'Deepest India' is one of the most exquisite and beautifully recorded collections of samples ever created

Original Vocals, Instruments, Orchestras & Ensembles recorded on location in India especially for Zero-G during 1996-7. This library explores every area of human emotion from elation to despair - from hauntingly beautiful vocals, through joyous ensembles to authentic Indian instrumental phrases.

Created for musicians and composers who seek out and appreciate only the very highest standard of professional sample libraries, Deepest India will not disappoint!

The downloadable sample library provides three main categories of samples:

(i) VOCALS

Welcome to the colourful world of the land of five rivers - the Punjab in Northern India. The vocals in Deepest India reflect the timeless splendour, tradition and unique heritage of this area. The producers have tried to retain the delicate feel, skill and passion of vocalists who, between them, embody the widest variety of singing styles in the field of Indian music.

From the subtlety, dexterity and sheer expressiveness of an 'Alaap' from a Classical Indian Raga to the raw energy of the 'Hek' of a Punjabi Folk song, Deepest India's vocals section truly provides a definitive collection of all that typifies the Indian Vocal tradition.

The samples were all specially recorded in various studios throughout the Punjab using the finest singers - both classically trained vocalists and those whose expertise has been developed through numerous live performances in the villages and townships of the Punjab (Except for a small selection of 'Vintage' samples - lo-fi but hi-fun!).

The vocalists sing in the traditional Ragas of Indian music, and where possible an attempt was made to translate the Raga to the nearest equivalent Western key. However, there's no need to feel bound by the suggested key - it's all about experimenting and having fun!

Vocals were generally sung to 80, 90, 100, 110 0r 120 BPM, except for vocal passages where tempo is traditionally irrelevant (e.g. Alaaps, Shers and Speech). Extended phrases have been provided wherever possible to keep any lyrical content intact.

The complexity of Asian rhythm cycles means that users may wish to experiment with the start point of the samples for the 'best fit' within their compositions. English translations of the vocals are provided in the documentation included in the download.

(ii) INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Most music in India is played in a 'group' context and Instrumental Ensembles are a traditional feature of Indian music. Classical ensembles generally feature a leading Solo Instrument such as a Sitar, a Drone (usually a Taanpoora) a main percussionist (for example, a Tablachi) and possibly secondary percussion such as a Ghara (Clay pot).

(iii) ORCHESTRAS & ENSEMBLES

Orchestration and harmonisation, introduced from the West, as featured in the Film Orchestra samples, have added new dimensions to Indian music. A common sight and sound in both cities and villages in India are the wedding bands playing what is commonly termed 'Street Music' using Western Brass-Band style instruments.

Folk ensembles featured on Deepest India vary from simple ethnic duos to multi-percussive setups using Eastern and Western instruments.

SUMMARY

Deepest India features a great variety of Indian moods and musical textures, and provides a valuable resource bank of loops at 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 BPM to use and abuse, mix and match with the instrumental phrases, or with other rhythm samples in your collection, or to be generally creative to your heart's content!

All of the sounds on Deepest India were lovingly produced by Paul Hodson and Hardeep Saini (a.k.a. Hoggie & the Turbinator).

Press Reviews

"Deepest India from Zero G is a three disc set...

by Sound On Sound Magazine (UK)

"Deepest India from Zero G is a three disc set of Audio CDs, though an Akai format CD-ROM set is expected later in the year. The three discs are divided into vocals, instruments and orchestra/ensembles, and as the name implies, all the samples hail from the Indian subcontinent.

The vocals on Disc one are mainly complete solo vocal performances or phrases, though there are some accompanied pieces in there too. Where there is a rigid tempo, the bpm is provided as is a translation of the Iyrics so that you don't compile anything too embarrassing! The range of styles and emotions here is immense, from sad to exuberant, with both male and female singers, though the lyrics usually relate to that old chestnut, unrequited love! Overall, the recording standard is very good, though some pieces have obviously been close miked as part of an ensemble performance and a little of the instrumental backing is still audible.

Disc two focuses on solo instruments with phrases from flutes, dillrabar, violins, tablas, sitars and a whole host of other Indian fare. As with the vocals, the quality of the samples, both artistic and technical, is excellent, though most pieces seem to be collections of phrases from the same tune. Including multisamples of each of the instruments would have been immeasurably more useful as it would enable the composer to mix phrases and played lines freely. Perhaps the CD-ROM version will have these?

