Name: Spitfire Audio London Contemporary Orchestra Textures (Digital Download)
Brand: Spitfire Audio
SKU: 1526-1092
Price: 499.0 AUD
Availability: InStock

Expand your sound palette

Our second collaborative venture with the internationally-acclaimed London Contemporary Orchestra took us to an awe-inspiring aircraft hangar for a recording process like no other. Together we have created a completely unique, never-before-sampled sound palette — a sophisticated collection of constantly evolving organic textures, formed by layering unexpected combinations of instruments. In applying the signature workshopping, performance styles and innovative techniques that have made the LCO so sought after, we have produced textures made up of indefinable, fascinating sounds.

Our need for unparalleled acoustics led us to the most unconventional recording space in Spitfire’s eleven year sampling history — a cavernous hangar with a remarkably long reverb tail — adding incredible resonance to each note. Enhanced with our unique Evo Grid, we give you access to a cutting edge, inspiring collection of instantly playable, spellbinding textures which will add incredible depth and colour to your composition.

Behind the samples

Following the continued popularity of London Contemporary Orchestra Strings, our next collaboration with the LCO had to be something even more extraordinary. Our collective ambition was to achieve something that no one in the sampling world had done before — partly inspired by the orchestra’s recent studio collaborations, including Suspiria with Thom Yorke, The Innocents with Carly Paradis, American Animals with Anne Nikitin and You Were Never Really Here with Jonny Greenwood. We took familiar, pre-existing organic instruments and combined them in unique ways to create indefinable, expressive and modern sounds and textures — much like an artist using an array of disparate colours to create a new, multi-tonal palette — marrying together the LCO’s world class performers and ten years of experience in contemporary classical music and the film world, and Spitfire’s sampling expertise and pioneering Evo Grid technology. Through the power of sampling, we have created new instruments you would never be able to recreate outside a sampler — making the impossible possible.

A new sound palette

From conception to recording, the process was curated and orchestrated in intricate detail. In selecting the instrumentation for each group of textures, we focused on the idea that every musical sound can be broken down into three distinct areas — the hit at the front, the sustain in the middle, and the decay or release at the end. We then chose a select instrument or ensemble to inhabit each one of these areas, blended together and lengthened by the resonance of the vast space.

We managed to retain the intimacy and expression of each sound by keeping the ensemble small and only recording up to five combinations of sounds at a time. We split these combinations of instruments into four groups — Ethereal, Mercurial, Quantum and Astral — named according to the soundscapes evoked by each bespoke combination. Each are distinct in orchestration, techniques and evolutionary style, but are also designed to complement each other when layered together.

The excitement with Spitfire has always been about creating new instruments - taking these old wooden boxes and combining them with cutting-edge sampling techniques to create something new. With this library, people will have something to play that nobody has ever heard, or had the opportunity to write with.

Robert Ames

Co-Principal Conductor and Artistic Director

Inside the hangar

To achieve this stunning, spacious sound, we needed to find a uniquely vast space, which led us to Old Jet, a decommissioned aircraft hangar in Suffolk, England. Originally built to test American fighter planes, its soundproof quality and 10 second reverb tail made it the perfect setting to blend and bring to life these multifaceted, otherworldly textures. Expertly recorded by the Spitfire team, led by producer Harry Wilson, we were in close collaboration with the LCO every step of the way. In such an extraordinary live space, the recording process required much attention to detail, as the smallest sound could disturb a recording in what is meant to be a controlled environment. “You don’t have to create too much sound to agitate the air — what you receive back from the room is an incredible richness of overtones and warmth of sound.”, says Hugh Brunt, Co-Principal Conductor and Artistic Director (above right). “We discovered sounds that you couldn’t create without that space and orchestration, for example, a harpist bowing in an attacked way gives you a lot of high end which normally dies away quickly, so we added viola and cello harmonic sul pont to lengthen that attack and pick up the overtones, while the room strengthened its resonance."

