Handpan

Trailer:

I was in the middle of composing music for a theatre play set in Lapland, Finland.
Between rehearsals, I took a short trip to England and visited a festival of pagans and witches.
There, I saw the performer Phil Cook (https://www.youtube.com/@philcookhandpan) playing live with handpans, and I immediately realized how perfect this instrument would be for the play — it could bring a subtle, atmospheric layer to several scenes.

Back home, I searched the internet for free virtual handpan instruments, but there weren’t many options available. Eventually, I came across this sound on Freesound.org by user jamesrodavidson
https://freesound.org/people/jamesrodavidson/sounds/243731/
— a recording of individual hits from a steel tongue drum.

I selected one sample that had a beautiful tone, applied some EQ, and discovered that it worked
surprisingly well across a wide pitch range.

Even though the handpan is a modern instrument, its sound feels ancient and organic — perfect for meditative and cinematic music.

This is the first DecentSampler instrument I’ve ever created, and I’m excited to share it with you. I hope it inspires you to create something new.