Dark ERA

Dark ERA

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AAX Native, AU, ENGINE, Mac, Standalone, VST2, Win
Download Size: 8.17 GB

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Dark ERA, ancient pagan music and the sound of the Vikings

With Dark ERA, Eduardo Tarilonte – the master of mystical sounds - leads us back into the dark age where legends were born and where old northern gods still determined the fate of mankind. This library allows you to discover sounds to which the vikings and other already forgotten cultures and tribes were celebrating and singing their myths.

The fascinating sound of Dark ERA ranges from the transcendental drones of the ancient stringed-harp Tagelharpa to the unmatched grace of the gut-stringed Lyre to the distinctive and characteristic sound of the Nordic bone flutes and the overtone flute Fujara. Goose bumps are guaranteed with the sound of war horns such as the wooden Lur, thunderous mighty percussion, a full ensemble of frame-drums as well as mystical throat chants.

These instruments are complemented by an impressive collection of pulsating pads and atmospheric soundscapes which evolve over longer periods. These unique sounds ensure that Dark ERA can clearly be regarded as the next masterpiece created by Eduardo Tarilonte.Dark ERA Box and GUI Image

The Instruments

Dark ERA offers more than 50 instruments consisting with over 20,000 samples. The library contains seven string instruments, 17 wind instruments and 33 drums and percussion. In order to maximize playability, several play techniques have been recorded and made available in the library respectively our powerful cross-platform compatible sample-player Engine. The wind instruments offer different articulations as well as true legato. In addition, the flutes provide some really unusual and haunting effect sounds.

Furthermore, the string instruments offer round robin samples for notes being picked in up and down directions. The plucked instruments were recorded with different play techniques such as using a plectrum, fingers or being strummed.

Included Instruments

  • Bowed Strings: Tagelharpa / Jouhikko Small, Tagelharpa / Jouhikko Big and Crwth.

  • Plucked Strings: Cologne Lyre, Ancient Lyre, Trossingen Lyre and Utrecht Lute.

  • Winds: War Horn, White Horn, Curved Horn, Shofar, Bukkehorn, Shell, Long Trumpet, Big Horn, Double Flute, Small Bone Flute, Vulture Bone Flute, Pictish Pipes, Elderwood Flute, Overtone Fujara, Didgeridoo and Wooden Lur.

  • Percussion: Shamanic Drum Small, Shamanic Drum Big, Big Frame Drum, 5 Square Drums, 2 Skin Drums, 2 Skin Snares, Skin Tom, Sieves, Anvil, 3 Viking Mouth Harps, Jawbone, Pan Medium, Pan Rusted, 7 Seed Shakers, Small Bells, 2 Cowbells, Bullroarer, Horseshoe and Bronze Mortar.

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Sound Design

The instrument collection is complemented by more than one hundred programmed soundscapes. These are partially rhythmically animated to pulsate in sync with the current tempo or to create unreal atmospheres using complex sound textures. These textures consist of several elements which can be adjusted in level and panning to your liking in the mixer page of Engine.

To support the sound rhythmically, dedicated Epic Loops have been designed. These consist of up to 20 instruments and up to 16 separate elements which can all be individually adjusted, allowing to flexibly arrange beats. Available are four variations for each main loop, different fills and endings (ensemble and single hits) as well as a pulsating sound matching the rhythm. The loops will automatically adapt to the tempo of your DAW.

The rhythmic pads containing melodic as well as rhythmic elements gap the bridge between drums and solo instruments. Just as for the soundscapes, the individual pad elements can be individually be panned and mixed.

Another specialty of Dark ERA is the vocal section. Vocal rhythms, being inspired by the Inuit, can be constructed and arranged from single notes. 24 MIDI-files serve as templates which trigger and play the individual shouts. Of course, the rhythms can be edited or even be created from scratch.

The throat singing recordings have been divided into four styles. It is also possible to add harmonics using a dedicated slider. Shaman ritual chants and sole vocals add liveliness and authentic elements to the music.

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Who is it for?

This library is the perfect instrument for movie soundtracks and television documentaries covering corresponding topics. At the same time, the library is equally suited for historical music productions as well as for ambient music. In addition, it provides suitable stylish background music for games within this setting.

