Keyboard Magazine Review

You might recognize the name Bashiri Johnson from his critically acclaimed percussion loop library, Supreme Beats. Or maybe you’ve seen Bashiri credited on some of the hit records he’s played on for such artists as Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Maxwell. Bashiri is a master percussionist who plays with soul, intensity and the highest degree of musicianship. His latest sample library, Ethno Techno, is a testament to his excellence.

When I first received ET for review, I was sure it would sound great, given who played the grooves, and that Eric Persing-sound designer supreme-was behind the production. Once I started digging into the loops, I discovered much more that I bargained for.

I was sent the Akai CD-ROM version, which includes all the loops, construction kits, and individual hits. Nothing unexpected about this kind of content. But what blew me away was that all the patterns are also available as Groove Control® programs, which contain individual slices of every element in a pattern, plus accompanying MIDI files are included on the Mac/PC- compatible CD for recreating the patterns. With these Groove Control programs loaded into your sampler and the corresponding MIDI files loaded into your sequencer, you’re free to mess with the loops in just about any way you’d like. You can speed them up without losing fidelity, or change the pitch without altering the tempo, combine elements from different grooves for a new loop, rearrange existing patterns, or sequence your own using individual slices.

This is similar to how Propellerhead’s ReCycle lets you work with loops, except that groove-controlled loops are stereo and have already been meticulously sliced to ensure there are no clicks caused from sample ends that aren’t trimmed to a zero crossing point. This is something that ReCycle doesn’t do reliably. In addition to SMF’s, ET includes specific sequence files for Cubase, Logic, Performer, Studio Vision and Cakewalk-very convenient.

It’s hard to categorize what style of genre the loops from Ethno Techno fall into because the sonics and beats here would be equally at home in a drum ‘n’ bass track or in a film cue. “Cold Noir,” for example, stands on its own as underscore-add your own strings or synth drone and you could call it a day. On the flip side, “Sugar Shak,” which cruises along at 130 bpm, is perfect for pushing a typical four-on-the-floor house groove over the top.

Some loops sound organic and tribal, without actually belonging to any particular Latin or Afro-Cuban rhythm vocabulary. If you’re looking for the kind of idiomatically correct patterns you’d expect from, say, a good Latin percussion library, Ethno Techno isn’t it. However, there are plenty of auxiliary percussion loops lying underneath the full mix patterns to make your tracks more “ethnic sounding,” if that’s what you need.
Other tracks sound as if they came straight out of some futuristic drum circle, where handmade instruments, traditional drums, electronic drums and effects processors collide to created a hybrid wash of rhythm. In fact, many of the instruments, traditional drums, electronic drums and effects processors collide to create a hybrid wash of rhythm. In fact, many of the instruments featured on ET were made by Bashiri himself. You’ll hear garbage cans, glass bottles with bits of pebble, metal bowls filled with water and sounds that are less easily identified. Plus, a number of original tracks were given Eric Persing’s remix treatment resulting in subtle to extreme textural and rhythmic variations. Second listener Greg Rule had this to say: “The grooves, the sounds, the creative blend of traditional and non-traditional instruments: This collection is nothing but first class.”

The loops are organized by tempo, starting at 70 bpm and going up to a heart-racing 166. You don’t get a bunch of grooves at each tempo; there isn’t much need, since all of the loops can be manipulated using the Groove Control programs.

As a bonus, individual instrument hits are provided. Among these you’ll find an assortment of shaker sounds ranging from crunchy to silky. A good cross section of metal hits are provided, too. These range from high-pitched plinks to clangorous rumbles. You won’t find any multisamples of the pitched instruments, though.

The printed documentation is excellent, with specifics on how tracks were recorded, and tips for using Groove Control. What’s more, detailed descriptions of the contents for each CD-ROM are provided on a Mac/PC compatible data CD. These content lists are Internet browser files, so you can use a browser to search through the loops, sound FX and hits. This is a huge help, especially if you compose sitting in front of a computer and don’t like the distraction of having to sift through the piles of notes, magazines and CD jackets that seem to collect around the studio.

Anyone who works a lot with CD-ROMs knows the process of auditioning sounds can be a time-consuming and inspiration-draining chore. So to make searching through ET’s material easy, a sample player is provided on the data disc. These audio files can be dragged and dropped into the player’s track window for auditioning. Track lists of loops can be saved from the player, so you can revisit sounds from a previous sample search session, or create playlists of your favorite grooves.

