Sounds that inspire
"Cells constantly surprises me with little melodies that get created within the random intervals, often inspiring new melodies that I then take over to other instruments."
– Ólafur Arnalds
Moving beyond the realm of a typical sample library, Cells is our latest collaboration with Ólafur Arnalds, one of Iceland’s foremost musicians, with a career spanning over a decade as a recording artist, live performer, and composer. Ólafur has received 3 GRAMMY nominations over his career, also winning a BAFTA for Best Original Music for the series "Broadchurch" and receiving an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for "Defending Jacob."
Cells is a collaborative tool that enables composers and producers to harness the power of a string orchestra and get the feeling of players responding as if they are in the same room as the composer. In addition there is a toolkit of vintage analogue synths with a variety of signal paths created and performed by Ólafur to embrace this same collaborative power.
- You can buy now and download any time
Listen to Ólafur Arnalds Cells
Procedural Stratagem - Paul Thomson
Free Fall - Lucy Hayes
Scale Mode - the essence of collaboration
At the heart of Cells is Scale Mode. It provides harmonic movement that follows the composer’s tonality to create chance encounters and inspiration. This process seeks to build a connection where the composer's ideas and the expertise of the players can come together to create something truly special. Ólafur workshopped and created the mini performances that comprise the building blocks of Cells. When combined with the powerful Scale Mode technology they create a playground for creativity allowing for a level of control and inspiration that has not previously been possible.
Short walkthrough
Ólafur Arnalds Cells BTS
From a spark to a composition with colour and depth
Spitfire Audio’s software engineers have extended the functionality of Scale Mode to add a new ‘Played’ mode. This enables the engine to detect what key or tonality the user is playing, allowing real-time control of the selected intervals that the engine will provide as options. Cells creates a space where unpredictability, decision making and harmony converge.
Move away from the intimidating blank canvas
From the creative mind of Ólafur Arnalds, Cells frees composers from the daunting prospect of the blank canvas when working on a new project and instead helps provide new ideas at the touch of a key. With intuitive responses to keys and scales, Cells avoids obstructing workflows and instead enables ideas to develop as and when they come.
SinfoniaNord - Hof Cultural Center
Recorded with SinfoniaNord who specialise in orchestral recordings for film, TV and the music industry. Previously working with Ólafur for his latest Kiasmos record in the same studio - Hof Cultural Center in Akureyri, Iceland.
SinfoniaNord helped craft the rich emotional performances, detailed at every stage by Ólafur.
What's Included
Cells: Full BandCells Motion CloudsScatter Cirrus IntensityOctaves Living Cells (Sparse)Cells (Medium)Shimmer (Sparse)Shimmer (Medium)Parallel Motion Shimmer
Cells: SynthCells 1Cells 2Cells 3
Bass: BassLong StraightLong Straight (Alt)Long Sparse (Unison)Long Medium (Unison)
Synth: Bass Sub 60 IISub StabShort StabShort Sub 20
Synth: One ShotsBack StabSwell 60Ratatattat 1Ratatattat 2Ratatattat 3Ratatattat 4Single Hits
Pads: MalletSwarm Moving 60Attach OrganRevenv IISoft OrganPs Soft OrganOrganic MovesInorganic MovesPs Waves 1Ps Waves 2Ps Waves 3
Warps: Organic WarpsAir EnsembleGranular StringsScattered BowsString AbstractionString WavesSubmerged StringsSynth Strings
Warps: Sonic WarpsBass DroneBass DistPs Pad (Filtered)DetunedOld TapeTape MildTape Moody 4thTape Moody 4th FxTape High NoteTape High Sustained NoteTape 60 DroneTape A Maj3rdTape A Maj3rd Fx
Individuals: Full Band - CombiLong Combi UnisonLong combi Min 2ndLong Combi Maj 2ndLong Combi Min 3rdLong Combi Maj 3rdLong Combi Perf 4th
Individuals: Full Band - GlissLong Gliss (Maj 3rd)Long Gliss (Perf 4th)Long Gliss (Perf 5th)Long Gliss (Min 6th)Long Gliss (Maj 6th)Long Gliss (Min 7th)Long Gliss (Maj 7th)
Individuals: Full Band - MediumLong Medium (Unison)Long Medium (Min 2nd)Long Medium (Maj 2nd)Long Medium (Min 3rd)Long Medium (Maj 3rd)Long Medium (Perf 4th)
Individuals: Full Band - OctaveLong Medium Oct (Min 3rd)Long Medium Oct (Maj 3rd)Long Medium Oct (Perf 4th)Long Medium Oct (Aug 4th)Long Medium Oct (Perf 5th)Long Medium Oct (Min 6th)
Individuals: Full Band - SparseLong Sparse (Unison)Long Sparse (Min 2nd)Long Sparse (Maj 2nd)Long Sparse (Min 3rd)Long Sparse (Maj 3rd)Long Sparse (Perf 4th)
Individuals: Full Band - Two NoteLong Two Note (Min 2nd 3rd)Long Two Note (4th 5th)Long Two Note (2nd 5th)
Individuals: Synth Cells 1Cells 1 Perf PrimeCells 1 Min 2ndCells 1 Maj 2ndCells 1 Min 3rdCells 1 Maj 3rdCells 1 Perf 4thCells 1 Aug 4thCells 1 Perf 5thCells 1 Min 6thCells 1 Maj 6thCells 1 Min 7thCells 1 Maj 7thCells 1 Oct
Individuals: Synth Cells 2Cells 2 Perf PrimeCells 2 Min 2ndCells 2 Maj 2ndCells 2 Min 3rdCells 2 Maj 3rdCells 2 Perf 4thCells 2 Aug 4thCells 2 Perf 5thCells 2 Min 6thCells 2 Maj 6thCells 2 Min 7thCells 2 Maj 7thCells 2 Oct
Individuals: Synth Cells 3Cells 3 Perf PrimeCells 3 Min 2ndCells 3 Maj 2ndCells 3 Min 3rdCells 3 Maj 3rdCells 3 Perf 4thCells 3 Aug 4thCells 3 Perf 5thCells 3 Min 6thCells 3 Maj 6thCells 3 Min 7thCells 3 Maj 7thCells 3 Oct
FAQs
What other libraries would Cells work well with?
Cells is a very flexible tool that works with a lot of different products, but here are a selection of libraries that naturally pair with Cells:
Olafur Arnalds Composer Toolkit
Olafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions
Olafur Arnalds Evolutions
Albion Tundra
Albion NEO
Fractured Strings
Percussion Swarm