Instruments Kontakt 1 and 2
10 programs with scripted interface for Native Instruments Kontakt 3 and 4 (full versions required, not the free Kontakt Player)

Sonic Laboratory Kontakt 3/4 interface

Here are some demo tracks made using the sounds from Sonic Laboratory (you'll need Flash to play the audio; click the button to hear the track):

Catacomb Labyrinth (made exclusively from 19 Sonic Laboratory sounds, with no additional processing)

Digital Bathysphere (made exclusively from 17 Sonic Laboratory sounds, with no additional processing)

Martian Exile (made exclusively from 18 Sonic Laboratory sounds, with no additional processing)

Laboratory Lounge (made from 18 Sonic Laboratory sounds, combined with a single hi-hat pattern and melodic elements played on other instruments from the Precisionsound catalogue).

Click here to visit the Sonic Laboratory product page at Precisionsound for more information, and to purchase.

Boom Boom Pow (Tubular Remix)

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 09:23:48 +0000

Just as will.i.am shits on us all with his boom boom, so too does Mike Oldfield with his alternating time signatures.

Here's what happens when they get together, in my Boom Boom Pow Tubular Remix.

Click the button to play the track (you'll need Flash), or here to download it as a high-quality mp3 file (6.7mb).

I'm grateful to Laura Gregory for assistance with the production.

Russian Balalaikas released

Fri, 21 May 2010 13:14:42 +0000

The new Russian Balalaikas sample set is now available from Precisionsound.

I programmed the interface and user controls for the Kontakt 3 and 4 versions of the sample set. The balalaika was played by Igor Iachimciuc, and the sample set was edited by Lars Westin, who also designed the background artwork.

Two Kontakt instruments are included: a solo balalaika, and balalaika group which creates the sound of three performers playing in unison. Both include a special tremolo feature that allows the initial tremolo speed to be set on the interface, then varied during performance using the mod wheel.

Interface for Kontakt 4 Balalaika Solo instrument

Click here to read more about my collaboration with Precisionsound.

More Kontakt instruments released

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 13:54:23 +0000

Sample library developers Precisionsound have recently released several updated instruments for which I've provided custom Kontakt scripting.

The Nordic Upright Piano, Dusty Electric Piano (rhodes), and Funky Electric Piano (wurlitzer) all have new interfaces with customised controls to easily shape the sound. An exciting update to the Persian Santur will be released shortly.

Here's Daniel Näsström from Precisionsound demonstrating the Nordic Upright Piano:

Click here to read more about my collaboration with Precisionsound.