Looking for "ethnic" vocal samples

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Hi there,

I'm looking for so-called "ethnic vocal" sample libraries.

I actually don't know what they're really called, and if they're in some existing language or just random mumbling and moaning, but I'm NOT looking for (native) indian stuff and probably no (sort of) african tribal chants.

The OSTs of "Black Hawk Down" and "District 9" feature the kind of vocals I'm after - unfortunately, I guess, those were not arranged with sample libraries but with real vocalists.
They are actually pretty much the sort of voices I need, here's something to get you an idea of what I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWAhVbayGv4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2FNzgjQsNs

Yes, I have used the forum search and have come across those by Bela D Media and Spectrasonics and the Tonehammer Forgotten Voices, whereby the Forgotten Voices came the nearest to what I want.

But just listening to the demo material never made me go "That's it!", so maybe someone out there has experience with libraries like these and can hint me towards (what he thinks are) the one or two best shots...

Anyone out there who knows?

Cheers,
Rob

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<promo>

MOTU Ethno 2 has a dedicated part of its soundbank for this kind of voices.

http://www.motu.com/products/software/ethno

Listen for example to this demo, it should suits your needs:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/motu/media/ethn ... Voices.mp3

Hope this helps.

</promo>
Olivier Tristan
Developer - UVI Team
http://www.uvi.net

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Thanks a lot, MOTU Ethno is definitely going in the right direction.
But with a price of 360€, I'll wait and see what others have to say. ;)

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Best one I have personally:

Zero-G: Deepest India

Contains Folders full of;
(a) Instruments
(b) Orchestras
(c) Vocals
Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

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Voices of passion has 5 different ethnic female vocalists. Have a listen.

http://www.soundsonline.com/Quantum-Lea ... W-174.html

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Voices of passion sounds really great, just like MOTU Ethno.
Same sort of quality, same sort of price, same sort of restraint... shame. :(

The Zero G library seems to have some nice content as well, but I think theres too much "more" in it than I really need. The few demo tracks on the Zero G website sound quite nice, but are not really saying much.
Are there any tracks you know of (maybe your own?) that were made with "Deepest India"?

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Best I can do right now is offer some relevent cut'n'paste from the PDF. I can e-mail you the PDF listing for the Vocal Samples (and the rest) if you like. The content of the PDF in question is a scan of the original CD Cover. It's legal by the way. This is the way the download version contents are presented.

Here is the basic text for CD1 of 3;
VOCALS
Welcome to the colourful world of the land of five rivers - the Punjab in Northern
India. The vocals collection within Deepest India reflects 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 library
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.
Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

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I think you're looking for quite aggressive/emotional male vocal samples, from both Africa and the Middle East (I'm making this assumption based on the two movies you've quoted), and this is an area that isn't covered that well in my opinion.

Tonehammer and Bela D have great coverage in the world/ethnic female vocals market, but there's not a lot of dedicated male ethnic vocal sample sets. It'd be great if Tonehammer add a male singer to their Forgotten Voices series.

I don't know it myself, but what about Voices Of Istanbul? Does that have male vocals? Might be worth checking out just in case. Or you could try Discovery Sound, see if they have anything vocally from that area. I've got some of their Far East sample sets and they have excellently recorded female vocals.

Cheers.

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Male, female... doesn't really matter that much - as far as the samples go. ;)

And no, I'd prefer soothing and melancholic voices. Maybe "yes" on the emotional, but not aggressive.

I listened to the "Voices of Istanbul" demo mp3, but it didn't blow me away. I saw that it "only" has 7 vocal tracks of the same vocalist beside all sorts of turkish instruments, so I don't think that's really my library of choice.
But thanks for the tip anyway; I'll now have a look at Discovery Sound and see what they have to offer.

@Aloysius:
Thank you as well. You don't happen to have any material that you made using that library? I'd love to hear some demo material for it that's not, well, "manufacturer's advert" but "something real that someone real made".

Please, keep on suggesting... :)

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caleb82 wrote:Are there any tracks you know of (maybe your own?) that were made with "Deepest India"?
The track, "BKAB" from V for Vendetta used vocal samples from Deepest India. Hear here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsY_g-ZoHog

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caleb82 wrote:Male, female... doesn't really matter that much - as far as the samples go. ;)
And no, I'd prefer soothing and melancholic voices. Maybe "yes" on the emotional, but not aggressive.
Ah, in which case, yes, Tonehammer are comfortably your best bet. Cait and Terrie will give you the best "Black Hawk Down"/"District 9" stuff.

The good thing about Discovery Sounds is that you can purchase individual vocal samples separately. So, if there's one you particularly like that fits in with your track, you only pay a few dollars, instead of forking out loads on a full set of samples you might not need.

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This is a great thread - I've been wondering where to find these types of samples for a while with very little luck.

Does anyone one else have any other suggestions? I'm curious to male/female ethnic vocals from all over.

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Since this thread originally kicked off Sonokinetic have added two really great Middle Eastern vocal sets to their repertoire: Tigris & Euphratis and Desrt Voice. I have the first and it is excellent.

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synaesthesia wrote:Since this thread originally kicked off Sonokinetic have added two really great Middle Eastern vocal sets to their repertoire: Tigris & Euphratis and Desrt Voice. I have the first and it is excellent.
Yes indeed, a +1 to this, and the prices are well below VOP or Ethno 2. Sonokinetic are turning into a seriously impressive company IMHO.

http://www.sonokinetic.net/

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Ah, I see someone has dug out & revived my old thread. :)

Looking back, Cait from Tonehammer was the closest to my needs, Tonehammer Terry and Deepest India seemed to be too "special" and not really what I needed.
But anyway, thank you guys for the tips!

And holy carp, the Sonokinetic Desert Voice just about nails it! 99% of what I was looking for back then. Must have! Only thing missing from that is a female voice.

Unfortunately, before getting any of these, I'll have to fork out the cash to get the full Kontakt... -sigh- Anyone trying to get rid of an old 2/3 version? :D
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