Abaltat has announced that it has added four new virtual bands to its Abaltat Band collection, adding options for minimal musi styles, reggae and percussion

A plug-in for its video-driven soundtrack composer, Abaltat Muse, Abaltat Band allows the user to specify and combine the genre, instrumentation, and performance style of music composed by the Abaltat Muse software. The new bands will be previewed at IBC2007 in Amsterdam and are expected to be available in early Q4 2007.”Abaltat Band is designed to extend control and creative range for users of Abaltat Muse, and we developed each of our new virtual band plug-ins to provide a particular style and sound that complements video and film production,” said Siun Ni Raghallaigh, managing director at Abaltat. “Soundtrack composition should definitely be about more than canned music or music loops, and the combination of Abaltat Muse and Abaltat Band offers video editors a selection of richly textured composition styles that complement and enhance their work.”

The four new additions to Abaltat Band include Minimalist One, Minimalist Two, Dub Reggae, and Percussion One. These newly introduced bands join Abaltat Band’s existing talents: R&B One, which features basic guitar sounds in a 12-bar blues style; Ensemble One, a subtle combination of classical orchestral instruments; and Atmospheric One, a keyboards band modeled on the atmospheric sound created by synth combo. The entire Abaltat Band collection is also compatible with the new entry-level music composition software Abaltat Express.

Minimalist One is inspired by the minimalist composers and features a rhythmical, interweaving, slowly evolving composition on acoustic orchestral instruments. Minimalist Two is inspired by the music of minimalist composers such as Philip Glass and uses a sound canvas of electronica and synth pads to achieve a contemporary, dark, moody feel. Dub Reggae features the bass lines and percussion riff of Dub in the Caribbean, spiced up with guitar chord riffs and Hammond stabs. Percussion One is dedicated to rhythm and features drum patterns that evolve and follow the colour and intensity of the video.