Spitfire Audio Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions £249

Spitfire return for a third instalment in their ongoing collaboration with composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Ólafur Arnalds. Unlike the wider sound set of his Composer Toolkit, this collection returns to the classically-influenced textures of his first Evolutions collection. This time though, a full ensemble is in residence, making use of the top class recording space at Air Studios (in North London).

For your money, you get four main instruments that provide access to 26 ‘Evolutions’ and 20 ‘Waves’ (all in four, four-mic/mix combinations), though Spitfire also include individually playable versions of all of these in a separate folder. Evolutions are long samples of sustained textures and rhythmic phrases that evolve very subtly; therefore the perfect means to create engaging backdrops. This however, somewhat undersells how great some of these really sound – and don’t be fooled into thinking that these will only work for brooding drama soundtracks.

Spitfire employ their Evo Grid system to map the Evolutions across the keyboard, and the randomisation options here are a great way of creating interesting and unpredictable variations. However, having to scroll to see the full Evo Grid matrix grid is bit of a pain, and buttons, controls and text could be clearer. Given the way that some other developers are using the greater screen area now available to Kontakt instrument designers, it’s perhaps time that Spitfire took the leap to larger, more legible, interfaces. Despite this, the usual Spitfire quality shines through in terms of sound quality and playability. VERDICT 8.2