# Torgbe - West African male choir now available



## DSmolken (Nov 19, 2020)

Torgbe, meaning king, is a choir of four guys recorded in a small town in the Volta region of Ghana. Much like the Hadziha female choir we released last year (the idea for which came from a complaint on VI-C), with a few additions - more phrases, hummed mm sustains (also because somebody on VI-C was looking for those... urgently for a project with a due date last summer, but...), and to be honest the guys practice singing more, so they are just plain better. Pretty much everything from recruiting the singers to editing the samples and narrating the walkthrough was done in Ghana by Pj Daauthor. I did some things with this towards the end (once Vengeful Viola was in beta testing), like looping the vowels and wrangling the beta testers, but at this point the only thing they really need me for is to be from a country where Paypal operates.

Waltkthrough.



Demo, with footage of the recording sessions and the town where this choir was made.



And Pj, being a rapper, also wanted to do a track which uses this choir. This uses two phrases in the hook, the hummed sustains during the verses, and some bonus samples for the chatter and laughter at the start and end. Also uses Secret Agent Bass and Snowkiss Guitar. And already got aired on TV in Accra.



There are also a couple of electronic demos up on the page, for a big big change.

$19 intro price until December 15th, $39 regular price afterwards.









Torgbe Choir


Torgbe means "king", and it is the male sequel to Hadziha. This choir was recorded in Ghana by Pj Daauthor, who also did the vast majority of the work from recruiting the singers to narrating the walkthrough. We also have Hadzi-Fia, a solo vocal library by the leader of this choir. Walkthrough...



shop.karoryfer.com


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 19, 2020)

Instabuy. That hiphop track is funky AF! Heard it yesterday on Twitter, love it.


----------



## LamaRose (Nov 19, 2020)

"Say what?" Some great sounding patches here... too unique to pass on!


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 19, 2020)

“Ouch!”


----------



## DSmolken (Nov 19, 2020)

And those come out twice as funny because Pj describes them in such a calm, laid back voice.


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 19, 2020)

True. He’s the Bob Ross of West Africa. By the way, the walkthrough doubles as a cultural and linguistic course. These phrases are in some of the oldest human languages around. Very cool!









Ghana Language: What Is The Official Language Of Ghana?


There are nine (9) government-sponsored languages spoken in Ghana supported by the Bureau of Ghana language which was established in 1951. Find out what the official language is




buzzghana.com




.


----------



## Wally Garten (Nov 19, 2020)

Oh, man -- instabuy for me, too. I really dug the rawness of Hadziha. Thanks, @DSmolken!


----------



## DSmolken (Nov 20, 2020)

The older locals say these languages are ancient; I haven't checked how much linguists agree. But one thing about Ewe and possibly the other languages which makes choir libraries easier: all syllables end with vowels. No need to worry about syllables ending with anything other than a sustain. It isn't quite as simple as Japanese, because there are dipthongs and some consonant clusters at syllable starts, but it sure does work out well for choirs.


----------



## Kent (Nov 20, 2020)

Love these!!


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 20, 2020)

kmaster said:


> Love these!!


Crazy good aren’t they. It so inspires me to listen to more African music. Yesterday I immediately gave my Fela Kuti records a spin. “He Miss Road”, what a jam.



DSmolken said:


> It isn't quite as simple as Japanese, because there are dipthongs and some consonant clusters at syllable starts, but it sure does work out well for choirs.


I had a look at the syllables and was also reminded of Japanese. Which would be a great next avenue for Karoryfer to explore, choir-wise


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 20, 2020)




----------



## DSmolken (Nov 20, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> I had a look at the syllables and was also reminded of Japanese. Which would be a great next avenue for Karoryfer to explore, choir-wise


Somebody else on the Discord also mentioned this a few weeks ago. Do Japanese movies and games often have choirs singing in Japanese on the soundtracks?


----------



## pulsedownloader (Nov 20, 2020)

Really unique product, well done


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 20, 2020)

DSmolken said:


> Do Japanese movies and games often have choirs singing in Japanese on the soundtracks?


Not very knowledgeable, we need @kmaster to answer this. Maybe @Haakond is also into Japanese games, I forget...

Anyhow, the only sort-of-recent very Japanese game I have played was NIER:Automata. It had some great music.


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Nov 20, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> True. He’s the Bob Ross of West Africa. By the way, the walkthrough doubles as a cultural and linguistic course. These phrases are in some of the oldest human languages around. Very cool!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


PjDaAuthor aka The African King aka Bob Ross LMAO 😂


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 20, 2020)

Hi @PjDaAuthor. Your choir sounds great. Did I understand correctly that you also performed that killer hiphop track?


