Bollyhood Beats | Producers Edge Magazine

So in this month's issue, I've been lucky enough to have been asked to review an absolutely awesome sample CD by BigFishAudio, entitled "BOLLYHOOD BEATS". This double DVD set is unique in several manners, which we'll investigate a bit further in a moment, but first I'd like to give you an overall description of the product.

Bollywood Beats is basically a double DVD set, configured in five different formats; Acid and Wav on DVD one, on the second DVD it has Apple Loops, Rex, and RMX files (YES! RMX, as in Stylus RMX). This is one of the first sample libraries that I know of that actually includes all five formats, and one of the first I've ever seen to include RMX files. This is significant, in that, many (and I mean MANY of the house and trance guys are using Stylus RMX, and there are less that 20 known expansion libraries that I'm aware of, and this title makes the first one to my knowledge that's a unique genre as well! ) Because this collection has been configured for so many formats, virtually any writer or composer could utilize this collection; it all boils down to anyone that can import a "WAV" file can use it. This also includes (all in native form) ACID, LOGIC, REASON, STYLUS RMX, GARAGEBAND, CUBASE, SONAR, and DIGITAL PERFORMER.


Now a few words about the actual sounds/loops...............all are played by a REAL Indian Percussionist, on REAL ethnic percussion instruments. They sound big thick and chunky, with the realism that can only be achieved from a real instrument and a microphone; there is no programming here! The one thing I did find odd after listening, and utilizing some of the loops in a track, is that they were all played by one guy; Sanket Athale. I must tip my hat to him, because the loops are all quite different, and sound as if they were played by a variety of great percussionists; no wonder I'd have to say, is why BIGFISHAUDIO chose him to do the collection; great work indeed. The loops run the gamut from simple tabla parts to intense rolls and breaks that can be used for all sorts of productions. I especially enjoyed how the loops were done, in that, there are many simple hand percussion loops that can be layered on top of one another to create a really nice complex backbone for almost any type of percussion based production. My primary genre is Vocal House, with soulful flair, and I do love to use ethnic hand percussion as it adds realism to the texture of the track.

In use is where this collection truly shines. Logic 8 on a Mac Quad core running OS 10.4.11 is my main platform, and the one this was tested on. At this point, I have to let people in on a little secret; I'm probably one of the laziest people on earth, and I want instant gratification; I'm not one to fiddle around for hours copying files and moving things around to get some music going. Well, this collection, and I'm 100% honest here, had me up and pulling loops into Logic with 10 minutes of inserting the DVD into the drive! That fact alone is mind-boggling! There was no fussing around with "aliasing" or "locating libraries" in any fashion at all. I was so happy with it, all I did was (and I'm not joking) insert the DVD with the Apple Loops, created a new folder entitled "Bollywood Beats" on my secondary drive, then copied the files from the DVD into that folder. This took about 3 minutes I believe as it was 3.2 gigs in size. Once finished, I opened Logic, opened it's Media Browser (where your loops are), clicked on the Loops tab, then dragged the folder named "Bollywood Beats" onto the "View" box. At this point Logic will ask you if you would like to keep the current location of the library, or to copy it onto the main drive, which I preferred its current location on a separate drive, and that's it; I was dragging loops in! That's what I call quick! It really couldn't have been easier. Within 10 minutes I had a killer percussion track, and simply added a kick and a 4/4 High Hat to give it a Tribal type of house sound.


This collection will be highly recommended by me to anyone that wants to spice up a track with some very unique hand percussion, that doesn't sound like "everyone else's" loops! Think of it this way.........92 kits, 930 loops, and the ultimate in ease of use.......for $99.........What are you waiting for? 10 out of 10 review here! Great job BIG FISH!

DJ Fred Frederix