Aztec Death Whistle
Click Here for MP3 Demos [split] Aztec Death Whistle is a deeply sampled folk wind instrument sample library that captures the dark soul of the ancient Aztec death whistle, a ceremonial clay resonator used during human sacrifice rituals and warfare at the height of the Aztec (historically also known as the Mexica) empire in Central America, during the 14th and 15th centuries AD in what has now become modern day Mexico. This whistle — technically grouped into the same family of whistles as bird and animal call whistles — is made of kiln-fired clay. It has two chambers which create air cavities that are resonated by blowing into the top of the skull. It produces a harsh, raspy atonal vocal sound very much like a dying breath, but with a shrill demonic essence that is certain to evoke dread on an almost instinctive level. It is the sound of death incarnate. We recorded this instrument exhaustively, in a dry studio, as well as from close and far positions in a large open hall