The Recordings

The stringed and wind-instruments as well as some of the drums being used for this library have been handmade by the master instrument maker Benjamin Simao . The instruments were performed by :

  • Benjamin Simao: String Instruments, Shamanic Drums, Tympanum Romano
  • Iván Carlón: Wind Instruments
  • Adal Fernández del Castillo: Percussion
  • Moisés Pérez: Throat and Overtone Singing, Vocal Rhythms
  • Joaquim Manjón: Overtone Singing

During recording of the skin drums, special focus was paid to a full sounding, powerful bass while retaining punch. You can almost feel the sticks hitting the skins. This sound character will be preserved during the mix – present and powerful. In addition, the metallic percussion instruments, including an anvil and horseshoes, sound piercing and fierce.

Sonically, Dark ERA is fully compatible to the other libraries of the ERA-series since it has again been recorded by Jorge Calderón Muriel in the Eldana Studio in Spain, using highest quality equipment such as the Kahayan 4K7 microphone and 12K72 preamp. The instruments have been close mic’ed in order to capture all details and to provide a direct sound experience which can be flexibly edited and shaped in all directions by external tools.

Requires Engine Version 2.6.0.24!

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 Reviews

Flag EN spaceProfessional Composers 05/2023

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"Dark Era gives you access to that medieval vibe, the dark eerie sound, and it truly inspires you to make music that will bring you back to your forefathers, mourn the lost, or even go to war on big battle fields." - Mikael Baggström

Full review at professionalcomposers.com

Flag EN spaceInterface 01-02/2020

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"...the Dark Era is of impressive quality again. The great thing about Eduardo Tarilonte's libraries is that they are linked by name to a certain time and style, and they are great for that. However, you can use them in almost any style of music and give it an extra dimension. This certainly applies to the sound design loops, to which you will soon add modern instruments and voices."

Flag FR spaceKR Home-Studio 05/2019

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Extrait: Si, comme les autres opus d'Eduardo Tarilonte, Dark ERA prend toute sa mesure dans les musiques de film, documentaires et jeux vidéo, on peut également l'utiliser dans d'autres contextes. Organique et bien documentée, par l'utilisation de reconstitutions d'instruments historiques ou issus de cultures vivantes, cette banque permet de composer une atmospère sonore inspirée des âges anciens...

Dark ERA propose une signature sonore unique, qui va audelà de la compilation d'instruments virtuels. Pour avoir testé plusieurs des produits de la collection ERA, un point mérite d'être souligné: au fil de ses différentes productions, Eduardo Tarilonte spécifie précisement les univers sonores et évite la redondance d'un projet à l'autre. Ce qui fait de chacun d'eux un "must have". Que nous inventera-t-il prochainement?

Flag EN spaceSOS 04/2019

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"The string and wind instruments are wonderfully organic and full of character while the percussion can go from delicate to bombastic. Add in all the rhythmic elements, and the very impressive set of soundscapes, and Dark Era is a pleasure to compose with."

Read the full SoundOnSound review for Dark ERA here.

Flag DE spaceKEYS 05/2019

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"Dark Era liefert ein breites Spektrum Sample-basierter Instrumente aus dem frühen Mittelalter. Hier findet man zahlreiche Raritäten wie Knochenflöten, Schwirrgerät oder die Tagelharpa. Alle Instrumente wurden mit akribischer Sorgfalt ausgearbeitet und in hoher Audioqualität aufgenommen und liefern einen einzigartig authentischen, dynamischen und charaktervollen Klang. Per Steuertasten wählbare Spielweisen, dosierbare Nebengeräusche und eine Fülle temposynchroner Patterns und Phrasen erlauben lebendige, filmmusikreife Kompositionen alleine auf der Grundlage dieser Library. Athmosphärisch dichte und geschmackvoll arrangierte Klanglandschaften sowie ein exotisches Repertoire menschlicher Stimmen runden diese beeindruckende und inspirierende Library ab. Der Preis für das neue Meisterwerk von Eduardo Tarilonte ist absolut gerechtfertigt." - Andreas Ecker

Flag EN spaceMusicTech 04/2019

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"Simply beautiful recorded, great phrases for instant inspiration, nice effects and envelope extras, very easy to use. Dark Era is Tarilonte at his best, providing all the authenticity you need in the instruments and then goin wild in the soundscapes. Absolute genius."

