Urban Soul reviewed at Music Tech Mag
Music Tech, February 2007
Taking their lead from classic soul, RnB and down-tempo hip-hop, Loopmasters have created a sample library that simultaneously draws from vintage recordings as well as ploughing fresh inroads into urban music.
The library is spread across two CDs; the first contains the raw date, the send is an audio CD for auditioning sounds. The sounds have been produced by Definitive Swing Records’ Shahrooz Raoofi in his very own London studio, with vinyl scratching contributed by Kamyar Raoofi. Samples include both live and programmed drum breaks, percussion loops, jazzy guitar loops, musical loops, bass lines and instrument patches for EXS24, HALion, Kontakt, NN-XT, and SFZ. The instrument patches include drum kits, bass and regular guitars, Rhodes keyboards and many other instruments, all just waiting to be dropped into your latest mix.
Both the live and programmed loops have a great toe-tapping feel, ensuring that any music recorded using these loops as its foundations has a strong groove. To add a touch of authenticity, the electronic beats were programmed using an MPC 60, which gives them a distinctive sound thanks to its 12-bit A/D converters.
In keeping with the rest of the Origin Series’ sample libraries, these loops have been designed to sound great on their own and won’t overwhelm the rest of the material in your mix. If you’re producing urban music of any genre and have been looking for a set of down-tempo loops to add to your collection, the Urban Soul collection is well worth consideration and could prove to be just what you need to add a bit of vintage spice to your next hit.
Verdict: Another classic sample library from the Loopmasters’ Origin Series.
8/10
