Composer Tom Holkenborg and Orchestral Tools Partner on Junkie XL Brass Library

Following the success of its Berlin and Metropolis Ark series, German sample library developer Orchestral Tools has joined forces with leading Dutch producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Tom Holkenborg to create a brand-new brass collection, Junkie XL Brass.

Holkenborg, better known in the music business as Junkie XL, is a former industrial noise producer and chart topping electronic live act, who has become one of Hollywood’s most successful and singular film score composers, blending classical composition with a mastery of modern instrumentation and studio techniques. One of the movie industry's few billion dollar box offices composers, Holkenborg’s diverse credits include Mad Max Fury Road, Deadpool, Black Mass, Mortal Engines, Tomb Raider and the forthcoming James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez project, Alita: Battle Angel.

Won over by the superior interface, sample cutting and playability of Orchestral Tools’ products, Holkenborg felt that the company was the ideal partner for creating his brass library: “I needed a ‘sound voice’ in this industry and realized right from the beginning that I needed to build my own sample libraries, and that’s why we’ve gotten to the point of creating my own brass library together with Orchestral Tools.”

As with previous Orchestral Tools collections, Junkie XL Brass was recorded at the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin, a distinctively balanced 450 m² hall with sublime acoustics and the finest microphones from the last five decades. Classic brass instruments – trumpets, French horns, trombones and tubas – were sampled in many different section sizes to provide maximum depth and versatility, with a dynamic range going from pianississimo to fortississimo.

Junkie XL Brass is scheduled for release in late 2019 and will be available exclusively for the new Orchestral Tools Sampler Platform. As well as being designed as “an homage to acoustic instruments”, this platform is a powerful tool that is capable of customizing every single articulation to the user’s individual needs. And, as Tom Holkenborg explains, capable of inspiration as well: “What I want you to feel when you open up the sample library and play your first line is that you want to make music straight away. That’s how inspired you will be when you use Junkie XL Brass.”