What's old is new again -- Soniccouture has announced that its first-ever sound library, Abstrakt Vol. 1, is now available as a free download.

Although the scripting and graphics may look a little old fashioned, but the sounds still sound pretty fresh to the designers at Soniccouture, hence the re-release of the original collection. The freeware version, available now, includes the original scripts from the first Abstrakt library. More developed versions of them can be found in Soniccouture's script product called Scriptorium.

Soniccouture sheds some light on the origination of Abstrakt Vol. 1: "Way back in August 2005, sound designers James Thompson and Dan Powell, freshly adrift from the R&D center of a well known Japanese music company, collaborated with Native Instruments on a library called Kontakt Experience. A lot of material was created for this project, and only a certain amount was released by Native Instruments. Dan and James decided to release the remainder under their own brand: Soniccouture.

"The library of effects and atmospheric synthesis was named ‘Abstrakt Vol.1’. A basic Web site was put up; offering CDs for sale via PayPal, as this was before the days of large downloads. Sales started to come in, and the rest is history. Soniccouture went on to become pioneers of downloadable sample libraries, offering the service before any of the larger companies."

Abstrakt Vol. 1 features at a glance:

• 250 MB sample library
• 16-Bit, 44.1 kHz samples
• 64 Kontakt Instruments
• 5 KSP scripts: Dub Delay, Shredder, Vocal Doubler, Analog Oscilators, and Tape Wow
• Requires full version of Native instruments Kontakt 3, 4, or 5

Soniccouture's re-released Abstrakt Vol. 1 is available as a free download. Before downloading the library, you will have to have a Soniccouture Web site account (registration is free). For more information, visit soniccouture.com.