Andy Jones for Music Tech Magazine April 2019

Flag EN spaceSoundBytes 03/2019

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"If you are part of any media, movie or game music business, then you already know what to expect from Tarilonte’s libraries. This one is no exception. As always, great sounding instruments, fantastic voices and very unique soundscapes. If you need to recreate any dark-age atmosphere then this one is indispensible. This library has loads of interesting instruments and sounds that can also be used in modern day arrangements. As I said at the beginning, it’s unique and sounds great. It is so obvious that the author of this library has a great passion for all kinds of mystical and magical eras of history, and as a result, this library is a splendid storyteller, carrying its own personal voice and character." - Alexander Arsov for Sound Bytes Magazine

Full Dark ERA Review at Sound Bytes

Flag EN spaceStrongMocha 03/2019

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Rating:  Five out of five stars

Composers who are composing to a dark age or fantasy style vibe for a trailer, to picture or games need to have this one. If you are a producer in need for some glue and special signature sounds for your next song you also need to take a look, not only lounge tracks will benefit from this collection. I could see modular being pulled out of their boring Elektro sounds into fusion and complete new lands.

Dark ERA is a northern god, fantasy and pagan style library, super versatile. You get that northern ancient sound. Dark Era is a must-have if you are excited by the barbaric Vikings and the northern vibe. There is a strange connection I have when I hear these rare ethnic instruments. Dark Era manages to be lovely, deep, and disturbing.

Full Dark ERA review at StrongMocha

Flag DE spaceBonedo 02/2019

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"Dark ERA besitzt definitiv die gleichen Qualitäten der mir bekannten bisherigen stilbildenden Libraries von Eduardo Tarilonte und von meinem subjektiven Empfinden ist die Klangqualität sogar noch etwas satter und druckvoller, sodass Instrumente ohne weitere tontechnische Finessen direkt in Produktionen eingebunden werden können. Das erfreut wahrscheinlich in erster Linie Musiker, die ihre Brötchen mit Scoring (Film, Games) verdienen, die Verwendung von Dark ERA im weiten Feld der Musikproduktion ist aber absolut nicht auszuschließen. Stilistisch wird einerseits Neues (z. B. Kehlkopfgesang) geboten, andererseits gibt es Überschneidungen zu bereits erschienenen Tarilonte Libraries, was den Wert dieser Neuerscheinung aber nicht schmälert, sondern Dark ERA vielleicht sogar für Musiker interessant macht, die noch kein Produkt des spanischen Sounddesigners besitzen und mit der neuen Library eine breitgefächerte Sammlung historischer Instrumente, und Scoring-tauglicher Loops/Sounds erhalten."

Ganzer Dark ERA Test bei Bonedo

Flag DE spaceMegasynth 03/2019

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"Ich gebe zu, ich bin ein Fan dieser ERA-Serie, wobei ich Dark ERA fast schon als beste Variante dieser Reihe bezeichnen möchte. Angefangen bei der Vielzahl der Instrumente mit den über die Keyswitches abrufbaren Artikulationen und Effekten, über die Soundscapes mit den Loops und Voices bis hin zu Klangqualität – hier stimmt eigentlich alles.

Auch die automatische Anpassung der Loops an die Projektgeschwindigkeit der DAW und der Mixer, mit den man sich die Soundscapes nach Bedarf mischen kann, tun ein Übriges.

