Lately, on almost every project I’ve composed music for, I’ve also had to design the sound.

With considerable experience in the field already, this continuous exploration of sound creativity has turned me into an even bigger nerd!
So, I decided to make my next library a sound design library.
The idea was simple: record some interesting sounds and get them ready for experimentation.

The library is called Hephaestus, inspired by the Greek god of fire, volcanoes, forges, and blacksmithing. The process of sampling instruments in an unconventional way, as well as everyday objects, and tinkering with them to create unique sound design elements reminded me of forging something entirely new.
Being a big fan of Greek mythology (my first library here is called Poseidon’s Pull hehe), I naturally thought of Hephaestus as the perfect inspiration and namesake for this one.

Recently, my neighbor, who was moving to another country, gave me her old violin, which she was not playing anymore. Along with it came an old bow that definitely needed replacing. I thought I might use it on things other than strings to create some crazy bowing sounds.
I tried it on my portable radiator, and it produced eerie, screaming sounds—brilliantly scary when pitched down. I also used it on the wooden edges of a violin and ukulele, on detuned violin strings, and more.
During this process, I even destroyed a bunch of celery—the results were unintentionally gory!
I also recorded the lovely clicks and hisses of an old film camera.
Last but not least, one of the highlights of this library is two samples of fingers drumming on the inside of a palm—bassy and reminiscent of a stampede.

The library itself is straightforward, with three main controls:

Reverb
Delay
Fire (for amping everything up with a bit of filth).

One of the biggest reasons I created this library was to inspire other composers to experiment when they’re out of ideas on a project. Just clicking your fingers in front of a mic, playing around with a few effects, and you might end up with something really special.

It certainly worked for me, and it keeps me inspired!

Recommendation: Pitch is your best friend.

Special thanks to Owen Bolig who helped me out with coding! I always learn a lot from him.
Thanks mate!

Contributors

Owen Bolig