Review: Prime Loops Moogalicious Funk Loops

Library: Moogalicious Funk Loops
Format: Download in Ableton, Apple Loops, Reason Refill, REX2, Acidized WAV, and more…
Genre: Funk, Disco, Urban
Distributed by: Prime Loops
Price: £12.95
Demo: Audio demos on the product page.

According to Prime Loops, this collection of 140 synth loops is "influenced by landmark musicians such as Stevie wonder, Parliament, Herbie Hancock, Motown Records, George Clinton, The Crusaders, Kool & The Gang, Funkadelic, Sly & The Family Stone and many more." While this may be so, the synth loops on offer here are all more contemporary-sounding. That's not a bad thing per se, but if you're expecting an authentic 70's vibe, that's not really what these are about.

The loops are sub-divided into folders by BPM (90, 95, 110, 125, and 135 are represented). As the name suggests, this collection is all about synth parts, so these loops are all made up of basslines, chord sequences, and leads lines - if you want drums, you'll need to look elsewhere. The loops are all well recorded and cleanly produced. At first this bothered me a bit, as they seemed to be lacking the dirt and grit that often defines funk, but this is something that the user can easily add themselves with appropriate plug-ins according to their own personal tastes, so ultimately, I think the clean sound is a good thing as it gives you a good starting point to effect the loops however you like. Still, it would've been nice to hear some wah-wah pedals and grime here and there.

Most of the sounds are very genre-appropriate... rumbling basses, rezzy synths, squiggly lead lines, warm and fuzzy chord sequences, etc. There are a few gated/pulsating pad sequences that seemed out of place (perhaps more appropriate for dance), but overall, this collection delivers what it promises. In addition to funk styled tracks, I could hear these loops working well in R&B, hip-hop, disco, and other genres. It all depends what context you put them. It's a brief collection to be sure, but the price reflects that, and if you don't feel up to dosing out the funk yourself, this collection may well provide the inspiration you need to embark on your own Fantastic Voyage. (7/10)