Aska Matsumiya – Crystal Bowls

A unique palette of expansive otherworldly textures, created from the rich, visceral vibrations of high-purity quartz crystal singing bowls, curated by award-winning composer Aska Matsumiya (Home, After Yang, Betty).

Traditionally known for their use in meditation practice and sound therapy, we’ve transported these otherworldly instruments into the cinematic realm by capturing a detailed and diverse range of performance styles in the resonant acoustics of the Hackney Round Chapel, London.

Mix and move between a wide spectrum of textures within our intuitively designed plugin to create intense atmospheric soundscapes — from percussive, shimmering shorts to deep, long-lasting resonances, as well as a range of contemporary warped presets. Designed to breathe new life into any genre of music — from ambient minimalism to ethereal cinematic scores.

Visceral vibrations
At the heart of this library lies the deep resonant tones of a set of seven crystal singing bowls, captured at the healing frequency of 432Hz. With the sound being close to a raw sine wave, its synth-like qualities can easily be moulded into any shape.

With the innovative vision of Japanese-born, Malibu-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Aska Matsumiya who has used these instruments widely in her scores and sound installations, we set out to expand the language of the instrument and unlock a rich new palette of otherworldly tones and textures, presented in an intuitive and inspiring plugin designed to conjure long-lasting ambient soundscapes and rich cinematic atmospheres.

Key features

• A 7-piece set of rare crystal singing bowls made from high-purity quartz
• Tuned to C, D, E, F, G, A, and B at a frequency of 432 Hz
• Recorded in the expansive acoustics of London’s Hackney Round Chapel, with a clear and resonant reverb
• Presented in an elegant, user-friendly interface equipped with intuitive controls
• Four controls to help shape your sound – Attack, Release, Offset and Reverb (using an IR captured in the Round Chapel)
• 5 Crystal Bowl playing styles
• Mix between a range of six traditional and contemporary beaters – Brushes, Soft Mallet, Sticks, Rubber Mallet, Plastic Mallet, Hot Rods
• Two tuning fork sounds for higher, sharper tones
• One signal created from a mix of Close, Room, Gallery positions
• Six warped sounds made by running the crystal bowls through guitar pedals and granular synths
• 2.1 GB