Bansuri is a side-blown flute made from bamboo, used traditionally in Hindustani classical music. For this sample collection, Sonic Collective & Found Sound Nation teamed up with Bansuri master Tanzeem Haider, from Pakistan to prepare a set of gorgeous and highly loopable melodies, melodic runs, flutter-tongued gestures and individual notes.

Hailing from Lahore, Tanzeem began playing the flute at age 7, practicing anywhere he could, "at home, at school, on the streets”, and after taking a job as a barber, playing even in between customers. Inspired by Pandit Hari Parasad Chourasia, Tanzeem developed a highly imaginative style and a unique full tone. This pack features Tanzeem improvising both traditional and contemporary melodies with a range of techniques across a set of Bansuri of different lengths and tunings.

Twisting the framework of the electric guitar into new forms, Guitar Abstractions offers a collection of tones that can’t be placed. These ambiguous, disembodied sounds come from extended techniques, reshaping of the guitar’s envelope, and granular processing, among other approaches. Performed and produced by Christopher Botta, Enayet Kabir, and Tristan Arp.

222 loops

The West African kora is an instrument that isn’t easily defined. Combining aspects of both the harp and lute, its 21 strings are plucked by both hands in tandem to create a sophisticated polyrhythmic sound. For this sample collection, Sonic Collective & Found Sound Nation teamed up with Vieux Cissokho, a virtuoso kora player and Griot storyteller from Senegal. This collection features a set of beautiful hypnotic kora melodies and polyrhythms as well as classic kora ostinato riffs, "kumbengo," and improvised solo runs, "birimintingo," recorded in Vieux’s studio in Paris, France.

Tabla is arguably one of the most expressive drums in the world. With over 30 different tones, or ‘bols’, it can seem as if the pair of hand drums, collectively called tabla, are ‘speaking’ rhythm. For this sample collection, Sonic Collective & Found Sound Nation teamed up with master tabla player and percussionist, Surojato Roy, to prepare a gorgeous set of intricate traditional and contemporary rhythms as well as singular ringing and struck tones across various tabla and tunings. The samples included here were recorded in Surjoato’s studio in New Delhi, India.