Spitfire Audio’s Gaika – War Island Soundscape Library

Your search for the sound of dystopian South London ends here

Spitfire Audio’s latest sample library release is Gaika – War Island. It’s a toolit of “expansive industrial soundscapes,” made in collaboration with Gaika, “an experimental rapper, producer, writer, and visual and performance artist from South London.”

(Spitfire Audio and GAIKA are contributing 12.5% of ongoing sample library sales to Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation: https://www.hceo.org.uk)

Okay, let’s let them describe it: 

“…offers multidimensional, evolving sounds from the beating heart of London’s industrial underground, available as 42 presets split into six sections: Pads — five moody, metallic, and heavy darkwave synth drones made from a range of contemporary and classic analogue and virtual analogue synths, including a SOMA Laboratory LYRA-8, Oberheim Matrix 6, Oberheim Matrix 12, and Roland JP-8000, plus many more besides; Basses — known for massive, jaw-dropping villainous bass, GAIKA provides seven crunchy low-end examples to compliment the nuance of this idiosyncratic sound domain; Leads — 12 manipulated and processed tones conjuring a dystopian backdrop while providing infinite capabilities for layering a unique user sonic footprint; Atmospheres — capturing a unique air of disquiet and metropolitan malaise, each of these seven blissfully discordant offerings set up an unsettling atmosphere; Drums — six punchy, layered sounds made from old school drum machines with extensive processing to create dance, rap, and techno sensibilities within a classical framework for achieving vast rhythmic possibilities; and Vocals — glitchy and melodic vocal samples inspired by jungle music to capture the dystopian sound of a retro yet modern urban landscape.

“Eight controls — namely, expression, dynamics, REVERB, ATTACK, RELEASE, CHORUS, FLANGER, and PHASER — permit investigating a wide range of detailed sound-sculpting possibilities within a single patch, so users can quickly add their own sonic footprint to the core sound provided. It is worth noting here that the dynamics slider controls an inbuilt processed signal, curated by GAIKA himself, starting with the reverberant quality of the processed signal up to the immediate direct impact of the original recording to offer significant creative control. Creating that processed signal involved every sample being played back through a massive sound system at Somerset House Studios — an experimental workspace in the centre of London connecting artists, makers, and thinkers with audiences — and being re-recorded in order to create space and depth around each sound, providing a new expansive and cinematic perspective.”

Price: £29.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$29.00 USD/€29.00 EUR (inc. VAT)

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