We took Temple Drums of India, our newest collection of rare South Indian ceremonial percussion for Sonic Atlas to one of India’s most celebrated film composers: B. Ajaneesh Loknath. National Award winner, the composer behind Kantara, the man who put the raw power of South Indian traditional percussion on cinema screens worldwide.
And when he heard it, he said:
“Nobody has captured the sounds at such a grassroot level.”
When the composer who scored Kantara, a film built on the soul of South Indian traditional percussion hears Temple Drums of India and reacts like that, it tells you something real about what was recorded.
The Reaction
Kantara Composer Reacts to Sonic Atlas
When we showed the Temple Drums of India packs from the Sonic Atlas VST to Ajaneesh, his instant reaction was –
“Sonically, nobody has done this deep level until now.”
He was particularly excited by the creative possibilities that the Pancha Vadhyam Kit had to offer.
“It instantly gives a different feel.”
Why This Reaction Matters
Ajaneesh holding the SIIMA Award for the Best Music Director – Kantara
Ajaneesh Loknath’s entire compositional identity for the past decade has been built on what he calls the soul of the music, the place where traditional South Indian percussion is the actual rhythmic and emotional language of the story being told.
Kantara had the temple percussions as its first language. That score worked because Ajaneesh understood what these traditions actually sound like, how they move, how they build, and what they carry culturally, and he translated that understanding into a cinematic score that crossed all language barriers.
When someone with that relationship to this music reacts to Temple Drums of India, it is definitely a technical and cultural validation.
“Quality of Samples and the authentic patterns which the traditional musicians play, is retained very well”
This is what he had to say after auditioning the samples from the kits.
What He Heard – Temple Drums of India
Sonic Atlas – Temple Drums of India
Temple Drums of India is a collection of three rare South Indian ceremonial percussion kits for Pitch Innovations Sonic Atlas (AU / VST3 / AAX). These are not loop packs or processed samples. They are playable, velocity-sensitive, multi-mic instruments built from full ensemble recordings at source.
All three traditions in this collection are performed within and around the temple walls of South India; the same cultural space that has shaped the sonic identity of Indian cinema for decades.
Pancha Vadhyam Kit
“Pancha Vadhyam Kit is my favorite. It instantly gives a different feel.”
The Pancha Vadhyam Kit turned out to be the favorite for Ajaneesh. It is Kerala’s classical five-instrument temple orchestra: Thimila, Maddalam, Idakka (the talking drum), Ilathalam, and Kombu. The only one of the three kits to include a melodic percussion voice in the ensemble, through the Idakka’s pitch-bending playing technique.
What’s inside:
- 12 master musicians recorded
- 265 loops and fills across multiple tempos
- 1,056 one-shots with velocity layers and round robins
- 1,321 samples in total
- Individual instrument patches for all five instruments
Chenda Melam Kit
Kerala’s most powerful temple percussion ensemble. A 15-piece ensemble of Chenda drummers, built around a slow pulse that doubles in speed stage by stage: the same escalation architecture that defines a trailer climax or a cinematic build.
What’s inside:
- 15 master musicians recorded
- 307 loops and fills across multiple tempos
- 1,164 one-shots with velocity layers and round robins
- 1,471 samples: the largest kit in the collection
- Close and Ambient mic positions with in-plugin mix control
Kailaya Vathiyam Kit
Tamil Nadu’s deep ceremonial drum ensemble, built around the Murasu, a large goat-skin barrel drum whose low-end weight sits in a register that most percussion instruments do not reach naturally.
What’s inside:
- 13 master musicians recorded
- 211 loops and fills across multiple tempos
- 948 one-shots with velocity layers and round robins
- 1,159 samples in total
- Ceremonial phrase and procession patches
Built for Composers Like Ajaneesh
Temple Drums of India was built for exactly the kind of scoring work that defines Ajaneesh Loknath’s work.
“Bringing all the traditional musicians from the grassroots level and making it a library – I think sonically nobody has done this deep level until now.”
The kits can be used for:
🎬 Cinematic scoring: the ensemble’s built-in escalation structure maps directly onto scene climaxes and dramatic progressions
🎬 Trailer composition: the Chenda Melam’s sharp attack and dense unison cut through any mix at trailer playback levels
🎼 Hybrid orchestral: the Kailaya Vathiyam’s Murasu provides sub-bass weight that sits under orchestral strings without competing
🎛️ Modern production: tempo-synced loops, time-stretching, and the full Sonic Atlas FX chain keep the ensemble controllable in any production workflow
🌍 Cultural authenticity: these are specific traditions from specific places, recorded with the people who actually perform them