Smokestack Sounds launches Cloud Guitar + Aurora: “vibe-driven” Kontakt instruments built for movement
A new “playable instrument” approach to sample libraries
Smokestack Sounds is a new venture from composer and sample library creator Oliver Patrice Welder (known for work with Spitfire Audio and collaborations across the modern library ecosystem). Rather than launching with a massive orchestral collection, Smokestack Sounds is starting with two focused instruments designed around interaction and emotion:
- Cloud Guitar (created with Tristan Rêverb)
- Aurora (created with ockpii / Filipe Monteiro)
Cloud Guitar: “paint with clouds” modulation
Cloud Guitar’s interface is built around a simple, clever idea: you position clouds in a sky scene, and each cloud maps to a parameter. That means sound design is visual and immediate — move a cloud, feel the sound shift. You can control it with the mouse, MIDI CC, or DAW automation, and the mod wheel (CC1) changes the overall tonality by moving from day to night.
Under the hood, the source material starts with an Epiphone guitar processed through a Fostex R8 tape recorder — then shaped into everything from clean plucks to tape-warmed pads for ambient, cinematic, and modern pop textures.
Aurora: layer-based textures with performance control
Aurora continues the interactive theme with a polar village at night: the “lights” represent layers, and you blend them to build evolving pads and textures. The appeal here is speed: instead of stacking seven tracks, you can perform the layers inside one instrument and automate the motion as the arrangement grows.
Compatibility (important)
- Kontakt: requires the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt 7.1+ (not Kontakt Player)
- Plugin formats: VST3, AU, AAX (via Kontakt)
- OS: Windows 10+ and macOS 11+
Official pages
Videos
These showcase clips are the fastest way to understand what “vibe-driven” means in practice.