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 20, 2020)

PjDaAuthor said:


> PjDaAuthor aka The African King aka Bob Ross LMAO 😂


I did mean it as a compliment, mostly pertaining to your calm and soothing speaking voice in the walkthrough


----------



## Haakond (Nov 20, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Not very knowledgeable, we need @kmaster to answer this. Maybe @Haakond is also into Japanese games, I forget...
> 
> Anyhow, the only sort-of-recent very Japanese game I have played was NIER:Automata. It had some great music.




There are some JRPG soundtracks that has choirs, but not all. Some games has one or two songs with a solo vocalist for the main theme or credits


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 20, 2020)

Haakond said:


> There are some JRPG soundtracks that has choirs, but not all. Some games has one or two songs with a solo vocalist for the main theme or credits


Cool! And are those typically -for lack of a better or more politically correct word- “western” choirs, or “ethnic” Japanese ones?


----------



## Haakond (Nov 20, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Cool! And are those typically -for lack of a better or more politically correct word- “western” choirs, or “ethnic” Japanese ones?



From what I know, the choirs are pretty “western”, and some sings in Latin. And a lot of oh and ah!


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Nov 22, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Hi @PjDaAuthor. Your choir sounds great. Did I understand correctly that you also performed that killer hiphop track?


Yes I did all that. Piotrek did the most though, that instrumentation and mixing and the hook compliments my rap verses and make it all seamless 👊🏾


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Nov 22, 2020)

I never knew Bob Ross until this morning I seen a gif of him painting flawlessly and as easy as we would breathe in and that's when I realized how high of a pedestal you've putting me on. 😊🙏🏾 Bob Ross is like greatest of the greats so that makes my head real big even if im only being compared to his soothing voice. This the first time ever narrating over a YouTube video so I did it first thing in the morning right after waking up and tried real hard to relax as much as possible. 😁😁😁


doctoremmet said:


> I did mean it as a compliment, mostly pertaining to your calm and soothing speaking voice in the walkthrough


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Nov 22, 2020)

PjDaAuthor said:


> I never knew Bob Ross until this morning I seen a gif of him painting flawlessly and as easy as we would breathe in and that's when I realized how high of a pedestal you've putting me on. 😊🙏🏾 Bob Ross is like greatest of the greats so that makes my head real big 😁😁😁


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Nov 22, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> I did mean it as a compliment, mostly pertaining to your calm and soothing speaking voice in the walkthrough





doctoremmet said:


> Hi @PjDaAuthor. Your choir sounds great. Did I understand that you also performed that killer hiphop track?


Thanks, I'm just glad we was able to complete the choir project since the Covid almost ruined our chances 🙏🏾


----------



## doctoremmet (Nov 22, 2020)

PjDaAuthor said:


> Thanks, I'm just glad we was able to complete the choir project since the Covid almost ruined our chances 🙏🏾


Job well done Sir!


----------



## DSmolken (Nov 23, 2020)

Haakond said:


> From what I know, the choirs are pretty “western”, and some sings in Latin. And a lot of oh and ah!


True, from what digging I've done. So, the reason to record a Japanese choir would not really be the demand for Japanese choir vocals, specifically, but mainly the fact that it's a language whose syllables work out well for a virtual choir. And, well, it might be easier to record choirs in East Asia than anywhere in the West for quite a while.

Ewe would probably need about two-three times as many syllables as Japanese for a full wordbuilder, I'm estimating. Polish, with syllables like "zgryz", forget it...


----------



## Kent (Nov 23, 2020)

PjDaAuthor said:


> Thanks, I'm just glad we was able to complete the choir project since the Covid almost ruined our chances 🙏🏾


What I like most about this choir is that you get a sense of the individuals. Part of that is the small ensemble size, part of that is the close-miking, and part of that is having their pictures on the UI, but it really gives a vibe of having a couple of friends over to hang out and do an impromptu recording session. Tons of humanity in here. Thanks so much!!


----------



## DSmolken (Jan 25, 2021)

No news with the samples themselves, but big news in the real world. Buy Hadziha and Torgbe at https://shop.karoryfer.com/category/samples if you haven't already, help Pj pay for his wedding!


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

DSmolken said:


> No news with the samples themselves, but big news in the real world. Buy Hadziha and Torgbe at https://shop.karoryfer.com/category/samples if you haven't already, help Pj pay for his wedding!



