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Tenebrae

EXHUMED SYNTHETIC TEXTURES FROM SNAKES OF RUSSIA

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Tenebrae

Exhumed synthetic textures from SNAKES OF RUSSIA

LA-based artist Joseph Holiday creates apocalyptic electronic visions (affectionately described as 'Death Beats') under the moniker SNAKES OF RUSSIA. His singular sound weaves together textured modular synth patches with gritty drum samples, all slammed through destructive chains of unobtanium outboard and tape to create a unique world of darkness.
$79
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Inside Tenebrae

Presets
170+
Presets crafted by SNAKES OF RUSSIA
79
Instrument Sound Sources
70
Round Robins
Up to 13

Tenebrae

$79

Proprietary Engine

VST/AU Plugin included. No additional software required.

3-Axis Universal Controls

Simply map your favourite controller once for all plugin instances.

Intuitive Performance GUI

Custom animation driven performance interface & mouse hover interactions.

Industry Leading Audio Quality

Up to 384khz/32-bit extended ultrasonic range sample sources.

Watch

Tenebrae in action

Audio Demos

Hear Tenebrae

Extol

SNAKES OF RUSSIA · Instrument demonstration · 1:57

Made with Tenebrae

0:00 / 1:57

The Story of Tenebrae

Enveloped in the essence of deep sonic exploration, Tenebrae, our collaboration with LA-based artist Joseph Holiday, alias SNAKES OF RUSSIA, delves into his dark, apocalyptic sound. In these texturally rich playable soundscapes, complex modular synth patches, heavy analog subs, and gritty drum samples converge, all intricately processed through chains of unobtanium outboard and tape, unleashing a unique world of dirt and darkness.

Tenebrae gallery 1

This inaugural entry into our Artist Series is a chasm into the depths of his distinctive sonic palette. Together we imagined Tenebrae not just as an instrument; but as an exhumed creature, buried for over a century and now resurfaced, bringing the dark mystery of the depths of the earth. Analog outboard processing and gritty tape infuse instant textural vibe into modular and analog synths, screeching bowed instruments, and noisy percussion, bringing forth the unique sonic darkness encapsulated within Tenebrae.

Tenebrae gallery 4

With the transformative power of MNDALA 2 , our ever-evolving acoustic synthesis engine, SNAKES OF RUSSIA has brought his sound sculpting expertise to design a inspiring set of 79 bespoke artist presets, alongside our collection of 70 Elements presets, and 27 Atelier presets to get you started. With creative processing being an essential part of the SNAKES OF RUSSIA sound, we also worked with Joseph to create two exclusive effect processors modelling his signature signal chains: BESTIAE (destructive Filters, Drive and Compression in either parallel or series), and DIRTY BUCKETS (a series of gritty Bucket Brigade Delay based reverbs), allowing you to shape the sound dynamically in real time.

What's Inside?

Lead10

  • Black Blood

    Synth lead with tape saturation and a slow filter envelope.

  • CTPAX

    Detuned synth through guitar cabinets and room mics. Sounds great with octaves.

  • Entity

    Modern polysynth through room mics.

  • Dungeons

    Dirty synth lead with filter modulation.

  • Nihil Waves

    Synth lead with tape saturation and a slow attack.

  • No Shores

    Synth lead with high resonant short filter sweep, re-amped through PA cabinets.

  • Rapture

    Filtered synth lead with tons of room tone.

  • Slasher

    Bandpassed synth lead through bucket brigade delay.

  • Spun Room

    Dirty synth lead played through PA cabinets and captured through 2 sets of room mics.

  • Veins

    Tape saturated short synth lead.

Bass8

  • Bat Teeth

    Dirty monosynth with a slight bucket brigade delay.

  • Bent Night

    Short mono bass with tape saturation. Perfect for arps and sequences.

  • D Tape Sub

    Basic sub with tape saturation.

  • D Tape Sub Layered

    Layered sub with tape saturation.

  • Dirt Room

    Detuned vintage monosynth played through cabinets, captured through room mics.

  • Fuzz Control

    Vintage synth bass played through a fuzz pedal.

