Katana Bits is a new sound designer that recently signed up for distribution via SoundsToSample. Raikiri is a term from the japanese anime series Naruto meaning 'lightning blade' which if my Kung-Fu is still relevant is some kind of hardcore ninja-skill. What is publicly known about Katana Bits apart from their devotion to manga is not much. They are japanese. They come from Tokyo and have an obvious passion for the fast and bombastic.

I think the latter is what caught my ear when first skimming through the library. When minimal styles still are in fashion - a compilation like this shines through like a multicolored rainbow in the dark. It's like Leila K stumbling in a housing cooperative meeting, wearing a mini skirt with a bottle of champagne.

The people over at Katana Bits are apparently fans of the Sylenth software synthesizer - and on their Soundcloud page you can listen to the sounds they come up with.

But let's get to business. What does Raikiri actually contain?

WAV Loops
Kickless loops: 155
Bass drum: 28
Snare/Clap: 22
Hihats: 41
Crash: 12
Percussion: 36
Fill: 10
Bass: 52
Pad: 13
Synth: 62
Piano: 5
Effect: 50
Vocal: 2

WAV Single Sounds
Kick drum: 20
Crash: 10
Effects: 69
Guitar: 24
Synth: 84
Vocal: 8

Total number of loops: 488
Total number of singles: 215

Total amount of sounds: 703

Drum type of sounds: 334
Tonal type of sounds: 240


BUILT AROUND 12 CONSTRUCTION KITS
As I said in the introduction, the style is heavily influenced by the Eurodance-style - which kind of makes sense. Rave made a short revisit not too long time ago - and while I personally didn't get caught in that particular refresh, this one might. It's fast, it's hard and is toppled with melodies that you normally associate with traditional trance. I think the mash-up works extraordinary well.

Let's see what kind of material hides among the loops:

In the heart of Raikiri are 12 construction kits with tempos ranging from 140 to 148 bpm. The structure is very clear and goes down quite deep. For each and every kit each element has its own audio track and in most cases there are a few variations as well. The variations are as always welcome - but I must say they are a bit odd. Some of them are radically different than the originals, and some of them are very subtle - with just minimal changes.

The loops are processed hard, especially in the amplitude domain. The kicks are very defined and can easily punch holes even in the most dense of mixes. Listening to the separate tracks reveal that Raikiri isn't about tricky drum programming nor clever melodies - all is actually pretty much standard. The effects - the bass sounds - the pads - the leads: it's all sounds we've heard many times before. But what makes them special is the processing which to my ears is absolutely delicious. Sometimes the loops are touching the borders of EBM and sometimes they move closer to glitch, but in this context it all works beautifully. Even though Raikiri is a quite bombastic collection of loops and sounds - it never feels messy. Every sound and loop has a purpose and shines through the mix like a different colored light.

But - for me - construction kits based on loops are always posing problems.

Take Big Fish Audio for example. I absolutely adore their quality. But from a creative point of view - it's like eating prepared meals. You swallow and move on. No need to work on it. It's all done complete with seasoning according to the chef in charge.

With Raikiri I feel the same. After the initial wowowow - the question slowly crept up - how the hell should I work with these sounds?

Working with loops is a subject that have been discussed a million times since there isn't a plain solution to work with loops. Either you just add a couple of elements to give your track the edge you need - but if you need more control one thing is clear: you have to work on them. There are many tools that make this job easier - but still - it's a lot of work to take a heavily processed loop and transform it into something personal.

UNPROCESSED TONAL SINGLES
One aid can be the inclusion of single sounds - and sure enough there are enough single sounds in Raikiri. The kicks are very well selected - hard and punchy. The effects are brilliant and will be loved by all who enjoy deep impacts and synthetic uplifters. The included guitars are mainly powerchords and - as always with powerchords - they are fun and effective to nastify a track.

As with the rest of the library - the sounds are processed with a firm hand with one exception: the synth sounds. Well - sure, there are touches of reverb and delay on some of the sounds, but moving from deliciously overproduced bass sounds and in-your-face trance leads, these sounds feel utterly tame. The majority of the sounds in this category falls into stabs and short synth snippets. The collection is good although we've heard the sounds themselves many times before.

While refraining from producing the single synth sounds too hard, the user gets the opportunity to bend the sounds according to personal preferences - which naturally is a good thing. At least sort of. But for a hard processed library like this, the original sounds is not really what you are after. It's the processing. The Juno 106 is still a giant in dance productions these days - but what makes a Juno stand out on a dance floor is the sauce. The processing. With that said - I am grateful for the inclusion of unprocessed sounds - but I can't help but wondering how much cooler this library would have been with 84 single sounds processed in the same spirit as the rest of the library.

CONCLUSION
I must say that I love this library. I honestly think it's fantastic. That said, it's not without its faults. While the tonal loops are extraordinary pieces of instant ignition, you need to get your hands dirty to get past the limitations of the packaged loops. In other words, up on the chopping block. But not even during chopping things are easy. The loops are so damn processed that you really need to work on them be able to form this library into your needs. The omission of processed synth sounds make it more time consuming to bend the library to your own music - although it's not impossible.
But soundwise - Advanced Hard Dance 01 Raikiri is one of the most fresh sounding library I've heard in a long time.

Katana Bits Advanced Hard Dance 01: Raikiri
Web: www.soundstosample.com
Price: 56 british pounds
Good: Very well produced. Highly inspirational material.
Bad: The omission of processed singles is a drawback.

Review copy: thanks to Barry at SoundsToSample for NFR.

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