Spitfire Audio Nok Cultural Ensemble - Tape Percussion

Explosive Afro-Percussion Meets Dub and Free Jazz

On Tape Percussion, the Nok Cultural Ensemble centre diverse Afro-diasporic percussive traditions expressed through free jazz sensibilities and glitching beats, extending the futuristic pulse of dub technologies.

This intuitive toolkit opens with 5 one-shot jazz kits and 6 one-shot African percussion patches, followed by Caribbean rhythms and dub-inspired warps over 8 drum loops, 69 atmospheric scenes, and 13 tonal, melodic warped presets - complemented by a range of in-built FX.

Recorded to tape at the legendary Ariwa Studios, these sounds and textures thrum, crackle, and crash with new possibilities for modern tracks and contemporary media scores.

Led by Edward Wakili-Hick, this collective of percussion prodigies are all leading lights playing across various genres underpinning London's eclectic jazz and beat scenes.

Features

• Recorded to tape at the legendary Ariwa Studios, London
• Presented in Spitfire Audio's award-winning dedicated plugin
• NKS compatible
• ~2.7GB

Five Sections

• Full Kits (5): Detailed drum hits from five distinctive acoustic and electronic kits
• Kit Loops (8) - Tempo-synced drum loops, stemmed out across the keyboard
• Percussion (4): A selection of various African and Caribbean percussion instruments
• Atmospheres (2): Experimental drum loops played live with various kits and percussion
• Tonal Warps (13): Melodic, abstract hits and loops, warped and distorted from the original percussion recordings

Five Controls

• Processed Signal - The dynamics slider allows you to fade into a processed signal featuring bespoke live FX from Ariwa Studios
• Reverb - Controls the amount of reverb being added.
• Choose between a bespoke collection of 7 impulse responses, ranging from short studios and rooms to long, cavernous churches and halls
• Release - Allows you to change the length of the release of a note
• Tape Saturation - Controls the amount of tape saturation added
• Attack - Allows you to change the length of the attack of a note

Afro-Percussion Dub Explosion

NCE's mission is to celebrate the diversity of global black percussive music styles and the cultures they emerge from.

At the heart of this collection are 5 one-shot drum kits pulled from the explosive epicentre of London's multi-faceted jazz scene.

These include high-tuned, low-tuned, open-tone, electronic, and extended-hit kits - all deeply sampled with 3 dynamic layers and 3 round robins.

Seven thousand kilometres away, we play through 6 one-shot patches of rarely-sampled African percussion, shakers, and bells - including the Kpanlogo, Ravann, Shekere, and Agogo.

Eight tempo-synced drum loops fuse contemporary jazz with African percussion, Caribbean rhythms, and dub-inspired warps.

Each loop stems out on the keyboard, so you can play the full loop on a single key, or deconstruct it key-by-key for dramatic effect.

The drama continues across 69 atmospheric scenes - cinematic loops that reach beyond rhythm, capturing the essential character of each instrument's sound.

Finally, we cut to 13 tonal warps, transforming percussive hits into tuned synths and pads - some dark, some bright, and some searing with chaos.

Behind these sounds sits a range of premium FX and a bespoke warp signal processed live at Ariwa Studios by dub titans Mad Professor and Joe Ariwa.

Patches

Full Kits

A selection of deeply sampled one shot drum kits, played by Edward.

Focusing on five drum kits - one higher tuned jazz kit, lower tuned muffled kit, lower tuning open tones, extended hits and an electronic kit.

3 dynamics, 3 round robins.

• Acoustic Kit 1
• Acoustic Kit 2
• Acoustic Kit 3
• Acoustic Kit 4
• Electronic Kit

Kit Loops

Tempo synced loops using the drum kits, split up in stems per drum or cymbal.

Different rhythms mapped to semitones.

• Drum Loop 1 (140bpm)
• Drum Loop 2 (140bpm)
• Drum Loop 3 (80bpm)
• Drum Loop 4 (140bpm)
• Drum Loop 5 (90bpm)
• Drum Loop 6 (170bpm)
• Drum Loop 7 (140bpm)
• Drum Loop 8 (140bpm)

Percussion

A selection of deeply sampled one shot percussion kits, played by different individual members of the groups.

Focusing on unique West African percussion instruments. Combined into 6 presets.

• Percussion 1
• Percussion 2
• Percussion 3
• Percussion 4
• Percussion 5
• Percussion 6

Atmospheres

Atmospheric looped sounds and FX. Using kits and percussion.

• Drum Atmospheres 1
• Drum Atmospheres 2

Tonal Warps

Tuned percussion and drum hits shaped into 808s and percussive style synths and pads.

• Tuned Kick 1
• Tuned Kick 2
• Tuned Kick 3
• Cymbal Pad
• Digital Bass Tom
• Snare Blip
• Melodic Tom
• Perc Tone
• Primal Hats
• Bass Fireworks
• Bass Pluck
• Mayhem Kit Loops
• Stretched Atmos