Guffland 1234
A LABS Afrorack submission that plays with blending samples and running loops of variable length.
ByMark Lowrie
The story
This is my submission for the LABS Afrorack competition!
I’ve recently been listening to some of Brian Eno’s Ambience albums, and was attracted to the way he used random loop lengths to encourage a sense of interplay between the various sounds introduced. And while essentially without human involvement once started, and without a discernible musical structure, they remain interesting and engaging. I’ve tried to take an element of that into this pack. I’ve created four separate samples from the Afropack sounds provided, processed them a little, and allowed for them to be blended within the sample player. The loop configurations vary between samples, so the blend will never repeat exactly the same way on looping. I’ve also included options for the variation of attack, release, delay, reverb and tone.
Enjoy!
Interface
Reviews
Four deep thrilling layers
This instrument comes in the tiny size of 25MB, but the actual sounds coming off of it can easily trick you to think this is big. That's because the four included layers are long and detailed, with a big and evolving sound signature that can definitely give you the chills right away. You can mix and match all four layers however you want, and with the help of the included GUI settings, you have all the control you need in order to create a unique sound every single time.
Sounds from the deep!
I very much like the fact that the sounds have been confined to the lower octave. Had these have been stretched beyond C3, it would have degraded what is a fantastic curation of 4 different tones. The GUI is simple but effective! The only note I would have is the sounds as a whole seem to be quite limited to dark textures- but overall it is a fantastic pack!
Dark Ambient Machine
Should I ever be faced with the challenge of making music that is dark, oppressive and threatening, I now have the right tool at hand!
A simple but useful UI meets here four different sounds, which can be mixed as desired. A few but sensibly chosen setting options
(reduced amp envelope with attack and release, filter, reverb and delay) complete the package. A good instrument that follows a clear sonic line!