Sway by Audio News Room
Sway is a lush, rhythm-oriented hip hop sample pack. The grooves and timing of the elements of this pack meander and swing in a way that is both laid-back and exciting at the same time.
The Bassline loops contain an amalgamation of warm/saturated grooving bass sounds. With respect to sound design, the feel is very vintage/analog synth. Many of these loops derive their power from their simplicity, and are well balanced in that they have just enough space and breathing room to make the listener want more.
The drums (folders Drum Loops and Drum Fills) have a superb amount of punch and texture to them. Processed with New York parallel compression (compressing the highs and lows in parallel alongside the dry signal) they elicit a classic' hip hop vibe. Many of the loops and fills shuffle or swing in such a way that is dancy in an intelligent way there's a sort of pushing and pulling happening with the timing that is subtle but highly effective.
The kicks sound are the perfect mix of sounding as if they might be sampled from vinyl while at the same time evoking a modern vibe. The claps, snares, and other percussive elements are well designed and compositionally very creative, but don't fall too far from the beaten path, which allows them to be effective in supporting the overall groove while not distracting from more important elements.
The Instruments are highly vibey and classic sounding as well, most notably the pianos and the Rhodes. Many of these chords stab rhythmically or waver in and out, this movement giving the song drive and direction.
The Synths & Pads are mostly high twinkling arps and bright chord hits that weren't altogether too interesting, but could be used to fill out the high end of an otherwise dark track. Textures & Rhythms offer a slew of unique background ambiences and organic rhythmic sounds, most of which are quite well done, perfect for filling out space in a track and making a song sound a bit less digital/electronic.
This pack is great for hip hop, indie-electronic, and various other related genres: the percussion and especially the kicks alone offer a great basis from which to build a track. When joined with the impressive processing on the other elements and synths, this pack delivers an equilibrium between modern rhythm and vintage sound.