The LCO’s extensive workshopping process welcomes creative input from each of its world-class performers, all adding their own character and colour to each note. “We were in a position where we could be completely experimental. In that space, certain notes and articulations would ring in a certain way, so we played off that and made changes accordingly,” says Robert. “Writing for a long reverb is a really fascinating thing to do. Trying to predict how the space is going to feed back into the notes you’ve written for is a really interesting thing…

To have an orchestra to play with when curating these sounds — it’s like the ultimate synthesiser.” This experimental approach allowed us to take the sounds to a completely new place, using unconventional techniques, such as introducing vibrating foreign objects to the instruments, experimenting with quarter tone variants, adding fifths and extra octaves, introducing a variety of bowed textures — bowed harp, bowed marimba, bow hairs threaded through piano strings, and using different parts of singers' voices to create raspy tones.

Our recording expertise and acclaimed Evo Grid technology adds extra dimensions to each sample, offering you a distinctive, ever-changing kaleidoscope of progressive techniques, with instant playability. Choose between a range of mic positions for extra control — Close, Tree, Ambient and Outrigger, Room or add plate reverb or stretch the samples on each individual texture. The close mics give you much closer attention to detail, while still giving a sense of the expanse and warmth of the room. Every sound has been mixed by renowned mix engineer Joe Rubel (Sherlock with Michael Price, Floating Points, Ed Sheeran), with an option to choose his definitive mix (just select ‘The Mix’).

Our bespoke, sophisticated Evo Grid UI positions ‘pins’ via an onscreen 10 x 32 grid arrangement, giving you access to recordings across 12 intervals. Instantly select which Evo (evolution) sits on each of those 12 key ranges, or generate randomised evolutions. Enjoy instant gratification with these engaging and inspiring long articulations that change over time, organised in a grid with infinite possible combinations. For the newly initiated, Evolutions are hyper-long articulations that change sometimes subtly and sometimes radically over time before looping, giving you unexpected results.

Evolutions have become widely adopted amongst the composer community as the most effective means of easily writing music that is able to subtly change over time without variation in melodic content. These textures can be developed, shaped and processed further, offering you a rich range of possibilities. Blended to create unique, organic sounds, Textures can be applied to a wide range of compositions to take you to the forefront of modern music-making — from left-field electronic music to orchestral scores. With 32 expansive, evolving textures, and over 50 curated presets, giving you almost endless combinations of thousands of sounds, we offer you a new world of inspiration at your fingertips.

General controls panel

This view allows further in-depth control of the instrument, showing all available signals and feature controllers, as well as the ability to purge techniques from memory to reduce system usage.

The Evo Grid

Based on the EMS VCS3 synth, this extraordinary and unique interface allows for instant gratification and customisation. With 1 or 2 clicks, you will be armed with something totally unique and inspiring. Scroll the Evo Grid to discover and activate Evos that are not visible. Pan and tweak each Evo for perfect blending. Punch in or out 3 useful modulators and effects. Mix your mic positions, all from the front panel.

What's included

Textures grid instruments

Ethereal

Voices (sopranos, mezzo soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass), percussion, cello

Mercurial

Flute (plus alto & contra), harp, viola, cellos

Quantum

Flute (plus alto & contra), piano, viola, cellos

Astral

Percussion, felt piano, cello harmonics

Individual textures

Ethereal

Ethereal - ethereal tail (MW)
Ethereal - ethereal tail (Vel)
Ethereal - first light
Ethereal - ethereal tail (MW)
Ethereal - ethereal tail (Vel)
Ethereal - shimmer oscillations
Ethereal - frozen overtones
Ethereal - space chatter
Ethereal - aurora borealis
Ethereal - celestial sand
Ethereal - cosmic refraction
Ethereal - vapour undulation

Mercurial

Mercurial - mercurial tail (MW)
Mercurial - mercurial tail (Vel)
Mercurial - mercurial tail (MW)
Mercurial - mercurial tail (Vel)
Mercurial - infinity shudder
Mercurial - fractured air
Mercurial - chrome ocean
Mercurial - gravitational lens
Mercurial - primordial soup
Mercurial - bantam supernovae
Mercurial - effervescent arc
Mercurial - frozen light

