Soniccouture Grand Marimba

A descendant of the African balafon, the modern marimba originated in Mexico, and is typified by wooden bars mounted above metal resonator tubes, which can be tuned using stops.

Soniccouture has launched The Canterbury Suitcase, a new virtual Rhodes instrument for Native Instruments Kontakt Player. Back in June of 2012 we were recording Grand Marimba at Canterbury Music in Toronto. Studio owner Jeremy Darby was showing us his collection of vintage instruments, and let us try his Rhodes Suitcase 88. It immediately struck us as one of the most beautifully maintained and best sounding Suitcases we’d ever played.

Pedal-powered reed organs (often referred to as pump organs) were once the most popular instruments in the USA. Manufactured by the Estey Organ Company from 1860 onwards, they were often housed in ornate and elaborate pieces of furniture.

Welcome to AGE – Acoustic Grand Ensembles – the most comprehensive collection of alternative ensembles ever done. AGE (Acoustic Grand Ensembles) series is produced by Academy Award, TEC and G.A.N.G Award Winning Composer, Troels Folmann and Emmy nominated composer and orchestrator, Colin O’Malley.

An "Extended technique" is a term to describe playing a musical instrument in an unconventional way, to coax new timbres from a traditional instrument. Since the early 20th century, the piano has been at the forefront of this trend, with many composers from John Cage onwards finding innovative, unorthodox ways of generating sound.

The Ondioline was invented in 1941, and produced in France throughout 1950s/60s. It was conceived by inventor Georges Jenny as a low cost Ondes Martenot; sharing the same lateral vibrato keyboard, with a knee-lever to shape volume. It was entirely valve-based with its own built-in amplifier and inspired the Clavioline, Jennings Univox and Hammond Solovox. The sound can be surprisingly realistic when the vibrato and knee lever are used together - organic, sinuous and extremely expressive.

We wanted to combine classic drum machines ( 15, to be exact ) with the the organic ambience and warmth of studio recorded drums. So, we took a club PA to two different studios, turned it up really loud, and recorded the results: through high-end mics, vintage consoles, valve pre-amps, bass-amps and even acoustic drum shells.

Geosonics is a collaboration between legendary field recordist Chris Watson and Soniccouture; a library of rare sonic artefacts that cannot be found anywhere else. Sound-design textures are layered with Watson's original recordings to create the most fluid, organic soundscapes ever.

All Saints Church, Tooting - a rich, clear acoustic that has graced recordings by Decca, Sony, and Deutsche Grammophon. In collaboration with The New London Chamber Choir, Soniccouture presents their most ambitious sampling project yet.