Bollywood Grooves

“I’ve heard of Hollywood but what’s Bollywood?” Just in case you missed it, Mumbai, India (previously known as Bombay) is the film capital of India, churning out blockbuster flicks quicker than you thought possible - hence the nickname. The big difference in Bollywood is that soundtracks for the movies have a genre unto themselves. It’s pretty much considered the pop music of India and many people refer to the style of music from these movies as “Bollywood”. Despite a handful of “ethnic” or “world” sample libraries available on the market that come with a selection of Indian percussion loops and samples, the variety and sometimes quality have typically left a little to be desired. Bollywood Grooves aims to change that.

Bollywood Grooves is a sample library of Indian percussion instruments, which includes loops and samples of Dhol, Tabla, Duff, Dholak, Ghunghroo-Tabla and Dholak-Tabla - the essential percussion elements required in a Bollywood style track. Furthermore, the library is a recording of ensembles, making it easy to get a ‘big’ sound quickly. The library comes on a DVD-ROM disc and contains wav, Apple Loops and Rex2 file formats.

Produced by Philtre Labs – India’s first sample library company, (owned by Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant and Aditya Mehta), the library is top-notch, with percussion and rhythms you’d expect to hear in the latest Bollywood Blockbuster. It’s no surprise, brothers Salim and Sulaiman are among Bollywood’s top composers; so you can expect the content of the library to be pretty high.

Wav and Rex2 loops are organized by BPM making it easy to select the right tempo loop for your project. In addition, there are a fair amount Fills, Intros and Ends to choose from, making it more intuitive to create a realistic sounding rhythm track. You also get each loop sliced in the Rex2 file format, adding another level of customization available to the user. Propellerhead Reason and most modern DAWs can take advantage of the Rex2 file formats. Rex2 file formats allow you freedom from BPM as well as the ability to create custom fills and breaks – a great way to spice up your tracks!

If you are using a Mac OS X system with Garageband or Logic, Bollwood Grooves will have you up and running in no time, thanks to the Apple Loops file format. Mix and match some loops, play some Indian-sounding melodies and you’re well on your way to making a Bollywood soundtrack of your own.

Most composers I know welcome the addition of out of the ordinary sounds and loops, and in that respect, Bollywood Grooves is just the ticket. This library gives you an easy and cost effective way to add authentic sounding tablas, dholak, duff and other goodies to your tracks. The sound quality is good - punchy, clear highs, nice lows and loud. The library offers a good selection of loops, including loops in 6/8 meter and at this price point, I’m not sure you could really ask for anything more. Bollywood Grooves has focused on bringing a selection of loops, fills and one shots that makes it easy for composers of all levels to bring a little Bollywood flavor into their compositions. The quality of content in this library is a cut above the rest. Bollywood Grooves is a worthwhile addition to any composer’s sound library.

The Philtre Labs Team (www.philtrelabs.com) is now working on their next release – BOLLYWOOD ELEMENTS. The expected date of release is July/August 2008.

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