Review Photosynthesis Vol 4 Realms from Exotic States
Jeremiah Pena returns with his fourth and final volume of his Photosynthesis Series, this time titled: Realms. Realms takes the concept of sampling common objects further into the creative and obscure, providing composers of game and film music with some very unique sonic tools.
Jump to Sample Library Review Patreon Page
Jump to the Demos of Intimate Solo String Bundle
Jump to the Videos of Intimate Solo String Bundle
Review Photosynthesis Vol 4 Realms from Exotic States
Photosynthesis Volume 4: Realms sells for $60 from Exotic States
Thoughts
Jeremiah Pena has been delighting composers and musicians alike with his Photosynthesis series based on the open source Photosynthesis engine. While this is rumored to be his last volume of the series, it is another complimentary sonic playground for composers of game music, horror genre films and science fiction work. Some of the processed sounds and pads I also found to be very useful in adding color to ambient and a wide variety of electronic compositions.
Realms is based on bowed samples of seven different common household objects including a metal picture tree, oven, lamp, bed and even a poor man’s Waterphone (a metal bowl with water). These objects while seemingly simple are transformed into a variety of beautiful pads and keys and a virtual horror show full of screeches, scrapes, grinds and gritty textures. There is also section of heavily processed sounds that take these sounds in a different direction that is usable in a wider variety of music outside of the horror and game genres.
Photosynthesis Vol 4 Realms uses the Photosynthesis Engine
Without getting into all of the details of the Photosynthesis engine, the fact that Realms is built on top of it means that all of the standard functions are available such as the ability to blend up to three individual sound layers and tweak control of the Amp, Pitch, Envelope and Filter setting right from the main interface. There is also a complete effects section to color your sounds and Rhythm Engine with a nice set of configuration control over a step sequencer and Pre and Post FX filters with a nice set of options for the wave controls. The Output Engine has a nice set of controls for stereo/mono/pan/ADSR and equalization.
Photosynthesis Vol 4 Realms Rhythm Engine Panel
I really enjoyed the natural pads and the processed sounds included in the library. I would have liked to see more presets in these categories, as the library is very native sample centric. The ability to morph these sounds or even import your own samples is an option for the adventurous like myself that want more than simple presets.
Photosynthesis Vol 4 Realms Instruments Folders
All of the native bowed instruments can be key-mapped across the keyboard to chromatically match specific sound needs. For example, you can simply locate the preset for B2 for any given instrument and map it across the keyboard to re-pitch it and begin the process of sonic manipulation. I found this to be a very flexible and useful process to change some of the more harsh tones that would be at home in the game and horror genre and make something entirely new out of it. This collection of presets would also be useful as Foley effects as well.
Photosynthesis Vol 4 Realms Effects Engine Panel
Realms brings the Photosynthesis series full circle and offers something unique for adventurous and curious composers. In all honesty, there are many libraries today that offer common sampled objects as the basis for a tonal palette, but Realms does it with a flexible open source engine that offers some very real potential at a reasonable price point. Before you take the plunge, check out the official demos to make sure that this is the right tool for you.
Facts
Realms contains nearly 1000 presets based on 1400 raw samples. The presets are categorized into Bowed, Natural Pads, and Processed Sounds. There are also bonus presets included for Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5. The library is a sized at 2.3 GB and requires a full NI Kontakt 5.5 license. NI Kontakt Player is not supported.
The bonus is once again found in the ability to import your own samples or morph the existing samples and create your own unique instruments. Between the Bowed Objects and Effects there are nearly 70 menus offering that unique ability to morph Realms into your project.
Photosynthesis Volume 4: Realms sells for $60 from Exotic States
