SPITFIRE AUDIO BT Phobos

The polyconvolution synthesiser

Phobos is a must-have synthesiser for composers writing epic, cinematic electronic and hybrid compositions. Conceived by renowned composer and electronic music pioneer BT (The Fast and The Furious, Monster, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), we’ve together developed a powerful new device to add a unique timbral expansion to your compositions by unlocking the liquid, morphing and transforming capabilities of convolution.

With an asset base featuring over 20GB of unique hand built BT rhythms, pulses, textures and atmospheres, and a revolutionary polyconvolver engine, you can quickly and easily create molecular loops, patterns and textures to energise your music and hold your audience at the edge of their seats.

Producer, composer, and artist, BT has done it all — from pioneering dance tracks and scoring The Fast and the Furious, to writing & producing for Sting, Peter Gabriel and David Bowie. Together with Spitfire Audio, BT has combined over 20GB of his own personal bespoke libraries into a convolution synthesis engine that allows you to sculpt, filter, rhythmically cut and pulse impulse responses that are tonal, melodic and harmonic. Most importantly, you can play them polyphonically.

This synthesizer, sound engine and bespoke library package represents years of diligent searching for new awe-inspiring sounds and sound design techniques. If you, like BT, are looking for a new wave of inspiration for evocative, emotional, expressive and original compositions, this is the well of endless inspiration you need.

One of the greatest solutions Phobos provides is for composers wanting to engage their audiences in extended sequences and cues without things sounding repetitive or ‘loopy'. Phobos allows for an all new real-time interface interaction that allows the user to evolve, warp and transform their molecular patterns according to nuanced changes within a scene.

Background

What is Phobos? One of Mars’ moons? A synthesizer? A tool for creating massive cinematic and electronic rhythms? An engine for endless spectral combinations of wide, lush pads and ambiences with propulsive rhythmic figures? Is it a sound library of bespoke percussion, beats, micro rhythms, field recordings, live acoustic and orchestral treatments, textures and a massive vintage synthesizer collection? That is just scratching the surface.

At its core, Phobos is a synthesizer based on the unexplored precept of polyconvolution as a synthesis engine. BT came up with this idea many years ago doing sound design. What does that mean exactly? Polyconvolution as a synthesizer? Well, it means instead of using convolution for reverb or modeling an amplifier's distortion circuit, why not make a “reverb” impulse response tonal?

Combining something rhythmic with something tonal (as an impulse response) yielded some of the most modern, liquid and percolating ambiences and textures BT had ever heard. These are the kinds of sounds he has been searching for whilst scoring; those elusive sounds where the director asks for movement and drive, both subtle and massive.

Browser panels

Phobos challenges the convention of loops, tones and how they are used in convolution. Which is why when clicking on the name of any of the sound sources OR any of the convolvers, you will be greeted with exactly the same browser.

Mappings

The ability to automate many of the fantastic and unique controllers is central to the vision of Phobos, which is why modulation mappings - the way in which functions are mapped and then ‘modulated’ (or changed) in realtime or automated via controllers - are key to many of our presets, and are applied both to Source/Convolver.

Sound source advanced controls

A set of controls to further adapt each Source such as ADSR, start offset, filters and gates.

Convolution advanced controls

A set of controls to further adapt each Convolver and its impulse response. This is very similar to the controls for the sources and provides all the same functionality for the convolvers.

LFO controls

Controls for the LFOs. There are four independently configurable LFOs that can be used to control your parameters by selecting them in mappings.