LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA — Guatemalan-born cellist and composer Mabe Fratti and Mexican multidisciplinary sound artist Concepción Huerta’s first sample library for the sound-specialising British music technology company created at the same time and in the same space as a four-track EP of the same name released on SA Recordings, the London-based label owned by Spitfire Audio, featuring unorthodox cello techniques, analogue synthesisers, and vocal-based pads, as well as atmospheric industrial warps and highly visceral, abstract textures that have been distorted, deconstructed, and pushed to their limits using the artists’ enviable pedal collections and bespoke tape processing techniques, tastefully served up in Spitfire Audio’s award- winning proprietary plug-in, perfectly compatible with any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) — as of November 11…
As a sample library like no other, MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA expands upon its name-checked creators’ EP of the same name with a range of inbuilt sound-sculpting controls — namely, expression, dynamics (processed signal), REVERB, ATTACK, RELEASE, CHORUS, FLANGER, and PHASER — combining to offer a dynamic sonic palette providing an exciting range of possibilities within a single patch. Picking up, briefly, on that dynamics slider, since it controls an inbuilt processed signal, curated by the artists themselves, starting with the dry signal and bringing in pre-programmed effects unique to each individual preset, users can quickly make MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA sound like they want it to.
There are 32 presets, split into four sections: Cello (13) — created from Mabe Fratti’s wide range of distinctively haunting cello techniques, ranging from soft bowing to aggressive-sounding bowed effects and bending strings, skilfully capturing the raw character of the instrument itself, while also pushing it to its limits, awash in a sea of reverb and distortion to achieve alien-like drones, as well as tones reminiscent of an electric guitar; Tape (11) — taking in all kinds of atmospheric tape processing from Concepción Huerta, such as hissing and old radio signal-like sounds, with room for further experimentation; Vocals (4) — comprising organic vocal performances and granular, processed vocal-based pads, all of which lend themselves well to composers looking to add a human touch to their compositions to achieve sounds that other instruments cannot quite capture; and Warps (4) — atmospheric and orchestral-based offerings, providing extra layers to add more depth and texture to anyone’s compositions.
Creativity far from stops there, thanks to the included seven bespoke IR (Impulse Response) reverbs, ranging from Kiln to Church Balcony, blending perfectly with the already stunning sound of those textures from the boundary-pushing experimentalists that are their name-checked creators, while velocity-sensitivity for tone variance is an absolute given.
Getting those tones into MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA was far from as easy as playing with the end results. Rethinking approaches to cello, voice, and effects, the sounds showcase Mabe Fratti and Concepción Huerta’s bespoke DIY instrumentation, including a range of classic analogue synths, such as Roland’s highly-prized early-Eighties-vintage JUNO-60 and JUNO-106 (programmable polysynths), as well as the cellist’s self-designed pedalboard featuring a late-Sixties-vintage Ace Tone Acetone Fuzz Master FM-2 (octave fuzz) and late-Seventies-vintage ProCo Big Box RAT V1 (distortion), alongside more modern-day stompboxes, such as an Eventide Space (reverb), Boss OC-3 Super Octave (octaver), and Line6 DL4 (programmable delay and loop sampler). Creativity continued courtesy of Concepción Huerta’s chain of pedals and musical machinery both old(er) and new(er), including her beloved TASCAM Portastudio — the first four-track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape, multiple cassette tape players, a custom- made fuzz pedal, Roland SP-404 (sampling workstation), Moog MoogerFooger MF-102 (ring modulator), and Moog Slim Phatty (analogue monosynth).
Saying that, then, when the boundary-pushing experimentalists in question began to create together, they wanted to express the overwhelming sensations that the news of the world was resonating in their minds and bodies, and how small it made them feel. MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA effectively reflects that notion of feeling overwhelmed and confused in the wake of a global standstill. Says Mabe Fratti: “The sounds and music we’ve created reflect the dichotomy of both meanings of the word ‘estática’ — the charge of electricity inside us, combined with the feeling of stasis and immobility that comes from being overwhelmed. That feeling when you can’t do anything and are totally stunned. A static electric signal, frozen in time.”
The resulting MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA sample library itself is far from frozen in time, though, but rather expands on the namesake EP’s sonic experimentation with its range of inbuilt sound-sculpting controls, offering a dynamic sonic palette with an exciting range of possibilities available to anyone wishing to take a leaf out of the boundary-pushing experimentalists’ highly visceral, abstract textural book — or simply use it to make music of their own, not necessarily dwelling on the turbulent times we collectively found ourselves living through. After all, each of the highly evocative contrasting and characterful sounds therein are ready to breathe new life into compositions and spark ideas for new ones.
MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA 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 an 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/estatica
Mabe Fratti and Concepción Huerta’s Estática release is available to pre-order on its own as a limited-edition 12-inch coloured vinyl EP for £12.99 GBP (inc. VAT) — with an estimated release date of February 28, 2022 — or bundled as a limited-edition 12-inch coloured vinyl EP with the (already-available) MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA sample library for £40.00 GBP (inc. VAT); it is already available to digitally download in 320 kbps, LAME-encoded MP3 format for £2.99 GBP (inc. VAT), 16-bit Lossless WAV / FLAC formats for £3.99 GBP (inc. VAT), or in 16-bit Lossless WAV / FLAC formats bundled with the MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA sample library for £30.00 GBP (inc. VAT) directly from SA Recordings here: https://sarecordings.com/release/250526-mabe-fratti-concepcin-huerta-esttica
Please note that purchasers of either bundle will receive a sample library download code via e-mail within 48 hours.
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 MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA webpage here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/estatica
See and hear MABE FRATTI & CONCEPCIÓN HUERTA – ESTÁTICA and its namesake creators in action in its tantalising trailer video, then take an enlightening walkthrough with Spitfire Audio ‘composer-in-residence’ Lucie Treacher here: https://youtu.be/clxCT5R78o8