Voices of the Empire

Name: Voices of the Empire
Price: 69 USD
Author: EastWest

by EastWest · Instrument · World vocal library

Not rated yet

Voices of the Empire samples singer Uyanga Bold in Mongolian, Bulgarian and Western styles, with legato, vowels, 29 words and 254 phrases in all keys.

It costs $69 on sale (regular $199) and runs in EastWest's Opus player.

Best for: Vocals, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic.

Keywords: monophonic, film & game audio, cinematic, epic, haunting, polyphonic, sample-based, sound design, subscription.

What it does

Voices of the Empire is built around one singer, Uyanga Bold: an opera-trained vocalist with perfect pitch who sang on Disney's Mulan remake and toured with Hans Zimmer. EastWest pitches it as "haunting, exotic, and mercilessly passionate" vocals for film, TV and games.

Three styles: Western, traditional Mongolian and Bulgarian singing.
Legato: true legato for intervals up to an octave, recorded in two styles (Western and traditional Mongolian).
Sustains: melismas, slurs, sustains with and without vibrato, and up-down figures.
Words: 29 words, recorded so they line up for polyphonic, chord-style writing.
Phrases: 254 improvised traditional phrases across all keys, about 21 per root note.
Combo and keyswitch patches: combine articulations under mod wheel and velocity, or switch them from MIDI keys.
Three mics: Close (Josephson 257 and Neumann U47), Rear (a pair of Coles 4038s) and Room (AKG C24), all at EastWest Studios.

It runs in EastWest's Opus player (and the older PLAY 6). It is also part of the ComposerCloud+ subscription, which has a 14-day free trial.

Source: EastWest product page

When to use it

Voices of the Empire is the pick when a score needs one distinctive solo voice with Central Asian and Balkan colour. Compared with Eric Whitacre Choir it is a single soloist rather than an ensemble, so it suits exposed, plaintive lines and phrases more than choral pads. Unlike Augmented VOICES, it stays a natural, recorded performance rather than a sound-design texture. Against EastWest's Voices of Passion it is deeper on one singer, with words and two legato styles, where Voices of Passion spreads across five singers with fewer playable options each.

Best for: fantasy, epic and world-flavoured cues, and themes with an Eastern European or Middle Eastern setting.
Genres: cinematic, game music and hybrid orchestral; EastWest also suggests industrial and EDM.
Look elsewhere if: you need a choir; Symphonic Choirs or Eric Whitacre Choir fit better.
Tip: MusicTech suggests the key-switched word patches for the most versatility; build custom phrases with care so they don't turn into gibberish.

What producers say

Reviewers praised the singer and recording quality, with the legato patch the main weak spot.

MusicTech (Dave Gale, 2018) gave it a MusicTech Choice award, praising the "closeness and presence" of the recordings and the stunning phrases, but called the legato "the weak spot in an otherwise superb library".
Music Connection (Barry Rudolph, 2018) called it "an exotic exploration I enjoyed discovering" and liked that each key has its own performance rather than stretched samples; his favourite legato patch was Ah Mong Legato VS.
Criticisms: MusicTech found some legato samples have slow attacks that can break up phrasing, and warned it won't suit every cue.

Where to buy

EastWest: $69 (regular $199)
Plugin Boutique: $69 (regular $149)
PluginFox: $69 (regular $149)
AudioDeluxe: $69 (regular $149)

Tutorials and reviews

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