| I’ve always
been a music technology freak. I’ve hankered after most
things such as a Fairlight or Emulator or whatever was producing
the coolest sounds at the time. Of course, the reality was that
I could never afford those, not in a million years. So I set my
standards a little lower. But still I dreamed of owning some of
the finest synths and samplers out there. As sampling took off,
these machines became a little more obtainable, but all I needed
was an actual sampler!
After a few years (and a generous girlfriend!), I
eventually acquired the king of hardware samplers, an Akai S6000,
fully loaded. Unfortunately, it was then that I realised how expensive
some of these sample CD packages were – beyond my financial
reach! After a while, I became disillusioned, thinking that without
significant investment in stock or training, this whole sampling
lark was a waste of time. The S6000 gathered dust in its rackmount
and I felt guilty every time I laid eyes on it.
Until the day I discovered Hollow Sun.
I forget how it came about but I remember sitting
in my studio, looking at my S6000 feeling guilty and I decided
to give the internet one last chance to come up with a site that
would give me help or guidance in the use of this beast.
God bless Google! As I searched for “Akai S6000”,
it threw up a site called Hollow Sun. As I read the front page,
my jaw slowly descended to the floor and my heart started thumping
a little faster. Within a few minutes I realised I had stumbled
across a veritable treasure chest of samples. FREE samples no
less!
And the best part was that they were samples of vintage
gear, in fact, most of the gear I had dreamed of owning all those
years ago!! There was a Fairlight, a Mattel Synsonics, Mellotrons
and many more. It was like I had died and gone to heaven!
I hurriedly started to download all of this and all
of a sudden my S6000 became alive and vibrant!
Since that time, Hollow Sun have added countless other
sounds, all for free, but more significantly, there is now a range
of samples available to buy on CD-ROM.
Before you start shouting, “Oh here’s
another free site who’s sold out to the man”, there
is a justifiable reason - these samples are hefty and numerous
and would stretch even a broadband download. Plus, they are detailed,
comprehensive and intense and therefore require a more careful
approach.
So, what is on offer here? Well, the first CD’s
out of the Hollow Sun factory cover two classic synths and two
of the biggest manufacturers. First of all we have the Korg M/01
Collection and the Yamaha FS1r Collection.
Let’s take the M/01 suite first. Hollow Sun
have taken some of the finest sounds that these products can make
and put them into comprehensive collections, grouping them into
various headings. The collection is separated into Programs &
Combis. Combis are Korg’s way of layering & stacking
programs to build deep walls of evolving sounds. It’s a
technique they have become famous for and the Hollow Sun Collection
captures them beautifully using long samples and clever, seamless
looping to give smooth, organic pads and leads. The sounds originate
from the classic M1 workstation and the subsequent 01 range from
the '80s and '90s.
We also have the Yamaha FS1r Collection. The FS1r
was a lone foray back into the FM arena that Yamaha took in the
90’s. Being synonymous with FM synthesis with the - now
- legendary DX7, Yamaha re- introduced it in the FS1r and added
Formant Shaping synthesis to give it an edge. What resulted was
a module capable of producing some of the finest FM patches known
to man but with the added “human” edge of Formant
Shaping. This gave us incredibly evolving pads and soundscapes
but ultimately, as is the burden of FM synthesis, the module was
incredibly difficult to program. The presets gave us a great palette,
but it never took off. Shame really, as this was, and is, a classic
piece of hardware that is now well sought after and fetching good
prices on eBay and the like. For this very reason, the Hollow
Sun Collection represents even greater value for money. The sounds
on this disc are simply stunning. The pads are so lush and vibrant;
you will find yourself playing them for hours. I challenge you
not to find yourself playing these sounds with your eyes closed,
pretending to be Tomita or Vangelis !
I could go on about the excellent quality of these
sounds, but I really want to pick up on the programming that has
gone in to these. Steve Howell, the man behind Hollow Sun, has
been at the heart of Akai’s sound library development since
the days of the S900, so knows how to get the best out of these
machines. He also worked for Peter Gabriel, creating samples for
his soundtrack for Martin Scorcese’s film “The Last
Temptation of Christ”.
Steve’s obvious skills have been put to good
use with these Hollow sun offerings. The seamless looping is,
as they say, seamless. The pads evolve and wash over you and seem
to continuously regenerate (although you know that the samples
have to be kept as short as possible to allow for efficient use
of memory). The basses and leads have punch and the bells, organs
and other keys resonate with crystal like clarity. Unlike other
sample CD’s out there, the sounds chosen here are more of
the type you wouldn’t normally find, therefore giving you
an edge over the competition.
In conclusion, these are a great first foray in to
the heavily saturated sample CD and soundware market by one of
the godfathers of sample design and offer something truly unique.
Many of us already know and appreciate Steve’s work, especially
if we have downloaded any of his sounds, but these CD’s
represent a step up in quality that is best delivered on CD as
opposed to via a download.
Roll on Hollow Sun’s Definitive PPG, CP70B and
NewTron, that’s all I can say!
Rob Puricelli - 24.1.05 |
