The Sound Of Sound On SoundFollowing the success of SOS’s iPad edition, the UK’s biggest selling recording title is set to diversify further with the launch of its first official sample library. As its title suggests, The Sound Of Sound On Sound draws on the sonic experiences of everyday life in the SOS Editorial office to create a collection of phat beats and contemporary ambiences that will find a role in a wide range of modern music production styles.
The disc is divided into a number of themed sections. First up is ‘Bar Hill Balearic’, a selection of smooth grooves saturated in chillout poolside bliss, employing such unusual instruments as watercooler bottles (struck, bowed, plucked and strummed), flickering fluorescent tubes, carpet tiles, and computer voices crooning “the application InCopy has quit unexpectedly”. All of these are included both as individual loops and in construction-kit format, making it easy to put together a convincing evocation of those long hot Cambridgeshire nights, and a special convolution-based effect lets you add authentic A14 traffic noise to taste. Reflecting the rhythm of life in the throbbing hub of music technology publishing, tempos range from 12bpm downwards.
Upping the pace, ‘Spreadsheets On Fire’ pitches the listener squarely into the white-knuckle ride of an SOS Editorial planning meeting. Biscuits are munched and doodles scribbled. As uncertainty over how to reformat the contents page rises, the resulting loops literally crackle with tension, creating the perfect soundtrack for a particularly slow-burning detective drama, or indeed any scene in which people have a meeting in an office.
Following a brief ‘Crocs Away’ interlude focusing on Paul White’s feet, the ‘High Shelf’ category dives downstairs to open up the hidden world of SOS’s storage facilities. Sources run the gamut from batteries and highlighter pens to unsold CDs (struck, bowed, plucked and strummed) and dust gathering on unwise eBay purchases. ‘Golden Hour’, meanwhile, captures the magical moment when the the SOS team spring into life at lunchtime. Rubber bands are flicked across the office, microwave ovens whirr and ping, unwashed dishes pile up in the sink and the gentle hum of three-day-old lasagna cartons permeates everything.
Available from April 1st for a limited time only, The Sound Of Sound On Sound supports a wide range of formats including WAV, AIFF, Kontakt, Halion, Akai, Emu, Coypu, Warthog and Thomson’s Gazelle. The first 10 copies sold will include a dead owl.
