A New CUBE Expansion Pack from the Imagination of Benn Jordan

If you’re into music production and browse YouTube, you’ve probably stumbled upon Benn Jordan’s content and promptly had your mind blown. Whether he’s breaking down animals’ psychoacoustics or experimenting with hypersonic lasers that render its targets speechless, Benn’s uncanny ability to demystify complex topics at the intersection of music and science has expanded millions of minds across the globe.

Lucky for us, he’s also an incredibly talented producer, multi-instrumentalist, sound designer, and artist. Over a prolific run spanning nearly two decades, Benn has released a couple dozen albums under his artist name The Flashbulb. His style defies easy categorization, blending a wide range of acoustic instruments, synthesizers, and electronic production techniques for a unique hybrid sound.

We’ve always been huge fans, so today we’re beyond excited to announce our collaboration with Benn, Canopies.

Unearthed Woods and Metals

Canopies is the latest addition to our Artist Collection line of CUBE expansion packs, building on the momentum we started with Dust. Benn very rarely does sample packs, so we jumped at the opportunity to explore his signature sound within the CUBE engine. He was intrigued by CUBE’s radical approach to sampling and brought an obsessively detailed approach to the recording process.

The sound sources in Canopies start with a range of wooden and stringed acoustic instruments–kalimbas, acoustic guitars, and vihuelas–then blend in minimal synthesizer tones. The acoustic instruments were recorded in a custom space with fine tuned acoustic treatments to dial in the reverb just right. Benn used a pair of custom condenser mics designed for both ultrasound and normal audio and spent days experimenting with different articulations. You’ll hear the usual suspects but also unorthodox approaches like using fidget spinners, portable fans, and other objects to strike the strings.

The presets were inspired by the firefly-lit treescapes and fog-blanketed woodlands surrounding Benn’s home nestled within the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ultimately, we arrived at a curated collection of tactile plucks, earthy hybrid tones, and luminous electronic flourishes that fully embody Benn’s signature sound.

Conjuring images of fog-blanketed woodlands and firefly-lit treescapes, Canopies is perfect for genre-defying productions that call for earthy hybrid textures striking the balance between organic and synthetic. During our Fall Sale, you can get Canopies for a special introductory price of just $19.