Electro is the genre du jour in the club scene. Not since Big Beat and French House in the mid-'90s has a sound so dominated dance music. To be candid, I'm a fan myself.



With Electro-House, Sample Magic has delivered the definitive collection of up-to-the-nanosecond loops in this style. If you're a fan of D. Ramirez, Micky Slim, Deadmau5, Mark Knight, or Chris Lake, this 1.8GB collection of loops, hits, and beats in Reason, Kontakt, EXS24, and HALion formats is going to rock your world.



The loops come in three sensible BPMs - 125, 127, and 130 - and are organized by type, such as Drums, Bass, FX, Guitar, Music, Synth, and Top Percussion. Since file names include the musical key, mixing and matching is a straightforward affair. Tuned guitar chords in three different styles (Chugs, Dirty, and Twangy) are just packed with grit and crunch.



For rolling your own loops, several hundred drum and percussion hits are on hand. The vast majority of these are amazing for getting your juices flowing, especially when used in conjunction with Apple Logic's Ultrabeat, Ableton Live's new Drum Racks, or sample-based drum plug-ins, for that matter.



As with any genre-based loopware, the bottom line is authenticity and production quality, and frankly, Electro-House is one of the best sounding loop libraries I have ever encountered. The drum loops nail the sound of the genre and are so punchily mastered that you probably won't need to add any compression or EQ of your own. This is saying a lot. The only downside is that I would have liked files that break each loop into layers, such as kick, snare, and so on. This would make them unbeatable for building your own intros, outros, and breakdowns.



Bass loops are another standout in this collection, with pitch wiggles, triplet fills (a must for mainstream electro grooves) and unexpected blips and stabs. Synth and effect loops are equally useful, with a fair number that venture into progressive house and tech-house territory.



After spending the better part of a month with Electro-House, I can honestly say that it's absolutely essential for adding that white-hot electro vibe to your tracks. In fact, I really wouldn't be surprised to hear quite a few of these loops popping up on the Beatport charts in the coming months. They're that good, and worth every penny.