  • Shallow Shallow

    Detuned synth bass shorts through cabinets.

  • Proper Grit

    Dirty synth bass patch. Evolves from direct signal to room mics.

Pad12

  • Gods Cab

    Processed vintage polysynth through PA cabinets with room mics.

  • Last Magic

    Polysynth with granular processing through hardware compression and a generous amount of tape saturation.

  • Skull Biz

    Granular processed pad with a short bucket brigade delay and saturation.

  • The Chemist

    Vintage polysynth layered with white noise evolving from direct to room mic signal, with extra bucket brigade delay.

  • Tides

    Noisy vintage pad with filter movement through PA speakers.

  • Abraxas

    Slow, filtered drone with tons of bucket brigade delay.

  • Cave Walls

    Texture made from scraping wood against a huge silo wall, processed through modular synth and a long BBD.

  • Dust Grains

    Granular processed re amped polysynth.

  • Ghost Drone

    A few layers of bowed instruments through granular processing.

  • Sigil

    Filtered, saturated bowed texture.

  • Silo Sting

    Short swell made from silo foley and granular processing.

  • Dark Beast

    Polysynth through hardware compression, saturation and a long bucket brigade delay.

Keys8

  • Dust Poly

    Vintage polysynth with dirty chorus chips, tracked to tape.

  • FM Springs

    FM plucks through distortion and spring reverb.

  • Fang Plucks

    Saturated polysynth plucks through room mics.

  • No No Echo

    Bandpassed monosynth through vintage tape echo and spring reverb.

  • Slow Digs

    Short swell made with foley and granular processing.

  • Tunnel Scrape

    Long swell made from scraping the inside of a huge silo with wood, capturing its natural reverb and processing through modular synths.

  • Wrecking Pulse

    Monosynth through a short bucket brigade delay and vintage tape echo.

  • Waits

    Melodic FM percussion hit. Great for pulses.

Hybrid9

  • Witch

    A homemade gut string resonator for evoking dark, ancient magic, re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Cuatro

    A unique Cuban Cuatro, played with a bow for a screech-like sound, then modified by Snakes Of Russia using custom processing signal paths. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Double String

    A shamanic snake-themed arco instrument from the Amazon, with double resonant strings, bowed for unique sounds and re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Kabak Short

    A Turkish Kabak Kemane, strung with baroque violin gut strings and played spiccato, and re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Kabak Long

    A Turkish Kabak Kemane strung with baroque violin gut strings, for playing long notes, re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Ravanatha 1

    An ancient 200-year-old Ravanatha from Rajasthan, played by bowing its resonant strings, and re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Ravanatha 2

    Similar to Bowed Ravanatha 1, this ancient instrument from Rajasthan has unique resonant strings, re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Metal

    A custom-built mini Waterphone, bowed with moving water inside and re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

  • Bowed Vietbowl

    A rare Vietnamese temple bowl that resonates uniquely when bowed, re-processed by Snakes Of Russia. These samples are SSM enabled and ultrasonically recorded for extended pitch range playability.

Percussion1

  • Percussion

    Various foley, FM synthesis, modular synthesis, and granular bits all processed to tape and back.

Animistic Performance Interface

Control a deep network of parameters with 3 real-time rendered animations

Technical Specifications

Samples

  • 70 sound sources
  • Up to 14 Round Robins
  • Recorded at 24-bit, up to 96 kHz

Engine

  • VST3 / AU / AAX plugin for Windows & Mac OS (10.14+) Including M1 Chip
  • No fuss copy protection, simply install and the instrument is uniquely encrypted to be used within your system
  • Seamless downloads, updates, and installation within MNDALA with a registered MNTRA account
  • MNDALA 2 requires internet access to download the instruments. It will keep working offline after the installation of the instruments.

File Size

  • 70 sampled instruments
  • 12 GB installed, 24 GB recommended for setup

System Requirements

  • Minimum 8GB of RAM and an i5 or better CPU required
  • Supported by all 64-bit VST3/AU/AAX compatible DAW's
  • * Mixcraft 9 Pro is not supported
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