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Keys
to the City Sound
on Sound
September 2002
As suggested by the title, this collection of sample loops is dominated
by keyboard phrases, and the liner notes indicate that the loops
are aimed at producers of dance, hip-hop, R&B, pop, funk, and
electronica. Michael Bearden, the musician responsible for Keys
To The City, has playing credits with the likes of Jennifer Lopez,
Destiny’s Child, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Ricky Martin
and, as you might expect from this list; the standard of the playing
is extremely high.
The loops are split into five categories: the Bassment, The Studio,
Duplex, Triplex and the Penthouse. Across these five categories
are around 130 construction-kit loops sets, giving a total of some
500 individual audio loops to mix and match. The ‘Basement’
category consists of 24 single bass loops in varying tempos and
keys, many of which were composed to match other loops within the
library, while the Studio category contains 25 single keyboard loops.
The material gets more construction-kit oriented in the Duplex category
since this contains 25 paired keyboard parts that are designed to
work together and individually. The Triplex and Penthouse categories
expand on the format by offering three and four part construction
kits (27 and 32 respectively). In both Akai and Acid formats, a
full-mix version is also provided to help with auditioning. The
loops themselves vary in length but many are four or eight bars
long. Given the subtle variations within these longer phrases, they’re
perhaps less likely to appear obviously ‘looped’ when
used within a complete musical arrangement.
In terms of style, the loops would certainly work well in a dance,
pop, funk and R&B context. Many of the loops have a funky feel
and there’s also a jazz element in some of the playing. The
vast majority of the phrases have been played live, with very few
synth-generated arpeggio patterns. The collection is dominated by
hand-played chord arpeggios (both major and minor), but there’s
also a decent mix of pad and lead-line phrases. The over-riding
sense is of slick, well-crafted and well-produced song elements-it’s
very Stevie Wonder (with whom Bearden has also played), with nothing
too threatening, but with an excellent feel.And it’s easy
to imagine ‘lurve’ lyrics comfortably sitting over the
top of these musical phrases! The keyboard sounds used are equally
classy. While there’s a good dose of Rhodes and Clavi-based
loops, there’s also an excellent mix of other sorts of textures-but
again, don’t expect anything too extreme as this isn’t
buzzing chainsaw-synth territory.
One of the dangers of the construction-kit format
is that users simply recreate the original recording by combining
each loop within a particular kit. However, the fact that the playing
style here has a consistent feel to it is an advantage since it
makes it very easy to mix and match loops between the different
construction kits. With the addition of a suitable drum loop library,
it would be fairly easy to put together the basic elements of a
complete track using Keys To The City. Add a little funky guitar
and a classic R&B vocal and the result could easily grace any
mainstream US radio playlist. Perhaps this isn’t a sample
library for those looking for something very experimental, but it’s
great for anyone looking for that polished, professional, funky
R&B feel.
John Walden
EQ October 2002
Loop CDs with keyboards are rare, and superbly recorded ones are
even rarer, making this a particularly welcome addition to the world
of sampling CDs. The material is R&B/hip-hop/dance-oriented,
but leans toward the lighter, pop side of things-hardcore techno
types won’t find much aggressive, lo-fi stuff here. The man
behind the CD, Michael Bearden, has performed or recorded with stars
such as Madonna, Lenny Kravits, Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, and
the like, which gives a good indication of the musical direction.
There are five loop groups: single-layer bass loops, with the remaining
loops arranged as single-layer, two-layer, three-layer, and four
or more layers. The loops are in various keys and various tempos
(although, of course, all layers for a particular loop are at the
same key and tempo).
The set consists of four CDs, two Akai (or Roland) format and two
acidized WAV format. For multi-layer loops, in the Akai version,
the final mixed loop goes on middle C and the elements that make
it up sit on other keys. With the Acid CDs, you can either call
up the individual acidized WAVs, or an Acid song that layers them
for you. In either case, having the individual elements available
is very handy; sometimes I find them even more appropriate than
the mixed loop.
The recording and documentation is up to ILIO’s usual high
standards, so if you want about 800 MB of pro-level keyboard loops
in tune with today’s R&B styles, or need to flesh our
some drum grooves, look no further.
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