Emerald Resonances

This is my first attempt at building my own custom sampled instrument using Decent Sampler.

I had some old recordings I took during my undergraduate degree in Trinity College Dublin’s Music Department, where I sampled the department’s grand piano while muting the strings as an experiment. I found them sitting on one of my hard drives, and I started thinking of some cool ways to create interesting sounds with them.

Granular processing became my best friend: the tonal characteristics of the recordings really lent themselves well to granulation. The idea was to create constantly evolving cinematic textures that maintained the tonal qualities of the Steinway, which, at the time of recording, was slightly out of tune (as it always was in the department) and had a lovely “vintage” sound.

These granulated, muted samples are combined with field recordings I took in Co. Sligo, Ireland, during a sunny spring day. I have always been interested in combining different, sometimes unexpected sounds to see what happens. And I think that, for cinematic soundscapes, incorporating field recordings and acoustic instruments is something that gives these electronic instruments a soul and character that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

I hope you enjoy!