REVIEW: SPITFIRE AUDIO ALBION SOLSTICE

4 min readJul 16, 2021

A celebration of un-notated traditions passed down through generations, and captured through the magic of sampling, Albion Solstice explores the visionary artistry from modern, folk, and heritage instruments. Passionately curated, this library transcends genre to give you everything you need to create modern cinematic scores.

Featuring long, evolving textures sourced from The Solstice Or-chestra

The eDNA Interface
within ‘The Cassette Orchestra’

SOUND BAYS / EDNA BROWSER/ WOBBLES/ FILTER AND ENVELOPE/ SAMPLE AND NOTE CONTROLS/ MIXER / GATE SEQUENCER/ FX DASH/ PAGE BUTTONS

REVIEW

Spitfire Audio released what I believe is the perfect addition to the Albion family. There are many films these days that use these types of sounds in their scores and trailers. A mesmerizing atmosphere pulls the viewer in with this modern approach using traditional folk instruments mixed with evolving textures. Take, for example, the soundtrack to the horror film Midsommar composed by Bobby Krilik did a fantastic job creating a creepy mood of what I thought was a long-winded, subpar, strange movie. The bottom line, the music made the film. Albion Solstice is a bridge for connecting age-old folk with contemporary.

Here’s what you get…

Albion Solstice is Kontakt Player compatible and supports Kontakt 5.6.8 or higher. So no need to worry about owning the full version of Kontakt to use this library. It downloads at 73GB and contains 74,286 samples.

There are three NKIs that include THE SOLSTICE ORCHESTRA, THE CASSETTE ORCHESTRA, and THE DRONE GRID. There is a 235 articulations, and 78 of them found in the two string sections that include legatos.

The Solstice Orchestra features ten ensembles and a soloist. You will get strings, brass, synths, guitars, a choir, and a bunch of traditional folk instruments baked into the pre-orchestrated ensembles. The ten folders include The Elders (Strings), The Callers (Brass+Winds), The Mystics (Pipes), The Blaggards (Band), The Hosts (Choir), The Generator Trio (Electric), The Gut Circle (Acoustic), The Nursery (Bells+ Mallets), The Marauders (Percussion), and Individual Articulations. The Elders folder contains three sub-folders- Classic Octet, Traditional Sextet, and the Elders Bass. The Classic Octet includes four NKIs — Main Techniques, Effects, Evos (Evolutions), and Motors.

TRADITIONAL SEXTET include four NKIs, and features violins, viola, and cello (2,2,1,1), taking inspiration from Celtic traditions.

THE ELDERS BASS has one NKI and is a thundering solo double bass instrument.

THE CALLERS (Brass+Winds) include four NKIs and consists of a broad selection of brass, woodwinds, saxophones, trombones, euphonium, tuba, contrabass, and clarinet.

THE MYSTICS (PIPES) contain one NKI and is a collection composed of Celtic flutes and whistles.

THE BLAGGARDS (BAND) has six NKIs and is a made up of an accordion, bass harmonica, nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, harmonium, and clàrsach (Celtic harps).

THE HOSTS (CHOIR) contain 2 NKIs with a haunting ensemble of female singers with six high voices and one low that originates from a variety of folk traditions. There are captivating long pads, evolving textures, and vocalizations.

THE GENERATOR TRIO (ELECTRIC) includes 3 NKIs that consists of two electric guitars, an electric bass, and allows you to create textures with strummed, plucked, and Ebowed performances.

THE GUT CIRCLE (ACOUSTIC) represents the traditional folk side of the guitar family and provides an association of ukuleles, steel guitars, nylon string guitars, and mandolins.

5 Out of 5 Stars !!