by Pulse Audio
Liikkuva (prounounced “Lee Koo Vah”) is a string textures sample library based on the sound of modern “Scandi” or “Nordic” soundtracks such as The Killing, Wallander and Bordertown.
It contains a range of articulations split into “High Strings” and “Low Strings” that all have a sense of movement and evolution.
These string textures reflect the landscape of Scandavian countries – cold, bleak and empty yet are perfect for use in both cold, dreary underscore as well as more warm and shimmering tracks.
$ 149.00
Our aim with LIIKKUVA (the Finnish word for “moving“) was to create a selection of string textures that are commonly heard in modern “Nordic” or “Scandi” TV series and films. But what exactly is Nordic or Scandi?
When used to describe a musical genre/sound, the term “Nordic” or “Scandi” generally means a particular mood rather than a specific set of techniques. Scandi strings are a reflection of the landscape in Scandinavian countries like Finland, Norway etc. and thus mirror the dark, icey, dreary and empty landscapes of those countries. Scandi strings usually sound more raw and organic than a “standard” string orchestra with more movement and evolution in the sound. Scandi or Nordic string ensembles are also usually comprised of smaller ensembles recorded up close.
Some examples of soundtracks that could be described as “Nordic” or “Scandi” would be “The Bridge,” “The Killing,” “Bordertown,” and “Trapped”
To create the “Scandi” sound, we recorded a small string orchestra with no violas to scoop out the mid-range and give them their silky sound with a boomy bottom and airy top.
The players were recorded in a beautiful church in Zagreb, Croatia with an assortment of Rode ribbon and AKG/Neumann condensers and three mic positions were used – Close, Mid & Far – to give plenty of sonic options, allowing you to create your own mix.
The strings are soft and delicate with a silky airiness and distinctly raw, icy tone to them. They have a definite up close sound allowing many intricate details to shine through.
Liikkuva was recorded with no violas, so the patches are split simply into two folders: High Strings and Low Strings.
Liikkuva features a simple, easy to use GUI with a minimalist set of controls. On the interface you’ll find:
The Sus Attack & Sus Decay knobs allow you to control the initial attack and decay times of the patch and the Rel Attack and Rel Decay knobs control the attack / decay times of the release samples. This allows you to create a more organic and natural sounding fade in or fade out for each patch.
Additionally, we’ve included a “Random Start” button which will randomise the start position of looped samples, creating a more human feel overall and helping to avoid phasing issues.
100% money back guarantee – if you’re not happy, just let us know within 30 days of purchase and we’ll refund your puchase!
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Torley (verified owner) –
I’ve been looking for that “Scandi Sound” and serendipitously came across Liikkuva on Pulse Audio’s own homepage — what an integrated way to make use of their downloader by providing an inhouse library. It was straightforward to install and I started playing right away, weaving it into a video game composition about a traumatic memory.
The demos are an earnest representation of the emotional range you can achieve with Liikkuva. I’m finding these sounds very compelling to play on their own, or layering them atop other string libraries to add kinetic dynamics — for when they have a solid foundation but don’t quite move as much as you’d like. The mod wheel brings the dynamics up and down, and the releases — while generally responsive — don’t feel “clipped” like some other libraries. Overall there’s a great sense of propulsion and naturalism to these, there aren’t any weird-ass “sound design” patches, that’s not the focus here — but what you do get are a great collection of articulations with timbres not well-covered in traditional orchestral libs.
You can easily achieve swells and other transitional excitement. Some of these arctic articulations are absolutely delicious to feed into spacy granular effects, such as the percolating “Plucks Alt”, which is like bathing in pizzicato pleasure. The tuning across the patches also matches well, though there are some with deliberate pitch-warping like the unstable swooniness of “Sirens”.
Liikkuva’s user interface is simple to understand and as elegant as the Nordic vanguard. There’s one reverb here which is based on Kontakt’s built-in Convolution, and if it doesn’t suit your lush tastes, might I recommend LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven’s Scoring Stage preset?
I also want to call out the “Random Start” feature as valuable. I’m a big fan of using variations to add organicity, and this exemplifies the human touch.
If I had a suggestion, it would be to provide a better way to morph/change between patches, whether that’s a traditional keyswitch approach or an contextual switcher (I admit to being spoiled by Virharmonic’s approach). I can set something up with third-party tools, but for now, I’m multitrackin’.
I won’t be using the 30-day money-back guarantee, but that’s refreshing to see when you don’t know until you try it yourself. The intro price is eminently reasonable, so take advantage of it and make some music.
Liikkuva gets me excited and encouraging of future Pulse Audio releases!
William Wilson (verified owner) –
a very beautiful sounding library,
Joe P. (verified owner) –
This is a really beautiful library. I’m glad I got it on sale though, as there’s no legato. I don’t think ofld pay the full price for just longs. That aside – a really amazing soundset.
Justin Lewis (verified owner) –
Unusual and adaptable to what I needed 🙂 Sounds great and is edgier than the other string options I had.
Boris Gier (verified owner) –
If there is a must-have list for string libraries, this one should definitely be a part of it.
This is a real enrichment, especially for underscoring films or games.
Jonathan Bougie-Lauzon (verified owner) –
Great strings samples and great textural sounds for the intro price of only 50 bucks! Some articulations are unique and I did not had those already even if I have lots and lots of strings libraries already. It adds colors to my palette. Looking forward to the next library from them.
Rodrigo L. (verified owner) –
Inspiring. Uplifting. Sensational. Heartening. I don’t know what else to say, other than thank you, Pulse Audio!
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Exquisite and beautiful.
Angelo Petrucci (verified owner) –
Awesome
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Awesome Strings!