Asbjoern Andersen


The team at SoundMorph has spent the past year and a half creating Evil Twin, their brand-new Reaktor software ensemble for cinematic sounds – and here it is. But what exactly is it? I decided to get in touch with SoundMorph’s Jason Cushing for the story behind it. But first, let’s start out with their excellent launch-trailer:
 



SoundMorph - Evil Twin - Launch Trailer


The launch trailer for Evil Twin

Hi Jason, congrats on the Evil Twin release – what’s it all about?

Evil Twin is our first large undertaking creating a Reaktor 5 and 6 software ensemble. It is meant for creating cinematic sounds, BPM synced rhythmic loops, granular effects, glitches, hard impacts, and drones.
 

It sounds like Evil Twin has been quite an undertaking – how did the idea come about in the first place, and how long have you been working on it?

Yes! We have been working on it for the last year and half. It’s one of our longest developed software tools. Mostly because it took some time to learn building in Reaktor, testing, and implementing all the features and visual look that we wanted. We also have around 100 presets made by Richard Devine, Ivo Ivanov, Yan David, myself, Rodrigo Rubilar, and Vincent Labelle.
 

Is this the most ambitious project from you guys yet? And what makes it stand out, in your view?

Definitely one of our most ambitious projects. We really wanted this tool to be a number of things: useful, addictive, interesting, and fresh.

It’s hard to stop playing with Evil Twin

I think we’ve achieved this, because even to this day I still love opening and using it, it’s hard to stop playing with Evil Twin. So if I’m addicted to it, there is a good chance other people will have the same feeling.
 

Who has been working on this one? And I see that people like Richard Devine, Ivo Ivanov and more have been doing presets for it – how did they get involved?

Yan David, my partner and other co-founder of SoundMorph is the main programmer and builder. Him and I worked together on the concept, and creative choices, but he is the brains behind the programming of Evil Twin, and is quite a genius! Yan has an incredible ability to learn new things quickly, and to really combine programming with creativity. He has a pile of about 6 math books reaching 2 feet high with everything from trigonometry to calculus in them, and he actually reads them all and retains the information. Something that would be difficult for me to do.

Not all that math is needed for Reaktor, however we are planning to move into creating plugins for VST/AAX/AU in the future, so advanced math and C++ knowledge is required for that.

Our partnership is special because we really complement each other in areas where one is strong and the other is weaker, and we also are best friends, so it works out great! As far as others who worked on it, as listed above we had some great presets made from our friends Richard Devine, Ivo Ivanov, and local composers here in Montreal.

Their feedback and contribution was very valuable in us debugging Evil Twin and ensuring that when it launched it was the best we could make it.
 

Jason Cushing on creating the launch video:

I came up with the visual concept, writing, story, and did sound design and mix for the launch trailer. Those take A LONG time to make. I think it helps tell an interesting story and build up some excitement for viewers and customers. Often we get asked why we bother making them, and some people even get pissed about having to watch them. Which is funny to me! But I’d say 99% of people really enjoy watching what we make with our videos as well. To me it is really fun to do, it builds an interest in our brand and the related product. We are artists first, and businessmen second, so we enjoy making the videos a lot.

 

What’s been the biggest challenge making Evil Twin – and how did you solve it?

There are a lot of small challenges when doing something like this. For one, it takes a long time to do, so focusing resources on this takes away from other areas, but we felt that it was a well worth it endeavor. Just ensuring that the visuals are top notch, all the controls work as expected, the CPU is not drained, things like this. If you are familiar with Reaktor and look at the blocks of this behind the scenes, it is quite a masterpiece and very complex.
 

Working with Evil Twin – a tutorial:

Want to see how Evil Twin works in real life? Check out the tutorial below, where Jason is walking you through some of the features:



SoundMorph - Evil Twin - Tutorial


 

Can you share some insights on your sound design and recording processes for Evil Twin?

We included a 128 custom SoundMorph samples with the sample map. Some of these were from existing libraries of ours, and some were fresh. We divided it into 3 categories basically: ambience drones, textured loops, and impacts.
 

What are some of your favorite features?

I think that the Knob Modulation is very interesting and fun to use. Virtually every knob in Evil Twin can be modulated by the LFO and Envelopes. Also the envelopes have very unique drawing and resolution functions.

Virtually every knob in Evil Twin can be modulated by the LFO and Envelopes

I’m also very happy that we have BPM synced loop control, this is essential if a musician wants to use Evil Twin in their music, and they can do that!
 

Do you plan on expanding this project / doing add-ons down the road?

We are dedicated to making more software for both sound designers and musicians. We have a few currently in production after this, and are very excited about those ones as well! We have a lot of what I think are great ideas, now it’s just finding time to make them all.

A big thanks to Jason Cushing for sharing the story behind Evil Twin! It’s now available on A Sound Effect, too – get it below:
 
 
  • Evil Twin is a Reaktor 5 and 6 ensemble for creating cinematic sound design, BPM synced rhythmic loops, intense impacts, whooshes, glitches, drones, and special effects.
    Evil Twin is sample-based and contains a custom 128 sample library from SoundMorph. You can also load your own samples easily. If you own the new Reaktor 6, Evil Twin is a must have.

