Aura Sound Design, a leading specialist in sound design for theatre and themed exhibitions, have fulfilled a long-held ambition: the release of the first volumes of the Aura Sound Effects Collection. With a long-term plan to make all of the sound effects from Aura's extensive collection available on CD, the first release consists of four CDs: Volume 1A Steam Trains, Volume 1B Steam Trains, Volume 2 Subway including New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hamburg, and Volume 3 Sea and Water. Most of the sound effects featured on the CDs are original, digital recordings made by Aura's team on HHB and Sony Pro DAT recorders using the best quality microphones, and the CD's include comprehensive descriptions of each track with any particular nuances identified.

The effects have long been used in shows by Aura's team of sound designers, including John A Leonard and Fergus O'Hare, whose recent shows include Noises Off at the National Theatre and in the West End, King Lear at the Theatr Clywd, Lulu for the Almeida at Kings Cross and in the USA, God Only Knows in the West End and on tour, A Lie of the Mind at the Donmar Warehouse and The Prisoner's Dilemma for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as the Madame Tussaud's Exhibition in New York. However, the release of the CDs has also already seen these effects used in shows as far apart as Colchester and the United States. Appropriately, given the transport-related theme of three of the CDs, the effects have also been incorporated into the re-design of the ultimate transport musical, Starlight Express, by sound designer Mick Potter.

The CDs are licensed so that sound designers can incorporate the effects into their own sound designs without further payment or credit, though the effects may not be directly copied or re-sold.


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