Spectrum contains 50 presets of multi-textural synth sounds ranging from pads to tempo-synced loops and drums and it has been released alongside the Ghanaian/Russian/German producer’s recent score for the BAFTA-nominated short film, Kamali.
London-based Spitfire Audio has been one of the most active plug-in developers in 2020 with the release of their Discover plug-in, a recent collaboration with Output for a series of Arcade Lines and the launch of their more budget-friendly Originals series. While these products all maintained the company’s focus on orchestral sampling, Spectrum sees the sampling gurus taking a step into electronic music.
Spitfire has a history of collaborating with innovative sound designers and composers—Hans Zimmer, Ólafur Arnalds and BT to name a few—and this time is no different. Henrietta Smith-Rolla (a.k.a. Afrodeutsche) is usually associated with her intricate and dark productions or DJ sets in the styles of techno, house and electro, but her recent compositional work has amassed international praise and success.
Her latest was a piano-led score for short film Kamali, which was nominated for a 2020 BAFTA in the Best British Short Film category. Spitfire is releasing this score via their own label SA Recordings, while offering bundle deals that include both the score and Spectrum.
The Ghanaian/Russian/German artist used her personal studio set up to record the sounds used in the instrument and this setup boasts units like the Korg MS2000 and the Kyma Sound Design Environment, which was used in films like The Dark Knight and Wall-E.
The library itself is split into four sections: Spectral Phases, Spectral Rhythms, Spectral Reflections and Spectral Percussion. Many of the sounds are expressive textures and soundscapes designed for both modern film composition and use in ambient electronic music. The amount of effect parameters is more extensive than the similar Originals plug-ins, with stereo spread, ADSR, and distortion all included, along with seven different reverb options.
Spectrum is available for purchase on the Spitfire website at a price of $/£/€ 29.