Zero-G Elements Kepler 2

Zero‑G’s popular hybrid scoring toolkit gets a significant upgrade.

Those with a passion for media composition and cinematic music styles will be familiar with Stefano Maccarelli’s various collaborations with Zero‑G including the excellent Ethera titles. However, a further collaboration was Elements Kepler and this provided a Kontakt‑based ‘hybrid scoring toolkit’ inspired by scores to films such as Dune, Tenet and Oppenheimer. With an impressive array of presets, a straightforward UI, plenty of sound‑design options and a very accessible price, Kepler was very well received. Indeed, so well received that the same team are now back with Elements Kepler 2. So, what does this update add to Kepler’s sonic world?

New Tricks

As before, the full version of Kontakt (8.6 or later) is required (Kontakt Player is not supported). Kepler 2 adds 17GB of brand‑new material to the original’s already hefty 33GB, expanding the palette considerably. As far as I can tell, the expanded collection of presets (now numbering over 1000) within Kepler 2 don’t duplicate those within the original release; if you have projects based upon Kepler 1 you might — initially at least — want to keep both versions installed.

As with the first version, sounds can be built from up to three sound layers. However, Kepler 2 delivers some UI changes to streamline access to the various sound‑design options within the front ends of both the Core Designer and Texture Designer instruments. It also adds a third flavour of the engine called the Synth Designer. All three share the core features but, as explained clearly in Kepler 2’s manual, there are features within each engine specific to their different purposes. An expanded set of tabs is now accessible directly from the top of the UI, giving you access to various effects options (Space, Dyn and EQ, for example), envelope controls (Shape), sound layer blending (XYtab), step‑based parameter modulation (Macro 1 and Macro 2), sample slicing (Slice), arpeggiation (Arp) and an option to automatically quantise any MIDI note input to a specific grid resolution (In Q). Many of these options can be adjusted on a per‑layer basis and editing of each layer also offers an ‘expert’ mode, with further sound‑design options, accessed via the square button beneath each layer’s meter section towards the top of the UI.

You could immerse yourself in the extensive preset collection for a considerable amount of time. Kepler 2 exists in the same sound world as the original, which is to say there is a huge range of textures, drones, pads, cinematic percussion, sound effects (such as risers, whooshes, impacts and braams), playable instruments including synths and basses, sounds based upon various organic sources, and a collection of vocal‑based presets that offer choral textures, tribal chants, screams and throat singing, amongst others. Given the flexibility of the various engines, providing you are prepared to dig in, there is also endless scope to design your own sounds.

A significant element within Kepler 2’s new sample content is a collection of string instruments that utilise something Zero‑G term ‘Bow In Motion’. This is a rather neat legato feature where various string instruments have been sampled with long continuous performances that include audible changes in bowing direction. These have been recorded at various original tempos, but this bowing motion can also be tempo‑sync’ed to your DAW. The sounds themselves are excellent and full of character but, for slow, sustained note performances, the fact that the bowing matches the tempo of the project can add an interesting additional element of realism.

It’s a complete toolkit for media scoring within a single library.

Conclusion

Kepler 2 is a very worthwhile expansion of the original concept, delivering new sounds and new sound‑design options. However, the underlying concept remains a key part of what makes this library so attractive; it’s a complete toolkit for media scoring within a single library. The sounds are sonically impressive, but you also have options for every element of the scoring process, from the most delicate of percussion to the darkest of drones. If you are looking for a one‑stop shop for modern hybrid cinematic scoring, then hats off to Stefano Maccarelli and Zero‑G: Elements Kepler 2 delivers just that and does so at a very accessible price.