Doug Rogers is President of EastWest, the Soundsonline website and owner of EastWest Studios. Here he chats to Sam Inglis about what it takes to develop their award-winning sample library releases and how you can access everything via their subscription service, ComposerCloud+.
Show Notes
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:35 - The Beginnings Of ComposerCloud+
05:19 - The Scale Of Production
08:24 - Benefits Of Subscription Services
10:48 - Individual Sounds On Demand
13:24 - Developing OPUS
18:08 - The Orchestrator Tool
20:40 - The Development Of MIDI
23:59 - AI And The Musician
28:00 - Anyone Can Make Music
31:36 - Working With Top Engineers
36:46 - Outro
Doug Rogers - Biog
With over three decades of experience in the audio industry, founder and producer DOUG ROGERS is the recipient of many industry awards including "Recording Engineer of the Year". "The Art of Digital Music" named him one of "56 Visionary Artists & Insiders" in the book of the same name.
In 1988 he founded EASTWEST, the most critically acclaimed virtual (software) instrument developer in the world. Since then, EASTWEST has been the recipient of over 120 international industry awards. Rogers' uncompromising approach to quality and innovative ideas has enabled EASTWEST to lead the industry for over 35 years.
After forming EASTWEST, he produced the very first commercial drum samples collection, followed with a sequel co-produced with Bob Clearmountain, which was so successful a new industry was born. Rogers and Clearmountain produced subsequent releases that won many awards. In 1991, Rogers released the first collection to include MIDI-driven drum loops, which enabled users to adjust each loop tempo in their DAW without adjusting pitch or decreasing quality.
With sampling technology improving, Rogers released the Ultimate Piano Collection in 1995, the first multi-velocity sampled piano collection, which received many industry awards. In 1997 Rogers partnered with Nemesys to create the GigaSampler software and instrument collections, which pioneered the use of "streaming from hard drive technology", a technical breakthrough without which, the high quality virtual instruments of today would not be possible.
In 2003 he co-produced with Nick Phoenix the first surround sound virtual orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, engineered by 9-time Grammy nominated classical recording engineer Keith Johnson, and recorded in a 'state of the art' concert hall (awarded Keyboard Magazine "Key Buy Award," EQ Magazine "Exceptional Quality Award," Computer Music Magazine "Performance Award," and G.A.N.G. [Game Audio Network Guild] "Best Sound Library Award"); and followed that release with Symphonic Choirs (awarded Electronic Musician "2006 Editor's Choice Award," G.A.N.G. "Best Sound Library Award," and Keyboard Magazine "Key Buy Award"). Symphonic Choirs and its predecessor Voices of the Apocalypse were the first music software products to enable users to type in words for the choirs to sing in any key with a computer. This was followed in 2007 with EastWest/Quantum Leap Pianos, the most detailed virtual piano collection ever produced, also in surround sound.
In 2005 Rogers established a software development division for EASTWEST, and released the first 64-bit virtual instruments that became the new standard.
Rogers most recent productions include Fantasy Orchestra, Forbidden Planet, String Machine and Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Hollywood Orchestrator, co-produced with Sonuscore; Hollywood Backup Singers, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Voices Of Opera featuring Larisa Martinez (Andrea Bocelli's soprano) and Carlton Moe (Phantom of the Opera tenor), co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Voices Of Soul featuring C.C. White, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Hollywood Choirs, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Spaces II Reverb, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Voices Of The Empire featuring Uyanga Bold, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; EastWest MIDI Guitar Series, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; ProDrummer 1, co-produced with Mark "Spike" Stent; ProDrummer 2, co-produced with Joe Chiccarelli; Ghostwriter, co-produced with Steven Wilson; Hollywood Solo Violin, Hollywood Solo Cello, and Hollywood Harp, co-produced with Nick Phoenix; Hollywood Strings, Hollywood Brass, Hollywood Orchestral Woodwinds, and Hollywood Orchestral Percussion, co-produced with Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen. The Hollywood Orchestra series was engineered by 2019 Grammy winner (Best Engineered Album, Classical) Shawn Murphy (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park The Lost World, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Titanic, Minority Report, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, The Passion Of The Christ, X-Men: The Last Stand, Memoirs of a Geisha and Ice Age, etc.); The Dark Side, co-produced with David Fridmann; and Fab Four with Beatles engineer Ken Scott, inspired by the sounds of the Beatles. Both Fab Four and The Dark Side won M.I.P.A Awards, judged by over 100 international music magazines.
For more historical background, read the interview with Doug Rogers in Sound On Sound magazine HERE.
Editor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and is the author of two books: Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006).
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