PANTONE Color of the Year 2020: The Classic Blue 19-4052 Sample Pack

Every year the Pantone Color Institute names a color of the year—a single swatch to accompany the global movements and trends that define us. 2020's color of the year? Pantone Classic Blue 19-4052. To mark the intersection of Classic Blue and our current moment, Audio UX, LANDR and PANTONE came together to answer a simple question: What does Pantone Classic Blue 19-4052 sound like? The answer? The PANTONE Color of the Year 2020: The Classic Blue 19-4052 Sample Pack—a conceptual audio embodiment that explores the multi-sensorial experience of sound and color as one.The Classic Blue 19-4052 Sample Pack brings you classic instruments creatively processed to inspire lush, tranquil soundscapes, setting the stage for unique combinations—at once a familiar embrace and endless unknown possibility.The cornerstone of the pack is cello recorded through a classic ribbon mic, in the main room of an 1800’s cottage. The cello was processed in real-time with modular effects including texture synthesizers, microsound tape players, modulating filters, granular samplers and granular delays. The human voice appears throughout the pack, including echoing, ambient loops and resampled syllables that create surprising and decontextualized patches. There are also subtle references to Jazz: Trumpet, upright bass and more are transformed into sounds with modern articulations and envelopes. You’ll also find drum samples crafted from salvaged vinyl and recordings of a Gretsch custom kit played with brushes to create a warm, strong foundation.The tonal center of this pack dances around the note B, referencing Alexander Scriabin’s clavier à lumières where B translated to the color blue.The Classic Blue 19-4052 Sample Pack feels like a reclaimed memory, an audible halcyon that lifts you up to explore a higher space. Discover a dusty LP in your attic containing an unreleased record from tomorrow, or maybe yesterday. Lean into the musicality of analog artifacts, including distortion and pitch drift as well as tracking errors, tape hiss and hum. Use them to paint something new, something borrowed, something blue.