Jeremiah Savage has a definite knack for hearing beyond the noise, turning the mundanity of the everyday items and situations that surround us into beautiful sounds. Strikingly opposite in theme from Acoustic Refractions — his first “Powered by Kore” instrument — this set is inspired by concepts, scenarios, and philosophical ideas from science fiction literature and film. For example, the wonderful, THX-inspired “1138 Mindlock” incorporates shortwave radio snippets randomly scattered into schizoid ambience, while “Martian Tripod” is a smart adaptation of the remade War of the Worlds deep-trumpet sound, including menacing footsteps and mechanical loops.

With Kore 2 Player as its interface, each of the 100 multi-instruments includes eight individual variants or patches for morphing and up to 24 editable parameters. Inspired by replicant Roy’s soliloquy at the end of Blade Runner, “I’ve Seen Things” is a highly playable and haunting layer of shimmering synth, muted-timbre electric keys, analog brass, percussive hits, glistening wind chimes, and dark thunder with raindrops panning left and right. Incredible! I also loved the Dan Simmons’ Hyperion-inspired “Chronos Balalaika”, where blistering wind gusts counterpoint the classic three-sided string instrument. And the gorgeous Vangelismeets- Depeche Mode attack synth, “Alien Strings,” gives you control over attack harmonics, pick, scrape, and string noise.

Lots of cyclical type patches also exist, resembling bouncing particulate matter, washing space surf, revolving asteroid belts, chattering insect pods, bubbling mud pots, and more. The only disappointment is that you’re forced to install the 740MB of sample data onto an internal drive or partition. My network drives were all rejected, and I couldn’t reassign the sample folder locations once installed. Overall, Sonic Fiction is a dynamic addition to any film scorer’s or video game composer’s arsenal, turning familiar conceptual territory into inspiring and unique soundscapes.

PROS Evocative sound design that’s highly imaginative and playable. Kontakt, Absynth, and Kore FX integrated engines are utilized.
CONS Network drives do not appear to be supported.
FORMATS NI Kore 2; Mac version requires Intel processor.
INFO $79, nativeinstruments.com