Exploring Oblivion Sound Lab: From Horror Scores to Public Broadcast

My first exposure to Oblivion Sound Lab (OSL) was a happy accident during a search for horror film inspired synth patches four years ago. A soundset called Dark Vision popped up in my results, and the artwork immediately grabbed my attention.

I read the description on the website and knew instantly that this sound designer spoke my language:

“Dark Vision is OSL’s homage to the horror film scores of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when pioneering composers armed with analog synthesizers reinvented the soundtrack of cinema. The set contains 128 brand new patches inspired by legendary composers such as John Carpenter, Alan Howarth, Fabio Frizzi, John Harrison, Claudio Simonetti, Charles Bernstein and Jay Chattaway.”

I pressed play on the demo and was absolutely blown away by the quality. I purchased the soundset immediately. After installing the patches, I began tinkering around, and before I knew it, I had a finished song. I decided to share it with Jonathan Nicol, the designer behind these masterfully crafted patches. He liked the track and, with my blessings, added it to the collection of official demos. Since then, I have been honored to contribute demos to his subsequent releases.

The OSL Difference

Jonathan Nicol is not just a sound designer; he is a talented graphic designer and musician (Binary Oblivion) who creates with great care and a deep understanding of synthesis.

He is generous with the number of patches included in each set, and his pricing is always accessible. You can count on the patches being musically usable with zero filler.

New Release: Public Broadcast

Oblivion Sound Lab has just released a brand new soundbank for TAL Audio’s **TAL-Pha** called Public Broadcast.

For those not in the loop, TAL-Pha is an impressive emulation of the Alpha Juno II. TAL Software makes incredible plugins, including the famous TAL-U-NO-LX (an emulation of the Juno 60), so the quality here is top-tier.

Here is the official description of Public Broadcast:

“Public Broadcast is a trip back in time to the heyday of analog synthesisers, featuring 88 patches for TAL-Pha that celebrate the nostalgic electronic sounds of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

For this soundset I found inspiration in vintage library music, VHS idents, and synth-heavy television scores, and followed this thread to the present day via artists such as Boards of Canada, Pye Corner Audio and HOME.

Inside you will find plenty of melted, detuned and dusty sounds that are ideal for revivalist genres such as hauntology, synthwave and lo-fi electronica.”

I created four tracks for *Public Broadcast*, which I intend to release in some form for the **Plastic Horizon** project. More on that later.

For now, check out the patches in the video below to hear these rich and creative sounds in action.

If you are a fan of Boards of Canada, hauntology, or just classic library music vibes, you need to check this out.

Visit Oblivion Sound Lab to explore his full selection of soundbanks and audio plugins.