Sonora Cinematic Harmonic Bloom

Rating ***** 5/5 Stars

Sonora Cinematic’s Harmonic Bloom is a virtual instrument that can be hosted by the full version of Kontakt or by the free Kontakt Player. Unusually, Harmonic Bloom uses a series of eight keyboard tracking filters based on the harmonic series in order to extract musical sounds from harmonically rich or noise‑like sound sources. A slider transitions from Noise to Pitch and appears to control the Q of the harmonic filters, so that at the Noise end of the scale you hear the sound passing through fairly wide filters that work much like a graphic EQ, while fully at the pitched end the filters become very narrow and resonant to allow through only the desired frequencies.

Each filter has its own volume slider so the harmonic structure of the filtered sound can be adjusted in a manner similar to an organ’s drawbars. The instrument comes with a library of 30 noise‑like sources, such as running water, rain and surf, but you can drag your own samples directly on to the Noise waveform display.

Filtered noise could end up sounding rather limited so there’s a second layer, Main, into which can be imported conventional samples, providing they are pitched to the note C before being loaded. Again there’s a library of sounds on board, many based on guitars or synths, to get you started.

The Main part of the instrument is essentially a straightforward sample player with basic envelope and filter controls, so most of the added interest comes from the Noise section. As you move the fader towards Pitch, the harmonic notes start to make themselves heard, which is where some interesting crossover sounds can be created before you reach the fully pitched end of the scale. Adding a pitched element to things like surf and rain without completely obscuring the source sound can be interesting. Push the fader fully toward Pitch and the filters become so narrow that you essentially hear only the harmonics, albeit still subtly modulated by the source material, so at this end of the scale the Noise section works almost like an additive synth where you combine harmonically related pitches in different amounts to create different timbres.

While my description of Harmonic Bloom might sound simplistic, the combination of the Main samples and the harmonics coaxed from the Noise section can make for some hauntingly beautiful sounds, from ethereal pianos and plucks to warm and washy pads.

While my description of Harmonic Bloom might sound simplistic, the combination of the Main samples and the harmonics coaxed from the Noise section can make for some hauntingly beautiful sounds, from ethereal pianos and plucks to warm and washy pads. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first encountered Harmonic Bloom but I’ve quickly grown to like it very much and I suspect that musicians into ambient styles of composition will find it especially attractive.

£119

www.sonoracinematic.com

£119

www.sonoracinematic.com