    Evil Twin Key Features:

    • Presets by Richard Devine, Ivo Ivanov, Jason Cushing, Yan David and more
    • 3 LFOs
    • Drawable envelopes
    • Complete knob modulation
    • Load up to 6 samples
    • 3 effects
    • Filter
    • Grain, Jitter, and Pitch controls
    • BPM synced loops
    • Included Touch OSC template
    • Note: This library requires a full version of Reaktor 5 or 6

 
 

Please share this:


 



 
 
THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • Metal Sound Effects MetalMotion Play Track 2000+ sounds included, 239 mins total $110

    MetalMotion is a sound design construction kit that contains four hours of moving metal mayhem: clicks and clanks, rolls and drags, wronks and squeals, scrapes and rattles, ranging from from tiny to monstrous. Nathan Moody’s unique performances with unusual combinations of props produce everything from Foley-like movements to intense groans and howls.

    Whether you’re covering a robot’s movements, sweetening weapon Foley, making crafting or pick-up sounds in a game, placing unusual layers beneath a kaiju’s roar, or crushing a submarine with undersea pressure, this collection covers the full range of subtle to raucous. Each file has many performance variations for creative choice and game audio asset creation.

    While there are some tasty impacts within, this library’s true focus is on characterful movements: handling, rummaging, opens, closes, ratchets, swirls, rolls, drags, drops, spins, rubs, zuzzes, and bows. Metal containers, filing cabinets, modern appliances, vintage (and very rusty) tools, cymbals, bells, grills, plates, bars, rods, and tubes, and many other props lent their voices to this collection.

    This UCS-compliant library was recorded with a combination of standard, contact, and ultrasonic-capable microphones through Millennia preamps. Sample rates vary based on the amount of ultrasonic content in each file. The audio files are mastered for realism, ready for extreme processing and pitch shifting of your own, but still useful in more grounded contexts.

  • Kawaii UI Trailer
  • Ice Sound Effects Ultrasonic Dry Ice Play Track 635+ sounds included, 71 mins total $38.40

    Ultrasonic Dry Ice is a library containing over 600 sounds themed metal resonances, scrapes and all sorts of weird.
    All the content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 and a MKH416.
    The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

    Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free:
    This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.
    20 %
    OFF
    Ends 1712872800
Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Trench Rammers is a one-of-a-kind sound library, created by sound designer Barney Oram. It features recordings of two 20th century Trench Rammers, some of the last operating machines of their kind in the world. The library features 48 files in total, capturing the Trench Rammers using a variety of microphones and perspectives, supplied in 192kHz 24bit WAV file format.

    This library contains multiple recordings of two antique Trench Rammers, the Pegson ER5 and the Warsop Benjo, and also features additional recordings of four antique stationary engines, the Amanco Hired Man (1920s), the JAP 1947, the Lister D (1940s) and the Norman T3000.

    Recorded in Leeds, UK, this library features multi-mic coverage and a range of distance positions captured on all included source content. Microphones used include; Sanken, Sennheiser, Neumann and DPA, captured with Sound Devices and Tascam recorders.

    This library includes detailed SoundMiner metadata and utilizes the UCS system for ease of integration into your library.

    Behind the Scenes Video:


    Trench Rammer


  • The cozy natural rhythms of hums, scrapes, splashes and thuds soundtrack the pottery workshop where the earth meets art. Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

     

    About Pottery Workshop

     

    84 sounds that are clean, subtle and capture pretty much every object and action of the magic of fire and earth.

    From the rhythmic hum of the spinning potter’s wheel, to the splash of water, the scrape of clay with the tools shaping and smoothing surfaces, listen up for the symphony of creation.

    You will hear the tapping and thud of ceramic pottery, wooden ribs, wire cutters, loop tools, and sponges, all kinds of rummage, and mud actions on the potter’s wheel. The clicking and whirring of mechanisms during firing cycles add a mechanical counterpoint to the workshop’s natural rhythms.

    You will get variations of sounds in different proximity, size, and style of action. This collection is handy due to the clarity and diversity of the raw sounds. They have both Foley and practical usability and room for further sound design.

    You will get intuitive, detailed naming, UCS compatibility and the usual Vadi Sound craft and attention to detail in 84 pristine sounds. Recorded in 24bit-96kHz.WAV format on our favorite Sennheiser MKH 8040 stereo pair and Zoom F6.

     

    Keywords

    Pottery, workshop, electric potter’s wheel, wheel, oven, heat gun, mud, clay, ceramic, glass, wooden, metal, cup, handle, push, pull, move, remove, shape, tap, shake, clank, level, lid, tool, organizer, toolbox, rummage, fiberboard, button, bucket, sponge, plate, Dremel.

     

    What else you may need

    You may also want to check out Drag & Slide for 477 sound files of dragging, sliding, scraping and friction sounds of different objects made of wood, plastic, metal on various surfaces. Our bestseller Crafting & Survival is another good choice to get access to 1000+ survival, gathering, movement and crafting sounds.

  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with Shure KSM 137, Line Audio Omni1, FEL Clippy XLR EM272, Sonorous Objects SO.3 and JrF C-Series Pro+ microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II & Zoom F3 recorders. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Introducing Devils Bane Trailer, a chilling symphony of horror encapsulated in 533 meticulously crafted sound files, ready to unleash terror upon your audience. Dive into a nightmare realm where every creak, whisper, and shriek is meticulously designed to send shivers down your spine.

    • 533 files
    • 3.5 GB of game audio assets
    • All in 96k 24bit .wav
    • Dark Horror Movie Trailer Sound Effects Library
    17 %
    OFF
  • Birdsong from the countryside of the Swedish rural region of Värmland.


   

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags are not allowed.