Disc three contains ensemble sections, starting out with phrases from the Bombay film orchestra-paste together the phrases to build your own symphony! The Disc actually comprises many different ensemble styles, some of which sound like Indian restaurant background music broken into sections for you to reassemble in the order of your choice. There are film orchestras, folk ensembles, brass orchestras and strangely named acoustic ensembles that all sound enchantingly authentic. Each of the discs then brings you back to earth with a 1 kHz test tone at the end.

I certainly have no complaint about the quality and variety of the samples on offer here, but I'm not sure how I'd go about using some of them as they sound rather like complete performances cut into sections. This applies particularly to the orchestral examples. The vocal and solo instrument phrases are rather more adaptable, though I stand by my earlier comment to the effect that any such samples are very restrictive unless they include a properly multisampled example of each instrument and voice to allow you to 'play' the sounds as well as the phrases. This is a purely personal observation, however, and taken at face value, Deepest India is hard to fault. It's also very attractively priced and well documented, so it would be churlish to award it less than four points."

"This is something of a definitive Indian music...

by Future Music Magazine (UK)

"This is something of a definitive Indian music sample CD set, covering as it does the full gamut of sounds from the Punjab region of Northern India in a comprehensive and, given the quantity of audio, low-priced set. Disc 1 is made up of a broad range of long vocal performances, many from classically-trained Indian singers and traditional experts. There are male and female pieces, replete with wailing wobbling and some unusual techniques and nuances.

Disc 2 covers Instruments, among them flutes, sitars, violins and tablas, alongside less familiar traditional instruments such as the dillrabar, a haunting, scratchy bowed sound; the tumbi, a plucked string instrument with an atmospheric discordant sound; the sarod, a sitar-like sound; and the baja, a kind of squeezebox.

Disc 3 covers Orchestras and ensembles and is loaded with superb full-blown loops from film orchestras and vintage ensembles as well as smaller groups of instruments. Many of these samples are very long; more like full pieces than samplersized edits, so your average samplist will have to loop off sections as required, and on the whole, Deepest India does seem to be aimed more at aspiring Bollywood composers rather than as a means of adding ethnic flavours to a track. However, much of the instrumental stuff is highly workable for any purpose, and the Orchestras disc alone probably justifies a purchase."

"I personally don't like to use Sample CDs as...

by Sound & Recording (Japan)

"I personally don't like to use Sample CDs as they are a ready-to-use tool. But only this product is an exception - it contains very rare instruments phrases and human vocals that I could only otherwise obtain if I were to visit India myself with mics, a top quality recorder and of course an interpreter. After listening to the CDs, I felt my Proteus 3 World had no taste and sounded very artificial like McDonalds food... I will make ten albums using this CD set."

"As a whole, Deepest India succeeds as an...

by The Mix (UK)

"As a whole, Deepest India succeeds as an all-encompassing catalogue of Indian musical components and combinations, and for anyone working within score and soundtrack fields, it's likely to be a must-have."

"Produced over a period of two years, Deepest India is something of a labour of love. Sourced from the Punjab region, and comprising three CDs totalling over 190 minutes of audio, it comes very close to being the definitive article. The three discs are divided into Vocals, Instruments and Orchestras & Ensembles. The Vocals disc is made up of long passages of unaccompanied singing, ranging ffom expressive solo pieces through tradfolk and wedding chants and on to semi-spoken, vocal sounds, using both classically trained singers and accomplished traditional experts, and all lengthy; closer to full renditions than sampler chunks.

The Instruments disc is stacked with traditional instrument phrases and hits, covering flutes, violins, sitars, tablas and an extended range strummed, bowed, plucked and blown sound sources, as well as shed-loads of drum and percussion samples, all key and bpm tagged. And so to Orchestras and Ensembles. This set is meticulously compiled from exclusive performances by the cream of the region's orchestral talents, including Bollywood mainstays like the Delhi and Bombay film orchestras, and vintage folk ensembles.

The richness of this exhaustive assembly of samples is almost enough to make the single disc worthy of the cost of the whole collection, with lavish multi-instrumental arrangements side-by-side with evocative religious pieces and vocal ensembles. As a whole, Deepest India succeeds as an all-encompassing catalogue of Indian musical components and combinations, and for anyone working within score and soundtrack fields, it's likely to be a must-have. For more superfluous applications however, the samples are perhaps a little too esoteric, and the length of many of them means some hefty edits will be required if you're a repetitive loops merchant."

Customer Reviews

Any musician interested in creating Indian...

by SANJIB KARMAKAR

Any musician interested in creating Indian music, whether for film or album work - they should have this particular title and I am 100% sure they will find this extremely helpful.