SPITFIRE AUDIO Albion V – Tundra
Details
Manufacturer Spitfire Audio
Price £399 +VAT
Contact Spitfire Audio via website
Key Features
• Multifaceted library
• Orchestral samples and similarly derived content
• Includes pads, textures, percussion and more
• Very distinctive
• Requires Kontakt player
• 44.3GB of of space required for uncompressed samples
Something that has become quite fashionable with certain media and film soundtracks is the inclusion of long and evolving textures, some of which might be electronic, but others which might draw on an acoustic starting point, and that is where Albion V – Tundra might be of great use.
The Scando/Estonian effect
Citing composers such as Arvo Pärt as the inspiration for this library, Albion V attempts to offer the user a palette of samples which are quiet, reflective, and subtly rather grand in concept. Consequently, the original samples would have been very demanding for the musicians to play, often going right to the quietest dynamic range of the acoustic instruments in an attempt to recreate the sort of library that would be perfect for recreating these Scandinavian and Pärt-like textures.
Like the other Albion libraries, there is an element of working right out of the box, as workflow is always an important consideration for the sort of people that might be drawn to this library.
Beginning with the orchestral side of Albion V, sections are divided into highs and lows rather, as the individual players’ bows move gently out of sync to create a wonderful arpeggio texture, which only a live string player could do so convincingly. The low strings offer the same palette, but somehow feel slightly overwhelmed by the upper strings, not offering the more weighty gravitas that one might prefer in this setting. Granted, it does what it says on the tin, but the cellos and basses feel overshadowed in this setting, as the upper strings glisten in their simplistic beauty. Maybe this is the Albion plan? Building your library from the other Albion libraries will more than fill any hole that you might have, where the lower strings need some reinforcement.
