EASTWEST has announced the debut of Zero-G’s Carnival Drums — over 2,000 samples and 1.4GB of the exciting sounds of the Brazilian carnival.

The library features the main drums of the Brazilian Samba Baterias (samba percussion ensembles), which perform every summer at the Rio Carnival. For this project, 10 professional Brazilian percussionists, who perform annually at the carnival, were recorded at a state-of-the-art studio with close-mics, stereo overheads and distant stereo room mics to capture the true essence of these exhilarating performances. The 10 drummers were recorded playing every rhythm in unison, creating the power and force of a large carnival band when multiple loops are combined.

Zero-G Carnival Drums provides users with the versatility of over 1,400 drum loops in four mic positions. In addition, the collection offers detailed multilayered hits of all drum sounds so that composers can create their own rhythms to augment the collection’s loops.

Within the diverse selection of samples and loops, there are 12 core rhythms featured, which are broken into two categories:

• Slower patterns with a laid back groove: Samba Reggae, Maxixe and Samba Rock – all typical of Salvador, and Bahia from north eastern Brazil.
• Faster rhythms typical of Rio de Janeiro: Axé, Samba Um, Dragões, Samba Dois, Samba Torcida Break Um, Samba Torcida Break Dois, Samba Tres, Samba Quatro and Samba Torcida Break Tres. (‘Torcida’ refers to ‘audience participation,’ so the ‘Torcida Breaks’ are moments in the carnival when the rhythm breaks down and draws the audience to cheer and clap along.)

The collection is available in the following formats: Multiformat Version, REX2, NNXT (for REASON), NI Kontakt, HALion, EXS 24, Apple Loops, AIFF, ACID, and WAV. Zero-G Carnival Drums will retail for $159.95 and will be available through EASTWEST’s website.