Quantum

Quantum - quantum tail (MW)
Quantum - quantum tail (Vel)
Quantum - quantum tail (MW)
Quantum - quantum tail (Vel)
Quantum - space reverberation
Quantum - gravity pillow
Quantum - subatomic magnet
Quantum - onyx wave
Quantum - drone distortion
Quantum - octave bloom
Quantum - space forest
Quantum - distortion halo

Astral

Astral - astral tail (MW)
Astral - astral tail (Vel)
Astral - glass winds
Astral - glass bloom
Astral - microtonal interference
Astral - frozen waves
Astral - whisper trills
Astral - still air
Astral - tremor drones
Astral - glass quiver

Curated presets

Astral - mystic keys
Astral - Shimmer Wave
Aurora borealis - drone
Celestial hike
Cosmic refraction - drone
Distortion halo - drone
Ethereal - textural pipes
Ethereal - twist of fate
Ethereal - voices of the deep
Ethereal tail - drone (Vel)
Expanding multiverse pad
Fractured air - drone
Frozen light - drone
Frozen waves - drone
Glacial shifts
Glass bloom - drone
Glass winds - drone
In solace
Microtonal mindcloud A1
Microtonal mindcloud A2
Microtonal mindcloud B1
Microtonal mindcloud B2
Octave bloom - drone
Quantum - rolling waves
Red shift
Rusty organ
Shimmer oscillations - drone
Space forest - drone
Space reverberation - drone
Still air - drone
Textures grid - abandoned voices
Textures grid - arrival
Textures grid - aurora rhodes
Textures grid - cathedral walls
Textures grid - close but far
Textures grid - decompression
Textures grid - deep space
Textures grid - depths of valhalla
Textures grid - earthrise
Textures grid - electric swarms
Textures grid - feedback drone 1
Textures grid - feedback drone 2
Textures grid - chrome surfer
Textures grid - impending storms
Textures grid - into the void
Textures grid - night organ
Textures grid - out of reach
Textures grid - piano whisper
Textures grid - plume delays
Textures grid - probe scanners
Textures grid - rattle pad
Textures grid - room resonance
Textures grid - scratchy swell pad
Textures grid - short crystal shards 1
Textures grid - short crystal shards 2
Textures grid - storm creaks
Textures grid - string theory
Textures grid - stutter roll
Textures grid - synthesized reality
Textures grid - the aether
Textures grid - cosmic reflector
Textures grid - touch of life
Textures grid - vocal airs
Textures grid - wormholes
Whisper trills - drone

Mics & mixes

Textures grid microphones

Close
Main Array — a combination of ambient and outrigger
Room
The Mix — by Joe Rubel

Individual textures microphones

Close
Main array — a combination of the tree and outrigger
Room
The mix — by Joe Rubel
Plate reverb
Stretched — samples stretched x2 to create a pad like effect

Mac system requirements

Mac OS 11, 12 or 13

Both Intel and Apple Silicon/ARM are supported

Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 minimum (quad-core), 8GB RAM

Recommended: 2.8GHz I7 (six-core), 16GB RAM

32-bit systems are not supported.

PC system requirements

Windows 10 or Windows 11 - (Latest Service Pack, 64-bit)

Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or AMD Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM

Recommended: Intel Core i7 6th gen and later or AMD Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM

32-bit systems are not supported.

File size

28.60 GB disc space required during install

14.30 GB download size

Too large to download? Choose hard drive delivery at checkout

Kontakt player

Kontakt Full or Kontakt Player 5.6.8 or higher

UAD Lion 68

Excellent plugin thanks Alan

Fixing eq problems

The best eq and elevated problem frequencies.

Viking Chair

Koala Audio were very helpful. The Viking chair fitted together easily, and the many adjustable functions work well. Very well designed, lightweight and will suit my needs as a multi instrument player including Pedal Steel and recording work.

Thumbs up

Fast with no probs

Nice Mic spoiled by needing a physical ilok to use Modelling Software

Nice Mic spoiled by needing a physical ilok to use Modelling Software. Seems absurd. I don't mind using ILok cloud but no, only a physical dongle will work. Very 2004. Not a deal breaker. The mic is fine for the price.

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