Heavyocity Gravity 2

Heavyocity’s supercharged sequel rockets into orbit.

Seven years after the original Gravity collection achieved lift off, Heavyocity have launched a sequel. Gravity 2 builds on the format of its predecessor, serving up a fresh collection of textures, risers, swells, impacts and stings along with an intriguing new ingredient: 144 rhythmic pedal loops which can be creatively combined to add impetus and groove to your tracks.

Constructed from over 1,000 unique sources, the library features Heavyocity’s signature junkyard and mechanical noises, electrical buzz and radio static, digitally mangled acoustic instruments (cello, violin, koto, zither, waterphone, piano) and eccentric performance styles such as bowed oil cans. Also included are a large collection of processed analogue synth signals, and guitar effects created by the company’s Neil Goldberg.

This gloriously diverse pandemonium has been crafted into playable instruments comprising both tuned and sound design elements, thus satisfying the needs of composers who juggle traditional note‑based composition with an exploratory sonic approach. Gravity 2 (9.55GB installed) requires Kontakt 7.6.0 or later and will run on the free Kontakt 7 player.

Overview

Gravity 2’s three newly designed Kontakt instruments house hundreds of ‘snapshot’ presets in themed folders. You can preview sounds in the source browser by clicking on their name, a huge timesaver. The Menu instrument allows you to quickly load sets of 36 sounds assigned to individual keys, while Menu XL’s snapshots squeeze 72 sound sources into six‑octave presets. The more elaborate Gravity 2 Designer is a three‑channel instrument with layered sound combinations designed to spark the imagination and get your creative juices flowing.

You can use the large Macro knob to modulate samples’ ADSR envelope, filter, EQ, distortion, rhythm gating, pitch, delay and reverb settings.

As in previous Heavyocity collections, presets can be loaded singly or in banks of 12 mapped across one keyboard octave. Tuned material is presented in ‘low’ and ‘high’ versions with samples mapped according to pitch — pitched samples initially play in the key of C, but you can alter their tuning on the fly with the built‑in keyswitches. A handy ‘expand source to keys’ function maps a selected sound over a full keyboard range for melodic and chordal work.

Rhythmic Pedals

The tempo‑synced pedal loops add an exciting new dimension to the Gravity experience, covering the spectrum from light percolating pulses to huge‑sounding riffs powered by a kickass low end. Multisampled over a wide pitch range, they feature processed analogue and modular synths such as the Moog Minitaur and Sub 37, Lyra 8, Make Noise Strega and DPO augmented by mutated acoustic sources.

The loops contain much excellent material. I liked ‘Cine Sneak’, a motoring plucked synth pattern which works equally well for bass parts and ostinato rhythm patterns. In a more aggressive vein, the see‑sawing, syncopated ‘Zero Day’ heavy synth bass riff sounds like a dramatic film cue in search of a movie. Rock fans will also enjoy the funky ‘Mechanicals’ overdriven palm‑muted guitar loop, while the wild octave slides of ‘Throwdown’ are great for building rhythmic momentum.

Delving into the ‘straight high’ folder, ‘OK Computer’ is a rampaging, distorted repeated‑note synth pattern that screams to be harnessed to a pounding rhythm track. Other highlights include ‘Squealers’ (which layers backwards swells over a joyfully percussive 16th‑note rhythm), the syncopated ‘Cuatro Pulsations’ acoustic guitar groove and ‘Hammer And String’, a lilting, gently insistent processed piano loop which sounds delightful in the upper register.

Three’s Company

Bearing in mind that epic film and trailer cues often utilise three‑based metres such as 12/8 (or 4/4 with each quarter note divided into three), Heavyocity created half of their 144 pedal loops with a triplet feel. These samples display the same rhythmic drive and diversity as their straight‑time bedfellows: ‘Chaser’ and ‘Off The Bottom’ are no‑nonsense, hustling 12/8 synth bass pulses, and the danceable ‘Atomic Punching Bag’ exhibits BT levels of programming virtuosity. Higher‑pitched presets such as ‘Intelligent Kalimba’, ‘Dream Bells’ and ‘Synaptic Error’ represent the pedal loops’ delicate, ethereal side.

The library’s ‘Rhythmic Moods’ section exploits the Gravity 2 Designer’s three‑channel format. The cheerful tick‑tock of ‘Clockwork Gravity’ would make a good rhythmic backdrop for an upbeat instrumental piece, while ‘Exotic Escape Plan’ sets a terrific synth bass rhythm against an unhinged stringed instrument upper part. On safer ground, the propulsive ‘Stealth Forces’ sounds like a complete action cue, combining a massive, growling bass with a spiky, twangy processed synth you can use for automated chordal rhythms.

Incidentally, I found many of the triplet‑based loops will work in a 4/4 context if you simply count their beat as three groups of four notes rather than four groups of three. This mind game creates the perception of a slower tempo — for example, though it sounds exactly the same, a triplet loop playing at 120bpm would now feel like straight 4/4 time at 90bpm. This mind trick (which drummer Gavin Harrison describes as a ‘metric modulation’) worked particularly well with this library’s ‘Synaptic Error’ synth pulse. I’ll leave you to work out the maths!