I can’t think of a single area where Ethno Techno delivers anything less than perfection. The samples sound great and have plenty of vibe, and there’s enough variety to serve a wide range of music styles. Greg agreed, adding that “the only problem with a library like this is that it’s so good, it’s certain to be used all over the place, a la Distorted Reality and Liquid Grooves. That’s where Groove Control can save the day.” Having Groove Control programs does put the usability factor through the roof, and the thoughtful touches such as the included sample player are sure to please demanding studio pros. It really doesn’t get any better than this, which is why we’ve awarded ET a Key Buy. -John Krogh

Sound on Sound (UK) Review

Trying to review a sample CD produced by Eric Persing without using words like “excellence,” “originality” and “inspiration” is a bit like trying to write a review of the Sahara desert without using words like “big,” “hot” and “dry.” For Ethno Techno the ubiquitous sound-designing deity has teamed up with percussion ace Bashiri Johnson, to create a powerhouse of a release combining Johnson’s earthy percussive flair with Persing’s sample smarts.

Presented across three CD-ROMs (and also available in audio-only format), the sounds take the form of extended percussion performances ranging in tempo from 70 to 160 bpm. These are then edited into numerous usable chunks, along with mix variants and ILIO/Spectrasonic’s much-lauded Groove Control® alternatives. For those new to Groove Control, what you find when the drum loop loads into your sampler is that it’s already chopped up into individual constituent beats, assigned chromatically up the keyboard. You then import the corresponding MIDI file (from one of the other CD-ROMs) into your sequencer, and the combination provides complete control over the tempo and groove of the loops.

Sonically, you wouldn’t have thought that there was much for a percussion sample CD to say that hasn’t already been said, but Ethno Techno manages to surprise, delight and inspire from the first bar onwards. Successfully fusing ancient and interesting percussion instruments from Africa with an unwavering dance-floor sensibility and stunning 21st Century production appeal, Johnson is clearly one of the best exponents of his game. (Past clients include Madonna, Whitney Houston and Gloria Estefan.) It’s not all about dance music, though, and there are some wonderfully subtle and laid-back moments of slow-burning percussive joy.

Stylistically, perhaps Persing’s Liquid Grooves CD would be a fair comparison to Ethno Techno, making the latter virtually unmissable to fans of the former. Bashiri Johnson is an undoubtedly amazing talent (as are the other three percussionists he employs on ET), and Eric Persing has proved that yet again he is the best man for the job, allowing his artists to be soulfully expressive yet still keeping all the material highly usable. As a resource for cutting-edge, richly authentic percussive material, impeccably recorded and masterfully performed, this one comes very highly recommended. One of the most technically impressive and desirable sampling products of the past 12 months, it’s excellent, original and inspired. Damn, I said it again. -Paul Farrer

Remix Review

These days, the divisions are clear as mud. Whether you did techno, hard techno, tech-house or minimal tech-house, you will inevitably be confused by the vast amount of musical styles and genre crossovers (as I am). That said, ILIO’s Ethno Techno promised to further baffle your brain with its otherworldly beats, naked polyrhythms, sonic variety and infallible production. Born from the collaboration of master drummer/percussionist Bashiri Johnson; his crew of ethnic percussion experts; and Spectrasonics’ loop daddy, Eric Persing, Ethno Techno is a collection of some of the wildest rhythms and stylistic fusions I have ever heard.

Each series of loops is divided into three separate categories: mixes, elements and remixes. Within any contained group, it’s possible to find everything from phased-out bells and pipe drums to a bed of electronic kick drums, live percussion snippets played by Johnson or myriad combinations. Among other things, the multidisc set contains pieces of bolero, traditional African conga rhythms and futuristic hip-hop played on a variety of odd percussion instruments. You will hear heartfelt African rhythms played on the bata, conga, talking drum and dumbek, as will as modified rhythms celebrated on stranger noisemakers such as trash cans, pitch cups, Tek tambourines and things called "computer cans." Some beats are more electronic in their overall sound, yet they may be embellished by a mysterious "hair drum" and a scrapping gong sound reverberating beneath an effected human voice.

In this collection, the traditional and the modern meld in seemingly effortless fashion. The remix work is inspired, and on more than one occasion, I listened with my mouth agape. Check out the Bolero Remixes for some cool tribal vibes or the Cosmos group for a sci-fi bell jam.

Ethno Techno comes in assorted flavors, including the two-CD audio version ($129) or a sampler-specific multidisc set with MIDI files and Groove Control-ready Akai/E-mu, Kurzweil or Roland formats ($299). The loops in Ethno Techno range from 70 to roughly 166 bpm, but with the Groove Control version, you will be able to change the tempo of any sample by retriggering the individual notes in perfect syncopated succession. See www.ilio.com/gc for a more detailed explanation of this awesome technology. Perhaps the best part is that you are free to remix any of Ethno Techno’s raw one-shot elements to your liking. This immense library of sounds is easily a five-star collection that makes me wonder if Ethno Techno, or E.T., is from another planet.
–Dave Hill Jr.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 5

From the day they opened their doors in 1994, ILIO has been committed to producing useful, timeless and inspiring sample libraries for musicians. Tapping years of experience in sound design and electronic composition, their knowledge of the quality demands of today's music scene is the driving force behind every title they release.