I am late to the party! But will buy today and give it a run! ( if my health allows, I’m little sick and weak).
CONGRATS on this nice release!!


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> I am late to the party! But will buy today and give it a run! ( if my health allows, I’m little sick and weak).
> CONGRATS on this nice release!!


Jorge, you’ll love it. While you’re in the Karoryfer store... check the latest release Glockenskull guitar too. Here’s a demo I did with it - featuring a very brief Torgbe cameo too: *)



*) edit: well, obviously the whole vibe of the thing was very much inspired by Torgbe in the first place...


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

@PjDaAuthor 

Best wishes! Great news to start a new week with!


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Jorge, you’ll love it. While you’re in the Karoryfer store... check the latest release Glockenskull guitar too. Here’s a demo I did with it - featuring a very brief Torgbe cameo too:



Wonderful! You got the spirit of African electric guitar playing! And the bass movement is super groovy a la Fela Kuti 👏🏾


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> Wonderful! You got the spirit of African electric guitar playing! And the bass movement is super groovy a la Fela Kuti 👏🏾


While the actual sampled instruments are Polish and Soviet. Go figure haha. That bass does have some serious low end though. The library has a patch called 809 haha.

Listen to these supersized 808s here:

View attachment Robotnicza- temp master.mp3


Guitar weirdness, again, is Glockenskull.


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> While the actual sampled instrument are Polish and Soviet. Go figure haha.


But you are the artist who created the atmosphere, very nice and decently use (in a good musical sense) of the choir also.


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> While the actual sampled instruments are Polish and Soviet.


I had an Afrobeat Band with:
- four Germans 
- one Bulgarian 
- one Southafrican
- two Colombians


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> I had an Afrobeat Band with:
> - four Germans
> - one Bulgarian
> - one Southafrican
> - two Colombians


- one Russian


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

Haha, so basically a multi-continental AfroBeat band lacking Africans...


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Haha, so basically a multi-continental AfroBeat band lacking Africans...


The only one was the Southafrican and we can say the Colombians with the african heritage (including me)...


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> The only one was the Southafrican and we can say the Colombians with the african heritage (including me)...


Missed that one! I should read more carefully... And I’m always trying to instill the knowledge into my kids that basically all good contemporary pop, rock and R&B stems from Africa, via blues and jazz. I also like all the feedback loops, like how US soul inspired Jamaican ska & reggae. And how that inspired Alpha Blondy and the likes, how Fela was inspired by James Brown etc.


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

Ok, I just bought Torgbe, very eager to use it, but I am waiting for the download link. Does it come in another email?


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

And now I’m off to put some Tenor Saw on the turntable. I hope you get well soon Jorge. Any new cool VSL demos in the making?


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> Ok, I just bought Torgbe, very eager to use it, but I am waiting for the download link. Does it come in another email?


It usually does.


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Missed that one! I should read more carefully... And I’m always trying to instill the knowledge into my kids that basically all good contemporary pop, rock and R&B stems from Africa, via blues and jazz. I also like all the feedback loops, like how US soul inspired Jamaican ska & reggae. And how that inspired Alpha Blondy and the likes, how Fela was inspired by James Brown etc.


High Life was highly inspired/influenced from Afrocuban Music. The vinyls came from Central America to Africa back and it was a great influence in this LOOP.


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> High Life was highly inspired from Afrocuban Music.


Not at all familiar in the Cuban variants... any cool tips to embark on that journey?


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

Such a good looking chap


----------



## JEPA (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Not at all familiar in the Cuban variants... any cool tips to embark on that journey?


Oh oh..  I can send you a list with hundreds...


----------



## doctoremmet (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> Oh oh..  I can send you a list with hundreds...


Hit me with your top 5


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Jan 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> @PjDaAuthor
> 
> Best wishes! Great news to start a new week with!


Thanks 😊🙏🏾


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Jan 25, 2021)

This instrumentation is very vibely 💥💥💥


doctoremmet said:


> Jorge, you’ll love it. While you’re in the Karoryfer store... check the latest release Glockenskull guitar too. Here’s a demo I did with it - featuring a very brief Torgbe cameo too: *)
> 
> 
> 
> *) edit: well, obviously the whole vibe of the thing was very much inspired by Torgbe in the first place...


----------



## PjDaAuthor (Jan 25, 2021)

JEPA said:


> I am late to the party! But will buy today and give it a run! ( if my health allows, I’m little sick and weak).
> CONGRATS on this nice release!!


Sorry to hear about your health 🙏🏾 Wishing you a speedy recovery


----------

