Nordic Spheres

Fusing musical instruments and sound effects to create fascinating score

Icy spirits stretch across the endless void from the freezing depths of the North to engulf the listener in their song. NORDIC SPHERES, a transportive granular instrument that produces harsh, throbbing atmospheres echoing through time and devastation, captures the icy tone of the ancients.

• NORDIC SPHERES features an unpolished, ambient sound perfect for creating ambiences as palpable as a thick fog

• NORDIC SPHERES blends layers of musical spheres and sound effects together with easy but complex arpeggiators

• With NORDIC SPHERES, freeze forlorn, mysterious scores in the tracks of modern cinematic music

• NORDIC SPHERES seizes the essence of the beautiful Icelandic nature: from almost infinite icy fields to the fiery horrors of volcanic rage.

MUSICAL SOUNDSCAPES OF ICE AND SNOW

NORDIC SPHERES is a Kontakt instrument that combines rich sound effects content, granular synthesis, and percussive sounds to produce enormous, frozen soundscapes and melodic spheres. Sonuscore collaborated with Mats Lundgren and Amina Hocine from Pole Position in Sweden to assemble a rich collection of tonal and non-tonal audio from a variety of imaginative sources. The layering and arpeggiator options offered, along with Mats' recordings, produced a genuinely inspired instrument.

It is ideal for composers and producers who wish to experiment with both sound design and music. It is the sonic sibling of TIME TEXTURES and CHROMA.

• THE BLISS OF NUMBNESS - NORDIC SPHERES was created from a variety of mangled atypical tonal and non-tonal sounds and effects, mixed together like crashing glaciers. There are four layers from which to build an intricate texture, each with its own ADSR, arpeggiator, and FX options that include EQ, saturation, chorus, and tremolo.

• SLIDING WITH THE GRAIN - NORDIC SPHERES was designed with great glacial movements in mind. The Grain Engine was the natural choice to achieve this, so that, like snowflakes, no two sounds are ever the same. Meanwhile, the advanced arpeggiator engine allows for complex weaves to float through the sonic spectrum, while the modulation knob controls any number of motion FX.

SIMPLICITY IN COMPLEXITY

Empower Your Chill: Effortless Soundscapes with an Intuitive UI

• LAYER OF THE SPHERES - The main page allows you access to the 4 layers of the instrument and the main controls to delve deeper into the cold. The bottom two layers focus on hits, particles, and sustains, while top two are the Grain Enignes, loaded with tonal, non-tonal, and looping sounds.

• EVER-EVOLVING - The natural motions of each layer can be easily tied to the modwheel with a single option. Tie the Grain Engines to the modwheel to seep the cold into mysterious textures, and build up the shifting partciles and hits to add kinetic energy.

• PRESET BROWSER - Choose from over 200 different chilling and creeping presets. Use them as the were designed or tap into your inner dvergar, tinkering with them to create your own.

ECHOES OF AN ETERNAL EXPANSE

The secret behind the crystalline and haunting tones of NORDIC SPHERES lies in the expressive capabilities of the four layers and how the effects are tied to the modwheel.

• GRAIN ENGINES - The two upper layers feature the Grain Engines – the real icing on the instrument. Adjust the density for thickness, the starting position for something harder to grasp, and change the timing to smear or shatter the sound like falling icycles. Further advanced controls include an ADSR and arpeggiator, with the FX able to be tied to the modwheel.

• LAYERS - NORDIC SPHERES is like the tundra, with layers of frost and ice. Unlike the permafrost, however, it’s easy to build upon them. For the two Grain Engines, choose from Tonal, Tonal Effects, Non-Tonal Effects, and Looping sounds and from the two traditional sample engines: Hits, Particles, and Sustains. Each layer has access to an arpeggiator and FX.

• ARPEGGIATORS - Just as in Sonuscore´other instruments, you can always expect powerful arpeggiators backing the sound of SONUSCORE products. Each layer has access to its own arpeggiator or LFO, allowing you to create intricate patterns that freeze the senses and immediately inspire new musical ideas.

FROM ICY TONES TO VOLCANIC RAGE

With the Motion options in each FX grid, tie the FX to the modwheel, allowing you to drastically change the timbre, from icey detachment to burning rage. Use the presets to discover the kinds of changes that you can scrape out, and guide your sounds to whole new spectrums by the interplay of grain, particle, and pad.

SOUNDS CRAFTED BY MATS LUNDGREN AND AMINA HOCINE OF POLE POSITION

As a composer and sound designer for Pole Position, Mats Lundgren has over 20 years of experience in audio creation. His love for experimental percussion shines through in his scores for Just Cause 2, Mad Max, Generation Zero, The Hunger: Call of the Wild, and more, as well as in his work for NORDIC SPHERES.

Amina Hocine is a trained classical pianist who early on began experimenting with the interplay of music and technology, so it was only natural that she became a master at synthesizers. At Pole Position, she works as a sound designer working on recording instruments and sounds and making them more interesting while also studying at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.

Pole Position is a Sweden-based audio post production company that’s been working for more than 35 years on music production, field recording, and sound design.

KEY FEATURES

• Unpolished, ambient sound fusing musical instruments and sound effects

• Truly inspirational instrument, powered by Sonuscore’s highly-acclaimed engine

• 4 independent sound layers to shape incredible soundscapes and melodies

• More than 200 carefully crafted presets

• Sound effects content & granular synthesis

• Full mod wheel support of its unique core engine

• Powerful motion engine to drastically change the timbre