Sony Media Software has launched two new collections in their extensive Sony Sound Series:

Steve Ferrone & Greg Ladanyi: Drums from the Big Room is a five CD collection of mixable, multi-tracked drum performances presented in 24-bit format created by Greg Ladanyi and drummer Steve Ferrone. Ferrone first came to international prominence while playing with the Average White Band, and has performed with Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Duran Duran and Eric Clapton. Currently, he is the drummer for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

The collection was produced by Greg Ladanyi, who worked on three Don Henley albums, including "Building The Perfect Beast," two albums for Fleetwood Mac, including "Behind The Mask," four of Toto's, including the Grammy winning "Toto IV," and six for Jackson Browne, including "Running On Empty," "Hold Out" and "Lawyers In Love." The collection features rock, pop, R&B, jazz, and reggae sessions. This collection offers an unprecedented level of control, as it allows the end user to isolate and mix the drum kit elements individually, as well as blend in three different axes of room ambience.

The second collection, Vince Lawrence: Chicago Fire, A Dance Music Anthology, is a five CD collection that explores in detail five different aspects of the club music experience: Deep House, Electro, Old School, Progressive, and Drum 'n' Bass. Produced by dance music innovator Vince Lawrence, the boxed collection is an authentic, perfectly balanced set of construction kits that provides everything consumers need to make complete tracks with the unmistakable Chicago sound.

Lawrence is an internationally recognized innovator in dance music and co-author of the first recording officially designated as "house music." Credited with the initial organization of Trax Records, a seminal Chicago House label, Lawrence has exposed some of the dance world's greatest prodigies, including Marshall Jefferson ("Move your Body," "Ride the Rhythm," etc.), Adonis, Byron Stingly, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Ron Hardy, Screamin' Rachel and Jesse Saunders, while inspiring many others.

Optimized for use in Sony ACID music creation programs, these collections of WAV files can be used in any Windows or MacOS program that supports this format. Applications that recognize the ACID file format metadata will benefit from being able to use this information for time stretching and pitch shifting purposes as well.

Both collections are currently available for pre-order and will be available at software retailers worldwide in February. Their suggested retail price is US$249.95.