Polyester Loops reviewed at VI Mag
The newest of the libraries discussed here is the 2-CD Polyester Loops, crafted by composer, producer, and remixer Jerzy Korzen. Unlike the other libraries discussed, which are primarily acoustic-sourced, this library was created almost entirely with soft synths and effects. The results are considerably more twisted than your standard techno libraries.
There are two main folders of loops: Handwashed and Machinewashed. Handwashed contains 36 bassline, 40 music, and over 180 drum loops ranging from one to four bars in length and 80 to 180 bpm in tempo. The styles range from technotribal to geeky hip-hop to clockwork industrial to experimental electronica. They tend toward the minimal, with many of the drum loops having strongly pitched elements while the “music” loops sounds more like radio waves from Saturn.
Machinewashed contains 57 music and nearly 170 drum loops ranging from 70 to 170 bpm, again typically one to four bars long. They are slightly heavier and earthier in tone, bringing to mind experiments such as a mind meld between hip-hop and electronica producers, drum ‘n’ bass through an acid jazz filter, and industrial experimentations muted through a veil of anti-depressants. Very few of the loops are related to each other, so you will either need to focus on repetitive trance forms or layer other loops to add variety.
The loops are augmented by 20 “drum kits,” which are folders of anywhere from a couple dozen to nearly 100 related single-shot sounds, with corresponding Reason NNXT, EXS24, Halion, and Kontakt patches. If nothing else this library will serve as inspiration for budding softsynth programmers.
