Glass/Works

When I started work on ‘Glass Harmonica’ it seemed unlikely that anyone would produce an Ableton-compatible plugin of this little known instrument just at the time I needed one. But then boutique sound designers Sonic Couture brought out Glass/Works, a three instrument library of glass armonica, cristal baschet and cloud chamber bowls. Just what I needed! Maybe I should wish for something bigger…

Anyway,  I  spoke to Sonic Couture’s James Thompson about making the library – interview below.

The glass harmonica is quite an obscure instrument, how did you learn about it and what made you decide to create a digital one?

We had a vague idea about it, but when researching the cristal baschet it kept coming up with Thomas Bloch’s name. He has both instruments, so it made sense for us to do both when we visited him.

At first we thought it would be just a little extra thing, but when we saw him play it, we were blown away by its sound and expression qualities.

Tell me about getting the samples for the harmonica – what was the process and what particular technical challenges did you have with this instrument?

It was very straightforward – there’s only really one way of playing it, and it translates very well into a sampled instrument as it is sustained, straight tones. The only problem was that it was extremely fatiguing for Thomas to sustain so many notes at different levels of pressure in one day. He began to suffer from pain in his fingers towards the end of the session.

How long did it take until you were happy with the library?

As I say, the Armonica is a very straightforward instrument to sample, so it wasn’t too difficult to get right.

For the cloud chamber bowls, you had to have the instrument physically built before you even began sampling – what was that like, did you ever think it might not happen?

Yes, a few times, actually. Finding the carboys wasn’t easy, then the cutting took some time, and the drilling took several hours for each one. Every stage presented problems.

You & Dan (Powell, Sonic Couture’s other designer) have built your reputation on flawlessly crafted libraries of relatively obscure instruments (like bowed piano & lithophone). Where does this interest come from?

We’re just interested in sound – it’s nothing to do with how obscure or rare the instruments are, we only make libraries that excite us sonically. That said, there’s not much point in us covering ground that has been done by other companies many times.

Are there any instances of composers or artists using your instruments that you’re particularly proud of.

There’s a lot, and unfortunately I forget easily. Our instruments are used by many Hollywood film composers, Kylie uses Konkrete Drums on tour, which pleased us quite a lot. Pan Drum has cropped up in Alanis Morrisette tracks, BT, Steve Hillage, Guy Sigsworth, Wilco, Pink, Massive Attack…

Who else working in your field do you admire – are there any sound designers whose work you envy?!

Envy? No. We’re friends with Audiodamage – they’re cool.

What are you doing next for Sonic Couture?

There’s various projects in production….