Unearthly sounds from Hollywood's secret weapon
Mercury samples fourteen one-of-a-kind acoustic sculptures, hand-crafted by Hollywood’s premier instrument designer, Chas Smith. These creations painted the unearthly soundscapes of Dune and Interstellar, sang heroic anthems for Man of Steel and The Hunger Games, and textured terrors throughout the Saw film franchise.
All told, this collection delivers 600+ textures, tones, and pads—organic and synthesised in Solar, our new eDNA-powered plug-in.
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Listen to Mercury
Spacewalk View - Homay Schmitz
Mirage - CAIROXVI.
Unchartered Territory - Oliver Patrice Weder
Unchartered Territory - Oliver Patrice Weder
Trailer Music - Dan Keen
Mariner 10 - Louis Rugg
Mariner 10 - Louis Rugg
Blending Mercury and Jupiter - Homay Schmitz
No single human being would be crazy enough to design an instrument as illogical as this.
Hans Zimmer
Cosmic textures, tones, and soundscapes
In order to build your own sonic world, and to score the awe-inspiring, you need to discover sounds and instruments that aren’t easily replicated. Mercury takes the exceptional acoustic sculptures hand-crafted by Hollywood's premier instrument designer Chas Smith, and allows you to experiment and go beyond the usual and familiar.
Mercury was built with the idea that truly unique instruments should sound organic, not artificial. A bespoke collection of the most amazing, transcendent, and haunting musical textures and tones that you will ever find.
Chas Smith has managed to create artistic evocative metallic sculptures that also happen to be the secret ingredient in the iconic scores of Hans Zimmer's Interstellar, Dune and Dunkirk, and in Charlie Clouser’s Saw.
Mercury’s Solar Orbit
This library combines two dynamic forces: Mercury and Solar. One, a collection of pure, organic sounds; the other, a tool for reinventing them. The most up-to-date iteration of our eDNA technology, Solar is the host to Mercury’s organic ethereal samples and the eDNAs extensive warp and preset library.
Within Solar, you will find the expansive soundscape Mercury, a world built around 14 unique handmade instruments like no other. The Bertoia, Sceptre, Pez Eater, and Que Lastas (just to name a few) have had lasting impressions on some of Hollywood's leading luminaries. The Que Lastas in particular has an entertaining story. Charlie Clouser upon hearing it for the first time was moved to tears.
Chas’ instruments have been a crucial part of the sonic landscape of all of my film scores, and although I’m a little sad that I will no longer have him all to myself, I am thrilled that he has finally succumbed to years of urging on my part and has at long last collaborated with Spitfire Audio
Charlie Clouser
Jupiter by Trevor Horn
Jupiter samples Trevor Horn’s personal collection of drums, synths, bass, piano and FX. Curated and processed by the iconic pop producer and hosted in our eDNA synth engine Solar, this library allows you to seamlessly blend the otherworldly textures of Chas Smith with Trevor Horn’s pop production expertise.
From the king of experimental instruments
Chas Smith is the KING of real-world acoustic sonic experimentation. He does things the hard way, and the results speak for themselves. His experience is unmatched, his imagination is boundless, and the combination of his diverse talents is superhuman. Due to his position in the timeline of history, it would simply not be possible for any living human to duplicate his journey or his results.
Chas wasn’t always a hotshot Hollywood musician. He started out as a union welder and fabricator, metalworking for the film industry, and received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for the structural engineering of the Bulldog Motion Control Camera Crane. From Cal Arts to Image G, from Subotnick to Budd, from pedal steel to welding steel, his talents, influences, and abilities are truly one-of-a-kind.
What's Included
Instruments
Bertoia
Inconel rods with aluminium resonators on a turbine blade. Inspired by Harry Bertoia.
- Bowed 1
- Bowed 2
- Bowed 3
- Bowed 4
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
- Texture 3
- Texture 4
- Texture 5
- Texture 6
Dado
Machined steel plates that can spin over pickups.
- Bowed 1
- Hits 1
- Scrape 1
- Spin 1
- Spin 2
- Spin 3
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
Towers
9 titanium rods, tuned to be “friendly" with each other, with titanium plates welded on each end.
- Bells 1
- Bells 2
- Drone 1
- Drone 2
- Hits 1
- Bowed 1
- Ambience 1
- Roll 1
- Scrape 1
- Spin 1
Lockheed
Titanium parts welded into a structure and a titanium sheet for the resonator.
- Hits 1
- Hits 2
- Hits 3
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
- Texture 3
- Texture 4
- Texture 5
- Texture 6
- Texture 7
- Bowed 1
- Bowed 2
Mantis
Titanium parts welded into a suspended structure that rotate.
- Hits 1
- Hits 2
- Hits 3
- Hits 4
- Hits 5
- Scrape 1
- Scrape 2
- Swells
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
- Texture 3
- Texture 4
- Texture 5
Copper Box
Rods, plates and a folded horn resonator. Each rod is 36” long and the helix of rods continues under the resonator plates.
- Bowed 1
- Bowed 2
- Bowed 3
- Bowed 4
- Ambience 1
- Hits 1
- Hits 2
- Hits 3
- Rolls
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
Paraboloid
A titanium sheet with added rods.
- Fingernails
- Bowed 1
- Bowed 2
- Bowed 3
- Hits 1
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
The Pez Eater
Tuned steel rods and pickups.
- Drone 1
- Drone 2
- Drone 3
- Drone 4
- Bowed 1
- Hits 1
Sceptre
Saw blades, plates and things that can rotate.
- Spin 1
- Hits 1
- Bowed 1
- Bowed 2
- Bowed 3
- Bowed 4
- Bowed 5
AD
Springs welded to the saw blades and stacked over pick-ups.
- Hits 1
- Hits 2
- Hits 3
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
Bass Tweed
Rods, a plate and strings, mounted over resonators.
- Bend 1
- Bend 2
- Long 1
- Long 2
- Long 3
- Texture 1
Que Lastas
Stainless steel sheet suspended by nylon chords combined with bass strings from a grand piano.
- Bowed 1
- Bowed 2
- Bowed 3
- Bowed 4
- Bowed 5
- Texture 1
Sonic experiments
Using various types of metals, such as Aluminium, Titanium and Stainless Steel.
Aluminium
- Hits 1
- Hits 2
- Hits 3
- Texture 1
- Texture 2
Ti & SS
- Hits 1
- Hits 2
- Texture 1
- Waves 1
- Waves 2
- Scrape 1
WarpsCore
The raw sounds as they were recorded
Awash
Layers of reverbs diffuse the sound and create lush atmospheres.
Cascade
Chains of delays create evolving textures with just a hint of rhythm.
Destruct
Eurorack and outboard units saturate and destroy.
Molecule
Granular effects completely rearrange and recombine the sound.
Weight
A series of sound design techniques and effects augment the low-end of the sounds
FAQs
Is the Kepler Mercury engine the same as this product?
No, this library does not share any sounds, and contains all new content from Chas Smith.
Why can't I see a 'Mercury' plugin in my DAW?
This library is housed in our new Solar plugin, so instead of seeing a 'Mercury' plugin, you will need to select the 'Solar' plugin in your plugin list.