Best sample packs of the month: June 2021
We present a list of this month’s best sample finds, including cinematic sounds, atmospheric instruments and free loops and vocals.
Summer is officially here and we’ve got a bumper round-up of this month’s finest sample releases for you to check out.
Our top picks for June include cinematic hits, deep, textured instruments, heavyweight beats and bass, plenty of guitar loops and more.
Spitfire Audio – LABS Organic Textures
- Price FREE
- Contact Spitfire Audio
Kicking things off is the latest addition to Spitfire Audio’s excellent LABS series. These free, lightweight instruments have been providing world-class cinematic sounds to producers for the last few years. Organic Textures sees in-house composer Dan Keen combining and manipulating field recordings from the English countryside, into atmospheric soundscapes and synth-like textures. You can expect haunting tones layered with the sounds of rain, wind, thunder and birdsong, with plenty of pitching, stretching and processing used to create unique sounding textures.
Beatskillz – Sequel
- Price £71 (currently on intro price £35)
- Contact Beatskillz
This new drum sampler/sequencer aims to bring back the quick vintage drum machine workflow and comes packaged with 600+ drum sounds and 150 patterns with a focus on the 80s. You can add some additional retro flavour using the Vintage knob to apply some bit crushing and sampler redux effects, and the Drive knob for preamp saturation. Sounds are presented as machines, and also as kits, and you can easily mix and match, or drag and drop your own samples. You can edit the start and end points, pitch, LP/HP filters, pan, levels and reverse each pad independently. There’s also a 32-step sequencer for quickly laying down beats that you can then drag the MIDI directly into your DAW.
Loopmasters – Total Blackout
- Price £45 (currently on sale for £22.50)
- Contact Loopmasters
Our drum and bass choice this month is Total Blackout; a massive 2.19GB collection of heavyweight loops, hits and presets that combines the previous three Blackout sample packs with new bonus content. Contributions come from a range of the legendary Blackout Music label’s top artists, including Black Sun Empire, Neonlight, Emperor, Malux, Optical and more. In total, there are 724 loops, 741 one-shots, and 272 sampler patches, plus a large number or presets for Serum, Surge and Vital soft synths. As you’d expect, there’s exceptional production throughout, with plenty of twisted basslines, warped effects and tearout drum patterns.
Apollo Sounds – Glaze Female Vocals
- Price £20 (currently on sale for £10)
- Contact Apollo Sounds
The right vocal sample or phrase can make or break a track. If you’re after some smooth R ’n’ B style female vocals, then this pack from Apollo Sounds is worth a look. It includes 10 full song choruses and lyrics in a variety of tempos and keys, plus over 100 vocal one-shots and adlibs, all performed by singer Ann Vysotska, who has a soulful voice with a clean, pop edge. All samples have been EQ-ed and processed so they’re ready to use, and you get dry and wet versions for added flexibility.
KeepForest – Evolution: Devastator WarZone
- Price £171
- Contact KeepForest
With a name that sounds like a film about aggressive fighting robots, you can probably guess the kind of library we have here. The newest edition to the Evolution Devastator series features a massive 7GB library of upfront and modern sound design elements that’s perfect for high-impact trailers, soundtracks and hard electronic music. It includes distorted bass sounds, signals, signs, Zimmer-esque ‘braams’, drum loops, pulses, guns, recharges, one-shots, cinematic loops and artist stems. Everything runs in Kontakt 6 (or the free Kontakt Player) and makes use of the built-in effects, with a useful rhythm sequencer for creating moving pulse patterns.
BandLab Sounds – Buried
- Price FREE
- Contact BandLab
BandLab Sounds has hit its stride over the last couple of months, with a string of excellent, free sample packs. This latest is inspired by the sounds of UK rave, jungle and 2-step, but with a dark and emotional twist. As the name suggests, there are plenty of Burial-inspired loops to be found (97 in fact), including atmospheric, broken beats, cavernous pads, deep and subby basses, and a whole load of superb, processed and pitched vocals. Everything has a well-crafted depth, with plenty of reverb and a dusty lo-fi finish.
Loopmasters – Vibes 16 Bluegrass Vol.2
- Price £25 (currently on sale for £12.50)
- Contact Loopmasters
This isn’t the first time that Loopmasters’ excellent Vibes series has made the list, and it probably won’t be the last. This new release follows the tradition of expertly played and recorded loops with an authentic flavour, this time turning its attention to Bluegrass. There are five song kits included, which are broken down into their component parts of live drums, piano, strummed guitars, lively banjos and plucked mandolins. This gives a total of 763MB of loops, plus a handful of one-shot drum, bass and instrument hits, with accompanying sampler patches. If you’re looking to add the classic sound of American roots music to your track or media project, then this is a great pack to check out.
ModeAudio – Post Rock Guitar Loops
- Price £10
- Contact ModeAudio
This bitesize pack from ModeAudio helps showcase the versatility of the guitar, with a blend of majestic twinkles and softly strummed chords, alongside more distorted leads and driving sequences. The bulk of the pack contains 46 electric guitar loops in dry and wet versions, many of which have been composed to layer well together, plus 12 bass guitar loops, and 8 drum loops. Tempos range from 75 to 120bpm and it’s available in your choice of 112 Acid Wav loops or 112 REX2 loops.
Mind Flux – Techno Loops And Presets 1
- Price £20
- Contact Mind Flux
The masters of all things techno at Mind Flux have been busy cooking up another club-ready pack of driving loops and presets. A range of hardware was used, including a Roland Juno-6, SH-101 and TB-303, Moog Minitaur and Voyager, Access Virus, plus a selection of modular gear. All sounds were processed via effects pedals, Neve/SSL preamps and a Neve 8816 summing mixer for added warmth, depth and edge. In total, you can find 168 audio loops, drum hits, presets for u-he Diva, and MIDI files, with plenty of room-filling kick drums and moody arpeggios to keep you going.
Soundiron – Hopkin Instrumentarium: Lamellophones
- Price £169 (currently on sale for £135)
- Contact Soundiron
This collection of 17 experimental musical instruments for Kontakt 6 comes from Soundiron and master instrument inventor Bart Hopkin, and brings together several previous, smaller releases in a single package. Each unique instrument is made of steel and wood, and has its own organic tonal flavour, making it useful for crafting off-kilter scores, or Four Tet-style electronica. It’s a hefty collection that weighs in at 32GB, with multiple mic positions, hundreds of ambient soundscapes built from the source content, and over 100 custom effects presets.
