Toontrack has announced the release of the West Coast Rock Grooves MIDI pack and the West Coast Rock EZkeys MIDI pack, two individual collections of MIDI for drums and EZkeys.
The West Coast Rock Grooves MIDI pack features over 500 drum grooves and fills inspired by AOR artists of the 1970s and 1980s.
Yacht rock, soft rock, the West Coast Sound, adult-oriented rock or simply AOR – the labels casually attached to this chartbuster of a genre are as many as they are confusing. But whatever you choose to call it, one thing is certain: the smooth soul and jazz, R&B, rock, funk and disco fusion that legends like Toto, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross and many more introduced in the late ’70s became the soundtrack of an era.
This collection of drum MIDI continues to explore and dig deeper down the groove treasury we just began to scratch the surface on with our earlier AOR packs. Luckily, there is no ground more fertile to dig in than that of the West Coast. It is simply inexhaustible. Arguably, no other genre aside from maybe jazz has produced more iconic drummers and larger-than-life songs where the drums play a pivotal role. The immortal beats of the likes of Jeff Porcaro, Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd resonate to this day.
Get ready for grooves with an unwavering facility, nuance and sophistication – perfect for any type of rock song in need of that “session drummer” finesse.
The West Coast Rock EZkeys MIDI pack features a collection of piano/keyboard MIDI inspired performed by professional session player.
The West Coast, late 1970s. The scene is buzzing with newcomers like Toto, Christopher Cross, Journey and Foreigner. A new breed of rock is on the rise. It’s slick, immaculately performed and has an easy-going, safe and carefree vibe – void of all the common, rowdy traits of rock. In this new sound, elaborate vocal arrangements, percussion and even horns jostle their way to the front of the mix in super-polished productions. But if there’s one instrument that’s really making a resurgence in rock during this era, it’s the piano. The number of anthem-like songs where the piano has the undisputed leading role is huge.
In this EZkeys MIDI pack, we move forward on the journey we started with our earlier AOR packs and continue to dig deeper through this massive chapter in our collective music history. Expect more of the creative chord runs, twists, turns and all the signifying traits that made this kind of rock not only conquer stadiums in every corner of America but also all over the world.
Yacht rock, soft rock, the West Coast Sound, adult-oriented rock or simply AOR – call it what you will, but one thing is certain: it’s a genre where the piano really shines.
The packs are available for 25 EUR / $29 USD each.
More information: Toontrack
