Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Polarity from Soniccouture is a custom dual‑granular engine that operates within the NI Kontakt domain. Receiving its first outing earlier this year, Polarity Tension demonstrated the extensive nature of this collaborative product, which now returns in a second volume, in collaboration with Ian Boddy.
Ian is something of a modular/musical pioneer and a previous collaborator with Soniccouture. Other examples of his work include expansion packs for both the Haunted Spaces and Geosonics instruments, but Polarity Modular embraces his expertise in the modular arena and is sampled and created from the ground up.
The Polarity granular engine itself is unchanged, aside from a new colour scheme and revised macro graphics, which tantalisingly invite you to click and mutate from the initial splash screen. To recap, Polarity offers two layers (A+B), both of which are equipped with three editable sections: Grains, Synth and Effects. The depth of the Granular engine is considerable, with a new set of 250 samples, exclusively created from Ian Boddy’s modular systems. There is plenty of scope on offer, from deep drones through to bleeping mayhem. In fact, the samples are organised into seven menus, ranging from ‘Blips & Bloops’ to ‘Soundscapes — Pitched’. There are also more stable ‘Drones’ and ‘Oscillators’ sections, if you want something more uniform, and you can also load your own samples.
Once your chosen wave is selected, there is a host of editable options across the Grains and Synth sections, which include sync’able parameters, making it very easy to create clocked, randomised and pulsating textures. The Synth section allows subtractive‑style sculpting, with dual ADSRs, a filter and an LFO, and the elaborate Effects section offers independent effects for layers A+B.
It sounds rich and incredibly lush, and with a host of great included patches, you immediately get a feel for its complex makeup.
Returning to the source material, Ian has called upon his extensive modular setup to create the 250 initial samples and curated patches. These systems include analogue legends, such as the Roland System 100m, a Serge modular system and an EMS VCS3. There’s also reference to current brands, such as AJH modules and the unique Make Noise Morphagene Eurorack module. Impulse responses from effects sources are also included, with tape echo generated by a Revox reel‑to‑reel, Moogerfooger BBDs, and spring reverbs too. This is undeniably a comprehensive collection of modular sounds, which works incredibly elegantly within the SC Polarity engine. The granular element supplies a unique dimension. It sounds rich and incredibly lush, and with a host of great included patches, you immediately get a feel for its complex makeup.
However, Polarity Modular’s output may present dilemmas at the musical level. Much of the included sample and patch content makes extensive use of movement, which might inhibit its use in the context of wider musical material. You may conceivably find yourself wondering how and where to use it, but this should take nothing away from its intrinsic quality and superbly engaging sound.