Leading sounds and sample libraries creator Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS — working with (Broadchurch) BAFTA-winning, Emmy Award-nominated, and twice-GRAMMY-nominated multi- instrumentalist, composer, and record producer Olafur Arnalds to create a collaborative tool that enables composers and producers to harness the power of a string orchestra with the feeling of players responding as if they are in the same room courtesy of its innovative scale mode providing harmonic movement that follows the user’s tonality to create chance encounters and inspiration, effectively allowing them to play more freely while ensuring everything they play remains within their chosen key, creatively complemented by an associated toolkit of vintage analogue synthesisers with a variety of signal paths created and performed by Olafur Arnalds himself to embrace this collaborative power further still — as of November 12…
As a collaborative tool that enables composers and producers to harness the power of a string orchestra with the feeling of players responding as if they are in the same room, the musical road to OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS’ collaborative objective has been a somewhat long and winding one, so who better to make the formal introductions than the BAFTA-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer to which it — in part — obviously owes its notable name. “After brainstorming this idea in a London pub back in 2018, we created a prototype, which not only got used on most of my recordings since then but also inspired my sound,” says Olafur Arnalds, adding: “The music I make today wouldn’t be the same without that little prototype, and I’m so happy to finally see it in its final form — …CELLS constantly surprises me with little melodies that get created with the random intervals, often inspiring new melodies that I then take over to other instruments.”
Its innovative scale mode musically beats at the heart of OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS, cementing its collaborative cornerstone in the process of doing so by providing harmonic movement that follows the user’s tonality to create chance encounters and inspiration. Indeed, this process seeks to build a connection whereby the user’s ideas and expertise of the players can come together to create something truly special. After all, Olafur Arnalds himself workshopped and created the mini performances that comprise the building blocks of OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS. Combined with that powerful Scale Mode technology, they create a playground for creativity, allowing for a level of control and inspiration that has hitherto been impossible to achieve.
Additionally, scale mode’s functionality has been extended by Spitfire Audio’s software engineers to add a new played mode, enabling OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS’ Merlin engine to detect what key or tonality the user is playing, allowing for real-time control of the selected intervals that the engine will provide as options. On the face of it, OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS creates a space where unpredictability, decision making, and harmony converge.
It is well worth exploring, briefly, here how, exactly, that scale mode — making OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS so much more than a sample library, but rather a collaborative experience with players — actually works. When playing a key, the feedback received is not a direct replica of the note played, but instead it always fits within the chosen harmonic structure. Importantly, it is still musically coherent and works seamlessly within the user’s composition; for instance, if a C note is played, the software will not only play it back but also introduces another note from within the C major scale that the user did not explicitly ask for, but which fits harmonically. However, though this playback is pseudo-random in its nature, offering dynamic harmonic results while staying within the rules of the chosen key, it can be saved when the user is happy with the take, thereby played back consistently, allowing for repeatability when necessary. Needless to say, this is obviously Olafur Arnalds’ palette, but the way it interacts with the user is what makes it truly special.
Saying that, then, the key concept here is collaboration. Clearly, the scale mode is designed to make OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS users feel as though the players are sitting right there in the room with them, collaborating as they create. It is, therefore, a feeling that OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS replicates. Indeed, it essentially recreates the magic of a live studio session where users are working alongside talented musicians, allowing them to relinquish a bit of control, creatively. After all, this process helps to overcome the intimidating blank canvas that every composer faces at the beginning of a project.
Put it this way: “With …CELLS, I wanted to push the boundaries of how sound can inspire music; by adding random intervals that stay within the musical context of what I am playing, I constantly get surprised and inspired by the beautiful string orchestra while still having the control I need.” So says Olafur Arnalds — and he should surely know, choosing to end on another high note, itself representing something of a musical bonus, one which can be tweaked further still when working in eDNA Mode via an alternative UI (User Interface) based around Spitfire Audio’s established eDNA (Electronic DNA) engine, accessing a series of extraordinary analogue and digital signal-warping chains: “The …CELLS chamber strings are accompanied by a toolkit of many of my favourite and most used sounds, making it a one-stop arsenal to combine textural strings with electronic sounds.”
Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson — perfectly positioned to pass positive judgement as an accomplished composer himself — echoes those sentiments, stating, “Obviously, the core of the product is the Scale Mode; that’s the amazing, incredible thing that will appeal to anybody who loves Olafur Arnalds’ sound and compositional style. It’s absolutely steeped in Olafur’s musicianship — all recorded in Iceland by Icelandic musicians in Akureyri’s beautiful HOF studio, specializing in orchestral recordings for films, TV, and the music industry. And then you have these beautiful vintage synths from Olafur’s studio, also with scale mode, performed by Olafur himself. I can’t stop playing with it. It’s just crazy good!”
It is fair to say, therefore, that OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS — with no fewer than 115 articulations and 10 signal paths to its notable name — is ideal for adding an organic texture to film scores, TV soundtracks, or electronic music. Indeed, it fits perfectly within textural, ambient, and emotionally-driven music… little wonder that the BAFTA- winning, Emmy Award-nominated, and twice-Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer to which it — in part — obviously owes that notable name is so happy to see it in its final form, while the equally enthusiastic Paul Thomson thinks it is so good.
The 20.7 GB download-sized OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS is available as a dedicated — AAX-, AU-, VST2- and VST3-compatible — plug-in for Mac OS X 11 to MacOS 14 (Apple Silicon computers supported, 64-bit DAW required) and Windows 10 or 11 (latest Service Pack, 64-bit DAW required) for a time-limited promo price of £159.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$199.00 USD/€199.00 EUR (inc. VAT) until December 3, 2024 — rising thereafter to its full price of £199.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$249.00 USD/€249.00 EUR (inc. VAT) — from here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/olafur-arnalds-cells (Owners of other OLAFUR ARNALDS… titles — https://www.spitfireaudio.com/olafur-arnalds — qualify for crossgrade pricing offers.)
Spitfire Audio’s namesake Spitfire Audio app allows anyone to buy now and download anytime, and is available for free from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library-manager/
For more in-depth information, including some superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS webpage here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/olafur-arnalds-cells
Watch Spitfire Audio’s premiere of OLAFUR ARNALDS CELLS — including its informative trailer and a welcomed walkthrough with company co-founder Paul Thomson — here: https://youtu.be/zISb3DJDmO0
