Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5 Stars
With the Iremia series, Bunker Samples get quiet, intimate, and very close to a solo viola and cello. Running in the full version of Kontakt 6.7.1 or later, and each being about 8.5GB, the instruments come with matching articulations presented in five patches. Within the main patches are nine sustain articulations: normale, muted (CS) and super muted (recorded using a big rubber practice mute), each with ppp, pp and p dynamics. These sustains have some lovely, delicate movement to them, which is great when holding long chords, and the loudest articulations, while still quiet, can actually sound very intense, especially with the close mics.
The most exciting part of the libraries are the additional textures — these sounds are an inspiration engine. The bow and vibrato pulses sound amazing layered with normal sustains, I got great results adding them to another library’s string ensemble patch to add some movement. They feel really vivid and alive. I also had great fun using Logic’s articulation sets to trigger different sounds via velocity. Improvising with these varied textures is an amazing shortcut into slow, emotional string writing. The random rebow, tremolo bursts and fluctuating trem are full of drama. These are best used sparingly, and there are some human imperfections which make these articulations feel beautifully real.
These same samples are also presented in additional X‑fade patches. While in the main patch you’re able to mould simulated dynamics within the ppp sustain, for example, in the dynamic sustains patch you can move between the ppp, pp and p layers. The crossfading is sometimes noticeable as these are solo instruments, however, use in a non‑exposed way they would be fine. Similarly, the CS to normale patches allow crossfading between the muted and standard sound. This sounds particularly lovely on the viola vibrato pulses, but my favourite sounds here are the super CS to CS sustains, especially on the ppp. Being able to move with this subtlety between the different levels of muting allows for some wonderfully emotional dynamic movement.
With their vivid, human and intimate textures, the Intimate Viola and Cello are certain to provide inspiration.
The Swells patches offer 1, 2, 3 and 4 second swells, in normale, CS and tremolo CS variants. These are easy to get lost in, and the time machine versions allow you to compress/expand the speed, though I would have liked a tempo sync option here as well.
The different microphones give a wide range of perspective, but the far mic is still pretty dry, which is good for flexibility. The inside mic gives a lovely warmth to the cello, and each of the mics can be independently panned, stereo collapsed (where applicable) and sent to the built‑in delay and reverb, which is useful.
With their vivid, human and intimate textures, the Intimate Viola and Cello are certain to provide inspiration.