Gravity 2’s tempo‑sync’ed material can be played back at half (0.5), normal or double speed. A dedicated control allows you to adjust the start time of individual samples.

Textures

Gravity 2’s sustained looped textures are divided into tonal, atonal and modal categories. The tonal type’s clear single pitch makes them suitable for lead lines, pads and tuned drones, while the atonal sort function more as dissonant sound effects. ‘Modal’ indicates the sample contains major or minor chord elements, thus making them more musically complete‑sounding.

The textures’ moods range from big, menacing cinematic rumbles like ‘Stare At The Sun’ to beautiful pads such as ‘Safe In Your Arms’ (a majestic, gently undulating major seventh chord) and ‘Six String Serenity’, a mystic soundscape with subtle harmonic overtones. Lying in between these two extremes are all manner of mysterious, atmospheric, eerie and dystopian textures perfectly suited to sci‑fi, horror, fantasy and psychological drama scores.

Stings

The library’s 252 single‑shot stings contain some truly alarming noises: ‘Bass Bender’ sounds like a cross between a detuned fuzz bass and a giant chainsaw, and the industrial‑strength ‘Filth Factor’ and ‘Gut Cruncher’ are as terrifying as their names suggest. Neil Goldberg joins the fray with some great guitar slides, scrapes and feedback effects created with an arsenal of pedals (including the aptly‑named NRG Mauler).

It’s not all death and destruction: ‘Tracking Signal’ and ‘Ago In The Future’ are charmingly perky synth sounds, while ‘Trailer Open Warp’ can be transformed into an agreeable marimba multisample by adjusting its sample start time. But this being Heavyocity, the stings are rife with mad, heavily processed, calamitous and iconoclastic noises suggestive of total cosmic annihilation, and sound all the better for it.

Transitions & Risers

Designed to create an exciting rush into a new musical section, Gravity 2’s ‘transitions’ are two‑bar, tempo‑synced events which build to an intense climax. The reverses culminate in a reversed‑tape backwards whoosh, while the swells reach a peak then subside in a decrescendo. Also included are a set of tension‑building risers timed to reach their peak after four bars.

The 144 reverses span an enormously diverse timbral range. Personal favourites include the blasting ‘Seven Flare’ and the savagely electronic ‘Megathon’. I also admired the eerie sci‑fi tones of ‘Power Surge’ and the alien gibbering of ‘Venutians’, for which Google Translate has so far yielded no results. In the swells department, ‘SloMo Fission’ and ‘Deep Space Messages’ are perfect fodder for big‑budget sci‑fi productions, while ‘Ghastly Reveal’ and ‘Something Wicked’ suggest something nasty hiding in the wardrobe. ‘Sublimation’ also works as a futuristic electronic organ for swelling chord pads.

Gravity 2’s risers are considerably more sophisticated than the ascending synth glides of yesteryear. ‘Orchestral Cyclone’ sounds like a jet fighter taking off as heard from the inside of a tumble dryer (an unusual listening perspective, I grant you). ‘The Spins’ induces similar feelings of giddiness, while the furious accelerating rotations of ‘Cyclone Monster’ would make a great intro to a raucous rock tune.

Impacts

Following the format of the original Gravity, Gravity 2 contains an all‑new set of 36 impacts containing a sub, mid and tail element which you can load separately or as full mixes. One could describe these pulverising hits simply by replicating the multi‑coloured captions that flashed up on screen during fight scenes in the 1966 Batman TV series — BIFF! BAM! CRASH! KAPOW! SPLATT! WHAMM! (etc.), but to put it in less comical language, they’re brutally explosive.

If pressed, I’d nominate ‘Devil’s Ringtone’ as the ringleader of these crushing impacts — its ‘sub’ is a huge, epic cinematic drum hit, the ‘mid’ adds a cataclysmic metallic clang which expires in a horrendous, splintering anguished roar, and the ‘tail’ section sounds like a malfunctioning circular saw recorded in an aircraft hangar. Nice!

If you want something a little less over the top, some of the sub samples can double as kick drums, to which end you might want to turn off their reverb in the master effects page. The tails can also be used as standalone sound effects. But the main thrust of these hits is Heavyocity’s hallmark super‑aggressive, overpowering and destructive sonic carnage. To paraphrase TS Eliot, this is the way Gravity 2 ends — not with a whimper, but with a bang.

Well organised, intelligently presented, musically diverse and creatively inspiring, Gravity 2 upholds its predecessor’s high standards and ups the ante with some excellent new features.

Conclusion

Well organised, intelligently presented, musically diverse and creatively inspiring, Gravity 2 upholds its predecessor’s high standards and ups the ante with some excellent new features. New users will find its easy‑to‑understand Menu instruments instantly usable, while long‑time Heavyocity enthusiasts will enjoy exploring the Gravity 2 Designer. Most importantly, it’s a great sample collection with timbres ranging from the beautifully delicate to the crushingly brutal, backed up by an eclectic and exciting set of rhythmic pedal loops to kick‑start your compositions.