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Download Rising Drum & Bass 2 |
Press Reviews |
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Author: Review by: Future Music
MAY 2004
Seems like only yesterday that the first volume of what’s clearly become a series landed on my desk, offering a refreshing take on d&b in what was fast becoming a pretty stale genre. Time has moved on, however, and while d&b no longer garners the interest that it did, it’s good to get a hefty selection of construction kits (30 in all, plus bonus samples on the second CD). Each kit starts off with a demo of what it is capable of, before dishing up all of the constituent parts enabling you to get creative.
Overall the kits sound clean and tidy, all well produced, and if there’s anything to criticise it’s that there’s not enough variation within them. But that’s not where the strength of this collection lies; head off and start grabbing various parts from various kits, throw them into Ableton’s Live and instant d&b madness can be yours. Is this getting too damn easy or what?
8/10
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Author: Review by: Knowledge Magazine
JULY 2004
The first in this series was reviewed on these pages over a year ago and makes a welcome return with the more top quality samples to inspire you. Split into 30 kits comprising drum hits, drum loops, bass patterns and plenty of varied sounds and effects, there's plenty to get your head round. The kit folders are organised well so even the most smoked out bedroom beat-thief can locate samples with ease, a factor sometimes overlooked by companies making these CDs. Disc 2 is filled with audio versions of the kits, which was no use to me but could be useful for back-up. Almost straight away I found some nice old skool breaks I hadn't heard for a while so I got stuck into them for hours. The rest of the drum loops were of a great standard and definitely justify the price tag alone. The drum hits complement the loops well with various deep and punchy kick drums, tons of decent snares and a wide range of solid percussion.
Each kit has different instrument sounds including everything from simple strings to heavily effected pads. The guitars come in various styles with the distorted ones being especially nice, you also get some wicked scratch samples which I chopped up and layered into a downtempo loop I had running. The selection of stabs are cool, but if I was to make one criticism generally it would be the notes played are not part of the file name. Not essential but it can save time. It really is up to you how you use these, and depending on what ideas and processing techniques you have at your disposal will determine how useful you'll find them. But the sound quality is nearing on perfect and you'll be hard pressed not to find anything to your liking. There are the odd vocal parts which are not bad, and it all adds up to a decent package. The selection of bass loops sound varied and cover different frequency ranges and textures, again your own creativity is needed to turn them into your own.
Overall this is masterful compilation of quality samples that will appeal to producers of all levels and disciplines. The standard has been set and we look forward to the third instalment raising the bar even further.
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Author: Review by: Music Tech Magazine
MAY 2004
To the casual listener, drum and bass often seems to labour under the self-imposed straightjacket of its 170+BPM tempos and limited percussive palette. After all, programming can get tricky when the duration of a snare sound actually extends beyond the beat of the bar it’s supposed to fit in.
Not that such considerations seem to concern the producers of Rising Drum and Bass 2 – the sequel to the successful Rizing Drum and Bass which emerged as a showcase for the talents of Bristol-based D’n’B producer, TZ Rizing. As the spelling of the title suggests, TZ isn’t at the helm for this sample collection. In his place are two other rizing (sorry) stars in the D’n’B firmament – Dan Dodd and Michael Affleck from Parallel Minds Productions. Clearly unphased by the breakneck tempos and (apparently) strict formula of most drum and bass programming, Dodd and Affleck leave no stones unturned in their efforts to offer inspiration to sample users.
Drawing on a broad range of sample sources, the 30 construction kits featured here vary between 165 and 180BPM – though most are fixed in the mid-170BPM band. As you might imagine, this calls for some nimble programming work and sample editing, but Dodds and Affleck seem just as happy using synth pad sounds, effects and longer samples to create grooves with real atmosphere.
With both audio and .WAV format discs (the latter including bonus sounds which there wasn’t room for on the audio disc), Tekniks has clearly taken on board criticism of the first title for its failure to provide multi-format samples. This leaves little to complain about in the new title. It’s an inspiring collection with uses well beyond drum and bass applications and represents pretty good value for money.
VERDICT:
Quintessential drum and bass – and a genuine effort to break new ground.
8/10
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