"The samples were generated using proprietary additive-synthesis algorithms and are programmed to evolve throughout their full length. They shift, hide and re-emerge; variations in amplitude and harmonic content continue throughout each sample's duration. A multitude of icy, hollow tones are here, as well as complex, rippling passages. I couldn't possibly choose a favorite-take my wordfor it, there is much here to suit a wide cross section of tastes.

"Sand Dunes" has an eerie, sensuous quality graced with resonant whistling rising and falling around its edges. "Tropical Moisture" and "Tropical Rainforest" are both chaotic sheets of buzzing aural pixels, akin to a swarm of jungle insects. "NASA Solar Wind" and "Solar Warnings" would be perfect synched to images of outer space-haunting, alien, and evocative of the endless void. "Ultra High Temperatures" brings to mind randomly bowed church bells more than heat, but its shimmering waves of bell-like texture are alluring nonetheless.

"These files can be directly imported into your DAW or favorite sample editing program. Exact loop points are provided in the basic sound file tables-the first audio CD I'm aware of to offer such a feature. Simply enter the loop points, and you're set.

"Documentation

"My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw the 111-page booklet and accompanying session worksheets included with the disc. I wanted to hug the producers. In the booklet, you get incredibly detailed explanations of every aspect of the the drones. The first 12 pages explain the graphs, speaker versus actual bass reproduction, harmonic properties (complex harmonic, complex partials, pure harmonic, or integer harmonic), and looping. The remaining 99 pages contain right and left channel envelope graphs in decibels, along with 9-band frequency band energy graphs (which aid in choosing the right drone to fit your mix). An informative table gives you the track, type, drone name, total length in samples, length in minutes, pitch, loop start and end points, loop length, and harmonic properties. Another table breaks the loop data down into even more detail.

"As the Drone Fades

"I just loved this disk. CD producers take note; this is how to do it right. Eminently musical and useful, presented with admirable forethought and enough detailed information to sate even the most sophisticated users, Drone Archeology is a hit. A big high five to Ernest Cholakis and Numerical Sound."

"Some of them are evocative of Indian instruments such as sitar and tamboura," Ernie Rideout commented, "with luxurious synthesized string buzzes, open-fifths drones, and slow rhythmic strumming. Others have a wind orientation, resembling the overtone play of a didgeridoo or the vowel formant characteristics of chant." While a few of the drones are warm and rich, overall I'd have to say they sound distinctively digital, not analog. A bit cold and alien, even.

"Drone Archeology comes with a booklet so fat it doesn't fit into the jewel box. If I could give a soundware product an 11 for Documentation, this CD would win it! Most of the booklet is taken up with amplitude and frequency graphs for all of the drones, which may or may not be useful. The key ingredient is the table that tells you exactly where to set the loop start and end points to get an undetectable loop. With stereo files, looping is often a nearly insoluble problem, but this table makes it a piece of cake. I chose a couple of drones at random, loaded them directly from my Mac's CD drive into BIAS Peak, set the loop points, and sure enough, the loops were perfect. The booklet even gives a method that you can use to get close to the same results if you're sampling the drones via an analog connection.

"An inspiring collection," Ernie concluded. "I found myself unable to stop singing or playing along with the drones." Not the kind of CD most of us will use in every project, but when you need it, there's no substitute. Definitely worth having on the shelf."