Spitfire Audio releases cinematic textures Speculative memories

Spitfire Audio is proud to work with Berlin-based composer and experimental sound artist Yair Elazar Glotman to yield YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES — making musical waves as awe-inspiring atmospheres transformed through the 4DSOUND technology available at the MONOM experimental performance venue and state-of- the-art spatial sound recording studio located in the historic Funkhaus Berlin to create suspense, tension, and atmosphere with cutting-edge cinematic textures presented in an award-winning AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS (Native Kontrol Standard)-ready plug-in that loads into all major DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) without the need for any additional software as the sound-specialising British music technology company’s latest sample library to be named after an artist with whom it has closely collaborated, and available alongside the Yair Elazar Glotman’s Speculative Memories album namesake now out on its sister SA Recordings label dedicated to supporting and releasing music created by contemporary composers and sound artists.

Surely Spitfire Audio in-house composer Louis Rugg is perfectly positioned to formally introduce the talented Berlin-based composer and experimental artist without whom YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES would, without doubt, not exist: “Yair [Elazar Glotman] is a remarkable musician and sound artist, who combines his classical training as a double bassist and his studies in electro-acoustic composition to create textual and spatial works. As well as being a celebrated recording artist, he is also a composer in his own right, having worked on a number of film and television scores, collaborating with the likes of Geoff Barrow, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Johan Johansson — and now us, here at Spitfire Audio, to create this stunning library.”

Fortunately for anyone interested in creating suspense, tension, and atmosphere with cutting-edge cinematic textures, YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES makes it perfectly possible to do just that, as Louis Rugg continues: “…SPECULATIVE MEMORIES is inspired by the rich sound design and experimental double bass playing from his most recent homonymous album. This library contains a selection of unique bass articulations, vocal and guitar performances, modular synth sounds from the Buchla 200e, and custom textural tape loops — all designed for contemporary cinematic scores, ambient music, and anyone looking to create deeply atmospheric textures. A unique feature to this library is that each sound has also been re-amped in multiple ways — similar to how the record was created. Included is both a tape effects signal and spatial signal, recorded at the MONOM sound space in Berlin, with each sample re-recorded through omnidirectional speakers in order to create space and depth to transform how the sound behaves. This sound library is divided into five sections, with the first being VOCALS, performed by Sara Fors, who also performed vocals for the album.”

As such, that first section comprises nine unique processed vocal textures, while the GUITAR section — performed by Mats Erlandsson, who also performed on Yair Elazar Glotman’s Speculative Memories album — comprises two bowed drones and plucked octave swarms. Thereafter, the MODULAR SYNTHESISER section comprises 11 processed sounds created on the aforesaid Buchla 200e; TEXTURES comprises 12 eerie synth textures created by feeding sounds through tape machines; and DOUBLE BASS comprises seven experimental double bass techniques, ranging from distorted swells to harmonic stabs, bringing the total number of provided presets to 41. And as Louis Rugg reveals, “If you didn’t already know, with these libraries you can save presets you’ve created, and they’ll be stored at the bottom of the menu in the USERS section.”

All add up to beautifully haunting, evolving drones with visceral undertones to ambient swell and earth-shattering atmospheres as multi-layered electroacoustic textures that have been developed in visceral abstract environments through sophisticated granular processing and layering techniques to allow YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES users to travel to new sonic dimensions with the plug-in’s radically transformative processed signals — themselves ranging from tape effects to the cavernous-sounding spatial signal, created at the MONOM experimental performance venue and state-of-the-art spatial sound recording studio located in the historic Funkhaus Berlin. Indeed, it houses 4DSOUND, a 4D sound system with no fewer than 48 omnidirectional speakers suspended throughout the venue, extending down to nine powerful subs submerged beneath an acoustically transparent floor. It is little wonder, then, that this made for the perfect location within which to record that spatial signal, the resultant RE-AMP treatment transforming how the sounds behave in space, adding dimension and depth to create dynamic shifting sonic landscapes that subvert the laws of perception.

Put it this way: controlling RE-AMP really defines the sound of YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES, allowing users to move between the current signal set by the ‘dynamics’ fader and the MONOM-recorded spatial signal. Said signals have helpfully been mapped across the modulation wheel so users can freely fade and blend between the different emotional layers. “It’s so cool how that signal just completely opens up the sound — sounds really lush,” gushes Louis Rugg, before adding: “To me, the [VOCAL] sounds are just so therapeutic. It’s worth getting [YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES] just to play [them] at your leisure. I could happily sit, hold some chords down, and just relax.” Relaxation-inducing re-amping apart, user control of YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES makes use of additional controls for ‘expression’ — adjusting the level of the technique; and RANDOM START — moves the sample start to a random point within the sample with higher values increasing the range of randomness (useful for delving deeper into longer samples or adding variation to repeated notes). Needless to say, ATTACK and RELEASE (time controls) are self-explanatory.

That the last word on Spitfire Audio yielding YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES — made to inspire contemporary cinematic scoring, ambient music, and anyone looking to create deeply atmospheric textures — is reserved for Yair Elazar Glotman as the talented experimental sound artist responsible for its inspirational Speculative Memories album namesake makes musical (and literal) sense: “Working with tape and expansive re-amping processes extends and enriches the original recordings — presenting each sound or ‘memory’ in a new way, and creating limitless sonic possibilities.”

YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES is available as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible plug-in supporting Native Instruments’ NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) for Mac (OS X 10.10 – macOS 11) and Windows (7, 8, and 10 — latest Service Pack) that loads directly into any compatible DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for a RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of only £29.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$29.00 USD/€29.00 EUR (inc. VAT) — from here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/speculative-memories

Yair Elazar Glotman’s Speculative Memories release — that inspired YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES — is available to pre-order as a limited-edition 12-inch gatefold vinyl album for £25.99 GBP (inc. VAT) — with an estimated release date of January 20, 2023 — or to download immediately in 320 kbps, LAME-encoded MP3 format for £5.99 GBP (inc. VAT) and 16-bit Lossless WAV / FLAC formats for £7.99 GBP (inc. VAT) directly from SA Recordings here: https://sarecordings.com/release/325501-yair-elazar-glotman-speculative-memories

Spitfire Audio’s namesake Spitfire Audio application allows anyone to buy now and download anytime, and is available for free from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library-manager/

For more in-depth information, including some superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES webpage here: Spitfire Audio – Speculative Memories

Watch Spitfire Audio’s launch premiere of YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN – SPECULATIVE MEMORIES — including its illuminative trailer video and accompanying walkthrough with Spitfire Audio in-house composer Louis Rugg — here: