Spitfire Audio - Superior Sampling Since 2007

Albion Tundra

Name: Albion Tundra
Brand: Spitfire Audio
Price: 449.00 USD
Availability: InStock

At the edge of silence

$449

Capturing a characteristically Scandinavian sound, we've sampled a 100-piece orchestra playing never-before-sampled techniques, at the very edge of silence. Alongside our huge range of orchestral content are bellows, percussion and a characterful warped synth section — everything you need to take it down a degree or two.

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Slow Burner - Oliver Patrice Weder (feat. Originals Felt Piano) (0:00 / 2:54)

Järva County - C. Henson (0:00 / 3:00)

Winged Migration - A. Blaney (0:00 / 2:28)

Scenes From The Tundra - Borgarts&Kolinski (0:00 / 3:52)

Fratres - A. Part - arr C. Henson feat Kirsty Mangan (0:00 / 8:00)

Faint - Oliver Patrice Weder (0:00 / 3:07)

Curiosity's Consequence - Homay Schmitz (0:00 / 3:03)

We Could Have Been - Harnek Mudhar (0:00 / 3:57)

Crystals - Oliver Patrice Weder (0:00 / 3:23)

Winter's Vestige - Homay Schmitz (0:00 / 1:58)

Fratres - A Part - arr C Henson- NAKED (0:00 / 6:38)

~27860 Samples
56.8 GB Uncompressed .WAV
44.4 GB download size Too large to download? Choose hard drive delivery at checkout.
88.80 GB disk space required during install
Mac system requirements Mac OS X 10.10 or later. Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 minimum (quad-core), 8GB RAM. Recommended: 2.8GHz I7 (six-core), 16GB RAM. Apple Silicon/ARM not yet supported but available via Rosetta 2. Machine must be connected to the internet during install.

PC system requirements Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 (latest Service Pack, 32/64-bit) Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or AMD Ryzen 5. Recommended: Intel 2.8 GHz i7 (six-core) or AMD R7 2700. Machine must be connected to the internet during install.
Kontakt version requirements Kontakt Version 5.6.8 or above required
Free Kontakt Player Included
User manual
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Albions

Platinum

“I tend to use the low and high end sounds on Tundra layered into everything I do. That 'no rosin' sound is just unbelievable — you can't really get that sound with 36 string players."

— Jeff Russo (Star Trek, Fargo)

Tundra Orchestra

A 100-piece orchestra recorded to tape at Air Studios, London
133 multi dynamic orchestral articulations split across Strings, Brass and Woodwinds ensembles
38 violins with 32 articulations including 19 longs, 11 shorts and 2 legatos
12 Celli and 6 Basses with 30 articulations including 17 longs, 11 shorts and 2 legatos
Brass ensembles with 17 unique articulations for both Mid and Low ensembles
Woodwind ensembles with 18 unique articulations for both High and Mid Ensembles
Legatos designed by Andrew Blaney
Multi-mic control with Close, Tree, Outrigger and Ambients
Recorded using priceless valve and ribbon mics
Neve Monserrat preamps into a Neve 88R desk
Recorded digitally at 96k via 2" Studer tape

The “Vral” Grid

32 hand-crafted slowly evolving drones, with varying loop points
All housed within our ‘Evo Grid’ engine, for almost limitless randomisation

Stephenson’s Steam Band

138 Stephenson Pads housed in our eDNA interface
Organic sounds created from the orchestral material
198 original sounds to create more content from

Brunel Loops

22 unique instruments with 52 presets
All played in triplets, 12ths, 8th and 16ths, tempo-synced to your DAW
Played by the infamous Paul Clarvis

Darwin Percussion

20 percussive elements
Single patch for easy playability

Icy Strings

Creating something extraordinary often involves taking a leap into the unknown. We knew we wanted the strings to have a 'frozen' sheen to them, and to achieve this we needed to scoop some of the lower mids out of the frequency map. To do this we made the bold decision to exclude violas from the orchestra, replacing them with rich celli and basses — 12 Celli and & 6 Basses sat in the middle of the room, with two massively enhanced violin sections of 20 and 18 players sat in antiphon (opposite sides of the room). We give you a huge selection of articulations ranging from classics such as our ever popular flautando, but with mutes added, and sections playing poly-divisi, so that even with a band of this size, every player can be heard. We also explored unorthodox approaches — from requesting that players attend the session with practise bows with no rosin on the hair for minimum traction, to bowing the strings with the back of the bow. Resident AIR Studios engineer Jake Jackson's real challenge, with the roof fully elevated so that the signal contains as much early reflection as possible, was trying to get the musicians louder than the ambient room tone. We recorded the strings in two sections, high and low, with matching articulations where possible. Highlights alongside these cascading longs articulations are flautando legatos, brushed shorts, and some extraordinary loose pizzicatos.

Whispering Choruses

When it came to Woodwinds and Brass, we recorded four different bands (high winds, mid winds, mid brass, low brass), approaching the sampling process with a choral mode in mind. Our instructions to all bands were that we wanted it to sound raw, honest and non-Conservatoire, but with very specific textural approaches that liven the hall, to create a very natural, mossy texture.

The entire Tundra Orchestra played from quiet markings all the way down to silent oblivion, resulting in a deeply dynamic and timbral set of expressive instruments that quite happily act as a standalone orchestral toolkit, albeit with a unique quality.

In what is always a fascinating creative process, we set about accompanying the Tundra band with a selection of Harmoniums and Shruti Boxes (bellowed single-chord Indian drone makers). But it didn't quite match up to the Tundra magic, so it was abandoned. Well, everything save a throw away portion of the recordings where Christian had requested for the players to perform on the knife edge between the bellow hissing, and the reeds actually sounding. This produced an extraordinary selection of stuttering granular folk beds which we have slammed through processing and have warped into a very special Nordic style Evo Grid. With 32 evolutions spread over 12 regions, and the all important dice function to immediately randomise your preset into a near infinite number of possible outcomes.

Following on from our hugely successful warped orchestral content in Albions I and III, we decided to approach this set differently. Instead of using our 'in-the-box' pristine set of digital processing and mangling tools, we decided to go wholly out-of-the-box, employing whirring Roland Space Chorus Echoes with classic Eventides and Axe FX Pros into the mangle chain. The brief: imagine you had put together a studio made entirely from an abandoned 1960s American early warning system. Not only does this collection feature orchestral material, but also the aforementioned Harmoniums and Shruti boxes which offer up a particularly unique, Northern feel.

The end result of this component is as inspiring and earthy as the rest of the library, presented in our ever popular eDNA engine enabling you to instantly make these presets your own.

Never to shy away from epic, we also felt it would be important to create some brooding epic drum combos, designed for intermittent use, to mark time or punctuate.Think Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten by Arvo Pärt. Featuring unique combinations of very small drums played against massive Verdi bass drums and taikos, these drums speak of distant pagan rituals.

THE STORY

We invited renowned percussionist Paul Clarvis, leader of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony drum corps and London movie session favourite, back to Spitfire's dry stage with his infamous car full of 'percussion that doesn't sound like percussion' to record some intimate and honest rhythmic passages, to add frosty momentum to your scores — again presented on the eDNA platform for instant tweakability, but also with a series of spring-out-of-the-box presets designed by Spitfire's team of award winning composers and producers.

In what can only be described as a sonic odyssey, the Spitfire crew has travelled to Northern climes to research, discover and unearth the most naked, honest and glacial set of samples we have recorded to date. Returning back to London, we set about recording an enormous orchestra - but not in a style steeped in the choral tradition. We sought instead to create a sonic tapestry evoking Estonian forests, Scottish lochs, Norwegian fjords, and the sense of isolation when stood on the permafrost and tundra of Iceland.

For many years now, Spitfire Audio has been recording orchestras of all sizes, but a theme that has run throughout our last decade is how to unearth and discover more naked and honest performance styles. We also understand that where sampling is concerned, it's at the quietest of levels where the real magic happens. By taking this into account, studying the most popular recordings of Arvo Pärt, Sibelius and Gorecki, and by observing new emerging talent from Scandinavia and Iceland, we were inspired to create a whole new set of tools.

Partnering with long term collaborator, orchestrator and contemporary composer Ben Foskett, we set about recording a full dynamic set of samples where the top level was set at mp (mezzo piano, or medium quiet) right down to the quietest recordings we have ever dared record. Our chief engineer opened up the hall at Air Studios to maximise its amazing early reflections, and to liquify the fibrous and finely textured instructions we gave the 100 strong band of extraordinary London players, to create samples we believe have never been made before.

GUIs

The Overview Panel

This is the main interface for melodic instruments. Its default view displays all available playing techniques, has a simple microphone mixer and includes the main feature controllers.

General Controls Panel

This view allows further in-depth control of the instrument, showing all available signals and feature controllers, as well as the ability to purge techniques from memory to reduce system usage.

The Ostinatum

In this view you can add notes to a pattern sequencer, select which key it triggers on and then play for instant ostinato creation. It’s like an arpeggiator on a synthesiser.

The Evo Grid

Based on the EMS VCS3 synth, this extraordinary and unique interface allows for instant gratification and customisation. With 1 or 2 clicks, you will be armed with something totally unique and inspiring. Scroll the Evo Grid to discover and activate Evos that are not visible. Pan and tweak each Evo for perfect blending. Punch in or out 3 useful modulators and effects. Mix your mic positions, all from the front panel.

eDNA Engine

This interface houses our own sample-synthesiser engine. You can use it to combine two sounds and modulate between them with envelopes, filters and wobbles per sound, as well as a gate sequencer and a selection of go-to FX.

Product Reviews

What's included

Albion Tundra Orchestra:

High Strings:

Low Strings:

High Brass:

Low Brass:

High Woods:

Low Woods:

Legato patches:

High Strings - Air and Ice Legato
High Strings - Flaut Con Sord Legato
Low Strings - Flaut Con Sord Legato

Other patches:

"Vral" Grid Evo:

An Evo Grid containing 32 evolutions

Brunel Loops:

Arctic Combos - 30 Presets:

Raw Presets - 22 Presets:

Darwin Percussion:

Darwin Percussion

Stephensons Steam Band:

Bellow Pads:

Awesome Blade and Sky Bellows - MW is Filters
Bellow Drones and Ricochets PLAY LOW - MW is Filters
Bitey Bellow Drone - MW is Gate
Blade Bellow - MW is Gate Depth
Blade Bellow2 - MW is Filters
Blade Bellow2a LPF - MW is Filters
Blade Drone - MW is Gate Depth
Cluster Drone - MW is Gate
Distorted Sunrise Bellows 2 - MW is Filters
Harmonic Drone - MW is Gate Depth
Harmonic Sky Bellows - MW is Filters
Lanois Bellow - MW is Gate Depth
Lanois Bellow lpf - MW is Gate Depth
Misstuned Sky Bellows - MW is Filters
Morse Drone - MW is Gate Depth
Morse Drone 2 - MW is Gate Depth
Morse Drone 3 Angry - MW is Gate Depth
Needs A Tune Up - MW is Gate Depth
Nice Chord Sky Bellows - MW is Filters
Northern Lights - MW is Gate
Northern Lights 2 - MW is Gate
Random Bellow Celeste - MW is Delay Return
Simple Bellow Boxes - MW is Gate Depth
Sky Bellows - MW is Filters
Slow Vibes - MW is Gate Depth
Stephensons - Bellow 1
Stephensons - Bellow 2
Stephensons - Bellow 3
Super Spread - MW is Gate Depth
Super Spread Quiet - MW is Gate Depth
Thownshends Friend - MW is Gate Depth
Thownshends Friend 2 - MW is Gate Depth
Trem Bellows via a Torn Tweed - MW is Gate Depth
Trem Bellows via a Torn Tweed 2 - MW is Gate Depth
Very Dark Drone - MW is Gate
Very Very Dark Bellow Drone - MW is Gate

Jarv Pads:

A Fond Farewell MW is 8ve
A Melody Is Possible Fat MW is Phase Align
A Melody Is Possible MW is Phase Align
AMAZING Chord Try 8ves MW is Flash Gordon Interval
Amazo Chord 2 MW is Filter
Amazo Chord MW is Stutter
Anthems MW is Hiss
Arctic Chorus 2 MW is Rain
Arctic Chorus MW is Rain
Awesome Distant Choir MW is Dynamic
AWESOME Glacial Pad 2 MW is Gates
AWESOME Glacial Pad MW is Trumpets
Awestruck and Drone MW is Hiss
Awestruck MW is Hiss
Chordal Waves MW is Tuning
Dark Pad MW is Interference
Distant Symphony MW is Glitch
Endless Glacier MW is Gate
Fireflies MW is Flutter
For Epilogues in Major Keys MW is Phase Align
Go Back In Time and Give To Bukem 2 MW is Gate
Go Back In Time and Give To Bukem 3 MW is Gate
Go Back In Time and Give To Bukem MW is Gate
Harmonic Series
Huge Arctic Choir MW is Rain
Inspiring Drone MW is Phase Align
Lanoisium and Phaser MW is Glitch
Lanoisium MW is Glitch
Octaves Apart MW is Glitch
Original Pad MW is Nice Interval
Shruti Drone 2 MW is Lower Bellow
Shruti Drone MW is Low Drone Balance
Simple Pad and Fireflies MW is Flies
Simple Pad MW is Small to BIG
Stacked Symphonies MW is Tuning
The Mystics MW is 8ve
THE Pad MW is Filter
THE Ultimate Slow Anthem 2 MW is Glitch
THE Ultimate Slow Anthem MW is Glitch
Tundra MW is Gate
Uncles First FM Synth MW is Gate
Uncles First Synth MW is Balance
Unperceivable MW is Perceivability
Unpredictable MW is Gate
Very Distant Sunrise MW is Sunrise
Vortices MW is Vortex
Warped Ricochet MW is Gate
Waterfall MW is Gate
Weather Pad MW is Phase Alignment

Sammal Presets:

Arctic Choir Drone 2 MW is Hiss
Arctic Choir Drone MW is Hiss
Arctic Choir MW is Hiss
Awesome Moss Strings Harmonic MW is Upper Level
Awesome Moss Strings MW is Glitch
Bark Drone MW is Glitch
Bark Pad MW is Glitch
Chamber vs Symphony 2 MW is Balance
Chamber vs Symphony MW is Balance
Choir Distortion MW is Phase Align and Sat
Dirty Drone MW is Glitch
Early Warning Interval MW is Tuning
Early Warning MW is Tuning
Fat Fjord Drone MW is Ultra Saturation
Fjord Full Of Bacteria MW is Flash Gordon Interval
FM Signal MW is Interference
For Major Keys MW is Phase Align and Sat
Further Tuning Complications MW is Flutter
Hairy Celli MW is Glitch
Hairy Organ MW is Upper Harmonic
Harmonic Distortion MW is Phase Align
Insistent MW is Timbre
Late Night At The Listening Station 2 MW is Hiss
Late Night At The Listening Station and Int 2 MW is Hiss
Late Night At The Listening Station and Int MW is Hiss
Late Night At The Listening Station MW is Hiss
Mediation MW is Gate
Mellow Fjord Angry 2 MW is Gate
Mellow Fjord Angry Chord MW is Gate
Mellow Fjord Angry MW is Gate
Mellow Fjord Chord MW is Gate
Mellow Fjord MW is Gate
Peat Tea
Proud Anthem 2 Chord MW is Ultra Saturation
Proud Anthem 3 Chord MW is Ultra Saturation
Proud Anthem 4 Chord MW is Gate
Proud Anthem 4 Chord MW is Ultra Saturation
Proud Anthem Chord MW is Ultra Saturation
Proud Chord MW is Hiss
Proud Fat Chord MW is Hiss
Shovel Beard MW is 8ve
Symphony 2 Through Military Desk MW Pulls Back Hair
Symphony Through Military Desk MW Pulls Back Hair
The Grey MW is Gate
The Pacifist 2 MW is Gate
The Pacifist 3 MW is Gate
The Pacifist MW is Gate
Tuning Complications MW is Flutter
Wichita Signal Massive MW is Phase Alignment
Wichita Signal MW is Phase Alignment