The project

Areas of cultural interest very often are accompanied by unique sounds. Cyprus was a natural destination for a GSM project due to the history of the island, specifically the two countries and two religions that develop and grow on both sides of the boarder. Though this divide is often commented form a social point, GSM were interested in ‘The Sound of Cyprus’ as a whole.

Recording sessions took place with musicians across the island. These had strong traditions with both Turkish and Greek music. A Turkish Cypriot ensemble worked with GSM to sample their traditional instruments at the Eastern Mediterranean University outside Famagusta. Furthermore, GSM located the only Greek Santori player in Cyprus and worked with her in Nicosia to capture this rare and rapidly diminishing instrument. 

Ambient recordings were taken across the country in order to map the environment. GSM created a virtual lithophone (musical instrument made from stone) from pebbles found at ‘Aphrodite’s Rock’ and sampled in the ‘Tomb of the Kings’ in Paphos. This truly unique virtual instrument encapsulates the ethos of the GSM and demonstrates the link between environment and music. 

The GSM Cypriot package includes high resolution ambient recordings from city centres to deserted beaches and mountain regions. Full sample libraries for Greek and Turkish Cypriot instruments that will load into Kontakt, Logic’s EXS24 and Ableton samplers are bundled together with over 250 loops of performances and single instruments.

Cypriot instruments

Bouzouki
Traditional Folk String instrument

Santuri
Dulcimer - zither instrument

percussion
davul, darbuka and Bendir

Aphrodite’s Rock

Rockenspiel
Bespoke lithopone instrument

Cyprus Full Pack

The GSM Cyprus package contains four Sampler Instruments for Logic’s EXS24, Native Instruments Kontakt, and Ableton’s Sampler. The four instruments bundled inside are the Santuri, the Bouzouki, the Rockenspiel, and a Cypriot percussion file comprised of three drums; the Darbuka, the Davul and the Bendir. The audio samples for each instrument are all .wav files, formatted at 48kHz, 24bit, and have all been professionally processed – ensuring every instrument is to a high quality standard.

Also included in our Cypriot sample package, you will find over 60 minutes of environmental recordings from across the island, all recorded, produced, and available to download in 96kHz, 24bit .wav format. From bustling city centers to deserted beaches, we’ve attempted to capture Cyprus at its most urban and its most natural.

Lastly, we’ve also bundled together 220 loops at varying tempos, all produced at 48kHz, 24bit .wav format. Some of these loops originate from performances that we captured during our time in Cyprus, and others have been generated by our team of engineers and producers, with the aim of delivering audio materials that are sonically rich and entirely transferrable between musical genres.

Environmental Recordings

Click a Pin!

The team spent a lot of time researching unique and special environmental locations for interesting and useful sound recordings from across the island. We provide these all recorded, and available to download in 96kHz, 24bit .wav format.

From bustling city centres to deserted beaches, we’ve attempted to capture Cyprus at its most urban and its most natural.

Click the pins on the map to sample some of our recordings. 

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