Sicher, Best Service hat bei der Konzeption von Dark ERA an die Vielzahl der Sounddesigner gedacht, die mit dieser Library sehr komfortabel Musik und für Film und vor allem die Gameindustrie erstellen kann. Doch ich kann Dark ERA wirklich jedem empfehlen, der mit ungewöhnlichen Klängen und Rhythmen seine Musik verändern will. Mit Dark ERA bekommt man eine Menge fürs Geld." - Gerald Dellmann

Dark ERA Test bei Megasynth

Flag EN spaceSample Sound Review 02/2019

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"Dark Era really connects with me and the samples used in this library are simply beautiful, dark, and spellbinding. It’s no wonder why so many composers endorse Eduardo Tarilonte’s sample libraries. His sound design in the days of old eras cannot be duplicated, he is the master when designing fantasy driven libraries."  - Steve Montgomery (Darkmood/Infinite Mindscape)

Full Review at Sample Sound Review

 Ratings

The following reviews have been placed by customers who also bought this product from us. All reviews are provided through eKomi, Europe’s largest independent customer review company.

5.0 of 5  
22.01.2024 Language: englisch

Great samples for Dark Folk and Viking Music! I'm very happy with this product and use it a lot in my music production.

5.0 of 5  
26.11.2023 Language: englisch

Using with Cubase, easy to call up beautifully sampled instruments. Instant inspiration for writing cinematic compositions., a must have library.

4.0 of 5  
06.09.2023 Language: englisch

OK, guys

 Awards

Best of 2019

MT Excellence
MusicTech Magazine, Excellence Award

SOS 5 stars
Sound On Sound Magazine 5 from 5

StrongMocha 5from5
StrongMocha 5 from 5


Fuenf Sterne
Sample Sound Review 5 from 5


Megasynth 4,7
megasynth.de  4,7 from 5
 

Bonedo 4
bonedo.de 4 from 5

 Endorsements

Einar Selvik (Wardruna)Einar Selvik (Wardruna)
Vikings TV series music

"Dark Era gives you access to a great selection of rare and hard-to-get instruments along with complimenting soundscapes as well as smart and easy solutions for playing and replicating the real deal. Great job, Eduardo! So if you want to add some solid historical texture to your music and don’t happen to own a wide selection of obscure historical instruments - this is the library to get!"

David Arkenstone

David Arkenstone
With 3 Grammy nominations, 20 Billboard hits, and millions of fans worldwide, has established himself as one of the best contemporary instrumental musicians of our time.

"Again, Eduardo has opened up the world to us. The amazing textures and playable instruments are truly transporting to another time. The percussion and flutes are stunning and very much alive. I see many years of inspiration from this collection…!"

Neil AcreNeal Acree
World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Starcraft.

"Eduardo Tarilonte's libraries never fail to deliver the sounds that we never knew we needed but that we can't live without. Dark Era takes that to the next level with another must-have collection of inspiring and unexpected sounds.  Perfect for fantasy video game scoring and so much more. Highly recommended!"

David García Díaz David García Díaz
Sound designer and video game composer whose work includes games like RiME or the Bafta´s audio achievement winner "Hellblade: Senua´s Sacrifice".

“When it comes to Viking Pagan folk music, Dark Era, by Eduardo Tarilonte is one of the very few and for me the best instrument to capture the tones that make this music style unique. Throat singing, war horns, frame drums, skin drums...and a large etc. All captured with great detail and easy to use just right out the box. I wish I had "Dark Era" when I was working on the soundtrack of Hellblade: Seuna’s Sacrifice.
If you want to create music in the style of Heilung or Wardruna, or add a raw, dark, beating texture to your music, I think this is the right tool to have.”


Teufel
Teufel
Band "Tanzwut"

"ERA II Medieval Legends, Celtic ERA and Dark ERA are for me as a medieval musician and producer a perfect basis for studio work. The sounds of the medieval instruments are authentic and harmonize with each other. It is a pleasure to work with these samples and to create new songs for my band Tanzwut with the help of this impressive sound library".

 Requirements

Engine poweredBest Service ENGINE 2 Sample Player is included with this product!

Mac:

  • macOS 10.14 - macOS 14
  • 64 bit
  • Apple Silicon (support via Rosetta 2)
  • Intel Mac
  • 2GHz
  • RAM: 2GB

Windows:

  • Windows 8-11
  • 32 bit & 64 bit
  • Intel Core processor
  • 2GHz
  • RAM: 2GB 

The latest Engine 2 and a tutorial video can be downloaded here:

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