October 11, 2018, Los Angeles – Native Instruments, the leading company for music production and DJing, today announced a new digital residency series for its Sounds.com platform: Sounds Originals. Over the next year, trailblazing artists and producers Diplo, Richie Hawtin, Junkie XL, Robot Koch, Catnapp, and more will share their unique sonic identities through multiple downloadable sample packs and participate in a variety of user-centric activities. The launch of the series marks the next step in realizing the company’s vision of democratizing creative tools so anyone can freely express their musical ideas.
Sounds.com is launching the new series with a sound pack from renowned DJ and Grammy Award-winning music producer Diplo. ‘Diplo Drops’ – the first of multiple Diplo packs – is available today on Sounds.com. Over the course of an already decades-spanning career, Diplo has delivered a steady stream of hits spanning a range of musical styles with influences from around the world, helping champion entire new subgenres and steering pop music in new directions. Sounds.com subscribers now have exclusive access to a collection of Diplo’s one-shot samples, vocals, vocal stabs, and synth textures – all in a bass and dance style.
“I’ve worked with many different artists, musicians, and talented people in my life and have learned that great music is born from great sound,” says Diplo. “I’m excited to hear what music makers will create with my original sounds. I hope to inspire them and give them some building blocks for making something new.”
“It’s all about breaking down barriers,” says Native Instruments Chief Innovation Officer and President Mate Galic. “Sounds Originals brings together some of today’s most innovative artists with music makers worldwide. Users can now draw from the signature sounds of Diplo, Richie Hawtin, or Junkie XL, and manipulate their sounds, make those sounds their own, and create something brand new. It’s an exciting time in music, where artists inspire other artists, producing a chain reaction of creativity.”
All artists participating in Sounds Originals are pioneers in their respective genres. For example, DJ, composer, and audio-visual performance artist Richie Hawtin has helped shaped the sound of electronic music over the past 25 years. In addition to founding record companies and creating new music technologies, he has released a continuous flow of innovative electronica tracks as Plastikman and under other aliases, and has performed everywhere from Coachella to the Guggenheim.
“I’m excited to come on board Native Instruments’ Sounds.com platform and offer my own unique take on sounds, samples and loops that can help inspire new ideas and productions from upcoming and established artists alike,” says Richie Hawtin. “My plan is to offer some never before heard extracts out of my unreleased catalog and create brand new content in the spirit of my various recording pseudo names like F.U.S.E. and Plastikman that I hope will weave themselves into the tracks of the next generation. Hopefully we can find a positive feedback loop of frequencies and textures that will in the end find their way back into my DJ performances and maybe of my contemporaries.”
Tom Holkenborg, a.k.a. Junkie XL, another Sounds Originals artist, is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum producer, musician, and composer. His career evolved from creating some of the most memorable electronic music and remixes of the 1990s and 2000s to now composing original scores for major Hollywood films such as Deadpool, Mad Max: Fury Road, and many others.
“Whether you’re assembling a new dance track or scoring the next Hollywood blockbuster, you need inspiration,” says Junkie XL. “I'm always looking for new ways to share my process in hopes of reaching someone who is trying to dig deeper; someone who wants to elevate their music or their approach...or just trying something new all together! By sharing my sounds and techniques as part of the Sounds Originals series, my hope is that I can give music makers around the world a source of inspiration, and even a glance at my approach, which will hopefully help spark some truly creative results.”
The Sounds Originals series also features several up-and-coming artists, including award-winning producer and composer Robot Koch; and producer, singer, and rapper Catnapp.
Additional sound packs in the series draw from DJs, producers, rappers, composers, and vocalists in genres ranging from electronica to hip-hop. Artists include Set Mo, Bryan-Michael Cox, LaTroit, Ski Beatz, Hank Shocklee, DJ Nelson, Nottz, Pig&Dan, Sweatson Klank, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Kid Capri, BT, CRL CRRLL, and Michael Brun.
Several Sounds Originals artists will participate in remix challenges through metapop – the online platform that enables emerging artists to upload and share tracks, connect with like-minded music creators, and participate in competitions. With the metapop producer challenge, users download the artist’s sound pack, create something new, and then share that track with the world through the metapop online platform. The participating artist then selects finalists to spotlight their emerging talent.
Sounds Originals launches today with the Diplo sound pack. Additional sound packs will be released in the coming weeks, all through Sounds.com.
Diplo’s sound pack and more information on Sounds Originals is available at: https://sounds.com/sounds-originals
Watch Diplo talking about his sound pack in the video below:
About Native Instruments
Native Instruments is the industry leader in innovative, software, hardware and digital services for music creation, production, and DJing. Founded in 1996, the company pioneered the application of real-time sound synthesis on standard computers.
Today, NI caters to producers, performers, and DJs with a comprehensive ecosystem of connected hardware and software systems: KOMPLETE, the industry-leading collection of virtual instruments and effects, complemented by a range of keyboard controllers and audio interfaces; MASCHINE, a powerful range of beat-making instruments now at the heart of hip-hop and electronic music communities; and TRAKTOR, the first DJ software to conquer the club, and now a range of integrated controllers that powerhouse parties, club booths, and the world’s biggest stages.
In 2018, Native Instruments launched Sounds.com, a market-leading online subscription platform for loops and samples that also creates new revenue and promotion opportunities for individuals, brands, and business across the music industry. Along with recent acquisitions of Metapop and The Loop Loft, these three online platforms further enhance NI’s ecosystem for music creation and community.
Based in the heart of the German capital’s creative hub, the company currently employs more than 500 people in its seven offices in Berlin, Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Toronto, Paris, and Shenzhen, and works closely with more than 40 international distribution partners to ensure its future growth and success.
