Featuring world-renowned performing artist Saulius Petreikis playing his rare collection of wind instruments from around the world
Hollywood, CA (May 2, 2025) — EastWest’s latest release, Ancient Kingdom, isn’t just another virtual instrument collection – it’s a portal to uncharted sonic realms for composers and producers seeking to transcend the ordinary. Crafted by Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix, Ancient Kingdom harnesses the haunting, rare wind instruments of Saulius Petreikis. Paired with pristine multi-mic recordings and four innovative effects signal paths, this new collection defies convention, blending ancient timbres with futuristic textures to ignite your creative spark. This extraordinary collection is the key to crafting bold, timeless music and soundscapes.
Ancient Kingdom’s intuitive user interface invites you to explore the primal essence of rare wind instruments. Anchored by a vivid Center Display with striking 3D instrument models and immersive landscapes representing their origins, its interface offers effortless command over instrument articulations, multi-mic configurations, and more. The Left Panel empowers you to shape the sound with versatile Mood presets, powerful performance scripts, and precise MIDI controls, while the Right Panel transforms ancient tones into otherworldly textures through innovative FX mixes, convolution reverbs, and flexible channel routing.
Ancient Kingdom features 26 instrument categories, many of which have never been sampled extensively before, ranging from the Lithuanian birbyne, the Slovakian fujara, the Chinese hulusi, along with cinematic staples like the Armenian duduk, Indian bansuri and Persian ney flute. Each category contains an array of highly detailed instrument articulations and combinations across a range of instrument type subcategories that includes Long, Short, Effects, Legato, and Keyswitch.
In addition to the pristine surround sound recordings, this collection introduces four groundbreaking signal paths. These paths employ various innovative techniques, utilizing amplifiers, vibration enhancers, metallic surfaces, distortion amplifiers, megaphones, long tubes, and rotating speakers to create a dynamic and immersive auditory experience.
Price & Availability:
Ancient Kingdom is available at https://www.soundsonline.com/world-and-traditional/ancient-kingdom at the introductory price of $199 until May 30th (regular: $299) for a perpetual license. It is also included in every ComposerCloud+ subscription which is only $9.99/month or $99/year during the 10 Year Anniversary Sale of ComposerCloud+ until May 30, 2025.
About the team:
Doug Rogers (Producer)
Doug Rogers, a New Zealand-born producer and audio innovator, founded EastWest Sounds in 1988 in Los Angeles, shaping it into one of the world’s premier creators of virtual instruments. A visionary in sampling, he has earned over 120 industry awards, including multiple NAMM TEC Awards for productions like Hollywood Orchestra, Hollywood Choirs, and Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra. His innovations have redefined music production. In 2006, he transformed the historic Western Recorders into EastWest Studios, a home for over 200 Grammy-nominated artists. Rogers continues to push boundaries through innovations like ComposerCloud+, giving composers global access to EastWest’s vast catalog—including the latest release, Ancient Kingdom, where timeless instruments meet cinematic imagination.
Nick Phoenix (Producer)
Nick Phoenix, a London-born, American-raised composer and sonic visionary, has redefined music production through his groundbreaking work with EastWest Sounds and as co-founder of Two Steps From Hell. For over two decades, he’s crafted iconic virtual instruments like Hollywood Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, and Stormdrum, earning hundreds of awards for innovations like choirs that sing typed words and custom convolution reverbs. His epic music, streamed by millions, has scored 1,000+ film trailers and helped spark a global genre. Now, Phoenix channels his creative fire into Ancient Kingdom, a virtual instrument collection co-produced with Doug Rogers. Featuring Saulius Petreikis’ rare wind instruments and four revolutionary effects paths, Phoenix blends ancient echoes with futuristic flair for a truly immersive sonic journey.
Saulius Petreikis (Performer)
Saulius Petreikis is a Lithuanian composer and wind instrument virtuoso, known for blending ancient Samogitian-Baltic harmonies with global World Music traditions. Over the past 20 years, he has released 11 original albums, contributed to more than 30 others, and performed in major international projects such as Two Steps From Hell, Hans Zimmer: A New Dimension, and The World of Hans Zimmer – An Immersive Symphony. Mastering over 50 unique wind instruments, Saulius electrifies audiences with spirit-lifting improvisations and genre-defying performances that resonate worldwide. He also composes for film, theater, and video games, collaborating with artists across disciplines to create powerful, boundary-breaking works, leaving a profound mark on the global music scene.
About EASTWEST
EastWest Sounds (www.soundsonline.com) has been dedicated to perpetual innovation and uncompromising quality of Virtual Instruments for over 37 years, setting the industry standard as the most critically acclaimed sound developer. Find more about EastWest at soundsonline.com.