Greg Schlaepfer of Orange Tree Samples has spent seventeen years making keyboards sound like guitars. A conversation about hidden mechanisms, the ethics of who gets paid, and why the most impressive work never announces itself.
Percussion is the one corner of music where asking for variation isn’t exactly the first thing we think of — and Envoy, the first instrument built on Emergence Audio’s new Cadence Engine, is built on the opposite assumption. Six hundred analog sources, three independent clocks, and a randomiser that reshapes your sequence without destroying it. A close look at what it does well, where it asks something of you, and the second instrument hiding inside it.
The Circles drum samples have long been a quiet favourite secret weapon among producers, used across countless big tracks. Now Circles Audio has gathered the whole library into a single instrument — smooth, clean, polished, and easy to navigate. The samples were never the question; whether the instrument could do them justice was, and it does.
Orange Tree Samples’ Latitude arrives subtitled Latin Rock Percussion, but what’s inside reaches far beyond that — 376 deeply sampled instruments, musical grooves, surprising drum kits, and a sound quality that breathes. Here’s why this might be one of the most versatile percussion libraries right now.
Heavyocity’s Oblivion Drums delivers aggressive, industrial-grade percussion that stays musical and mixable. It hits hard without becoming fatiguing or harsh — a balance that sounds simple but very few libraries in this category actually pull off.
Built in collaboration with drummer Darren King, Teletone Audio’s HYPE is refined texture, rare drums, and unending groove — the kind of instrument that genuinely makes you want to write. Powered by sounds from Blackbird Studio’s vault, an extraordinary beat maker, and Teletone’s own effects DSP, it’s as much a source of musical inspiration as it is a source of soulful, rich drum sounds.
Soniccouture’s Haunted Spaces 2 pairs Chris Watson’s extraordinary field recordings with a deep hybrid engine — and the result is one of the most inspiring ambient and sound design instruments I’ve encountered. A blind, first-listen review from a composer’s perspective.
Gethen by Silence+Other Sounds is a dual-arpeggiator instrument that transforms organic samples — strings, woodwinds, vocals, metals — into evolving, hybrid textures that sit between the acoustic and the synthetic. Built around a scanning engine that adapts to what you feed it, this is one of the most creatively inspiring and genuinely playable sample libraries I’ve encountered this year.
Zero-G’s Morphology Evolved is a Kontakt library of evolving soundscapes, analog synth textures, and ambient atmospheres by veteran sound designer Ian Boddy. With a distinctive character that’s equal parts ethereal calm and gentle strangeness, it’s a deeply rewarding compositional tool for ambient composers, film scorers, and sound designers who enjoy sitting with a library and seeing where curiosity leads.
Some libraries give you sounds. Outlines gives you inspiration. Outlines by THEPHONOLOOP is a masterclass in textural sound design. Raw acoustic recordings, tape textures, and beautifully curated noise intertwine into sounds that feel alive, cinematic, and deeply inspiring. It’s imperfect in all the right ways—and crafted with astonishing care.
Please confirm you want to block this member.
You will no longer be able to:
Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
