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Loops Of Ibiza 2 – Tribal, House to Tech House
This second pack from TheWebTape celebrates all things housey and Ibizan, reflecting the sound of big room grooves from across the house and tech board. In drums, there are some really cool tribal loops with inventive rhythms and some bouncy big room grooves, and all loops provided with or without kicks. The Music section gives us old skool house and rave stabs galore, classy Latin guitars and trumpets, and a satisfying array of material across the board. Alas the majority of the lovely sounds in this section come with delays slapped on them already, which is rather annoying. FX & Voice Loops is probably the most solid section, with plenty of hypnotic, colourful vocal loops and one-shots, sprightly fills and breaks, sleek white noise builds and fades. The Bonus One-Shots aren't so solid, with most of the hits layered with other elements or sounds from the loops, meaning there are few 'clean' sounds to use. But these layered sounds can have their own charms too I guess. To top off the package, there's quite a few phat Construction Kit loops too, with plenty of punch and cool rhythm going on. These loops aren't shy; instead they are ones to use boldly and confidently. A cool, varied package with plenty of oomph and colour.
Strictly Jackin'
The title is a touch misleading; I was expecting a pack full of jacking, shuffling, old skool house loops, but this pack is much more on the European tech side on the whole, with lots of minimal mischief amongst the bouncy, wiggling loops. There's a decent amount with more of a US influence, but if you're after those chattering old sampled loops that everyone's rehashing right now, you might be better off elsewhere. Largely an synthesised affair with plenty of punch, this pack gives you over 400 loops for your money, things get most interesting in the loops where there's more of a tribal lilt or and old skool techno feel. There's lots of taut, punchy kicks, a section that remind us of the stuff Daft Punk used to play in their DJ sets in the mid-'90s, and just a smattering of that dusty old house feel. Each loop is handily also split up into loops of its constituent parts, giving you as much flexibility as you need. There's a fair bit of dead wood in here for me but that doesn't stop this from being a decent pack. Best for producers wishing to get some retro techno jack or some nouveau tech groove going on. If you're looking to emulate DJ Sneak or his ilk, perhaps look elsewhere. Review made by Ben Gomori
