What happens when you take ancient instruments, capture them in stunning high-definition audio, and then run them through a synth engine inspired by video games and nonlinear storytelling? You get MNTRA.io—a boutique plugin maker that’s been quietly reshaping how musicians think about sound design and sampling.
Part art house, part audio lab, MNTRA isn’t your typical VST developer. Their instruments don’t just sound different—they feel different. Whether it’s a death whistle from Mesoamerica, a Tibetan horn, or a modular synth run through an ektara, everything in their catalog is tuned for expression, not emulation. If you’ve ever thought that plugins were getting a little predictable, MNTRA is here to shake things up.
Meet the Minds Behind the Machines
MNTRA.io is the brainchild of Brian D’Oliveira, a Montreal-based composer and sound artist with a serious résumé (Resident Evil 7, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf). Backed by his team at La Hacienda Creative, D’Oliveira set out to build virtual instruments that go beyond conventional sampling—ones that treat sound as a living, evolving form of sculpture.
This “animistic” approach to sound design—yes, that’s what they call it—isn’t just branding. It’s a guiding philosophy. MNTRA records real-world sources at crazy high resolutions (we’re talking 384 kHz/32-bit territory), and then sculpts them into playable textures using a proprietary engine called MNDALA 2. The result? Instruments that breathe, growl, shimmer, and evolve in ways that defy easy categorization.
MNDALA 2: Not Your Average Engine
All of MNTRA’s libraries are powered by their in-house engine, MNDALA 2—a sleek, performance-driven plugin designed to work in any DAW via VST3 or AU. What sets it apart isn’t just the fidelity of the sounds (though that’s ridiculous in its own right), but the way you interact with them.
Instead of tweaking ADSR envelopes and dragging sliders, you play with X/Y/Z performance controls. These three-dimensional macros control multiple parameters simultaneously, creating fluid movement across your soundscape. It feels less like dialing in a patch and more like steering an instrument in real time.
The whole interface is animated—each instrument features unique visuals that pulse and shift with your performance. It’s immersive, it’s intuitive, and it’s fun as hell to use.
The Library Lineup: Where the Weird and Wonderful Live
MNTRA’s catalog is stacked with unconventional sonic tools—many of which are inspired by obscure ethnic instruments, modular synths, or just plain weird sound experiments. Here’s a look at their current offerings:
Free to Play: RASA
Start here if you’re curious. Rasa is MNTRA’s free gateway drug into the world of sound sculpture. It features sample material from several flagship libraries, including death whistles, Tibetan horns, and volcanic rock instruments. A fantastic introduction to the MNDALA workflow.
Vespera Standard / Pro
A transformed modular synth library. The source material is analog synths run through resonant acoustic bodies—drums, ektaras, nyckelharpas—then processed to within an inch of their lives. The Pro version adds more range, round robins, and deeper dynamics.
Tenebrae
Dark, apocalyptic textures born from a collab with Snakes of Russia. Think haunted synth pads, tortured textures, and cinematic grit. If your soundtracks lean dystopian, this one’s for you.
Pripyat
Synthesized radiation. This one leans into EMI recordings, industrial tones, and pure digital decay. It’s cold, creepy, and perfect for glitch-heavy productions.
Kymera
A horror toolkit built from dry ice screams, distorted hurdy-gurdies, and field recordings of animals and scrap metal. It’s messy, chaotic, and wonderfully twisted.
Atma
Sacred soundscapes using Tibetan singing bowls, temple bells, and volcanic rock instruments. Ethereal, ambient, and incredibly detailed. This one’s all about meditative textures and slow-burning swells.
Orakle + Orakle X
These libraries go deep into ancient sounds—ritual drums, overtone singing, bowed cymbals, and medieval instrumentation. Orakle X expands the palette with thunderous low-end and cinematic drama. If you’re scoring something epic, start here.
Arca
String instruments like you’ve never heard them. Traditional bowed tools from Turkey and Mongolia get twisted through sci-fi filters and resonators. The result? Half folk, half futuristic.
Oro
Metallic percussion from Colombia, sculpted into sharp, percussive hits and resonant stabs. Great for hybrid scoring or experimental rhythm beds.
Ha Noi
Vietnamese folk instruments—bamboo flutes, gongs, zithers—recorded and manipulated for a uniquely lush world texture. Especially good for ambient or soundtrack layering.
Galactron
Retro-future synths drenched in psychedelic sparkle. It’s like a sci-fi acid trip through 1983. A little bit Devo, a little bit warp drive.
UDW + UDW X
Death whistles. Yes, actual Aztec death whistles. These make unsettling screeches and primal wails, perfect for horror or tribal textures. The X version includes even more variations.
Naada
This one’s based around the resonances of Indian instruments. Temple bells, tanpuras, harmoniums—you name it. The vibe is mystical, rich, and very usable in ambient or spiritual compositions.
Huracan
A library inspired by Mesoamerican wind gods. You’ll find flutes, percussive gusts, and other air-driven instruments that pack an earthy punch.
Caprakan
One of MNTRA’s largest libraries, this one focuses on Mesoamerican and Andean ceremonial sounds. Deep drums, winds, quartz resonators—it’s tribal, massive, and alive.
Pyramids
Yes, literal quartz pyramids. This one is all about harmonic resonance and sacred geometry. Bell-like tones and shimmering overtone magic.
Borealis
MNTRA’s FX plugin—a lush reverb and delay processor that’s as much a performance instrument as it is a mixing tool. Uses envelope followers and modulation to create spatial effects that respond dynamically to your sound.
System Requirements and Pricing
MNTRA’s instruments are premium, but they’re reasonably priced considering the uniqueness of their content. Prices range from free (Rasa, some “LE” versions) to around $149 for flagship libraries like Caprakan or Orakle X. You can also grab their full bundle (everything they offer) for under $800 if you’re all in.
Minimum specs aren’t crazy—a decent CPU, 8 GB RAM, and at least 10–20 GB of free space depending on the instrument. Most run fine on modern setups, however, don’t even think of trying these on an external unless you have an SSD. The high sample rates and round robins, need fast read/write speeds. Trust me, it’s worth it.
Speaking of, here’s heads-up for power users: If you’re considering grabbing the entire MNTRA catalog or even a few of the larger libraries, an external SSD is strongly recommended. These libraries can get huge when combined together, and having them on fast storage will save you both space headaches and loading time.
Formats include VST3 and AU (Mac and Windows), and many support AAX for Pro Tools users. MNDALA itself is lightweight, but the sample libraries are hefty, so SSD storage is highly recommended.
Why MNTRA Stands Out
What makes MNTRA special isn’t just the quality—it’s the perspective. While most sample developers try to replicate real instruments, MNTRA goes a bit further. They take real sources and frequently push them past the point of recognition, turning them into hybrid creatures that exist somewhere between analog and synthetic, organic and alien.
There’s a refreshing lack of genre pigeonholing here too. Whether you’re scoring a sci-fi thriller, making ambient drone music, or designing horror SFX, MNTRA’s tools feel like a secret weapon.
And perhaps most importantly: these instruments are fun. The beautiful interfaces, the wild modulations, the unexpected sonic results—these are as much a pleasure to look at and program as they are to play.
Final Thoughts: A Sonic Multiverse Worth Exploring
MNTRA.io isn’t trying to replace your string section or mimic your favorite synth. It’s carving its own path—fusing ethnographic field recordings with high-tech DSP to give you something new, something strange, something beautiful.
If you’re a composer, producer, or sound designer looking to break out of the usual mold, MNTRA’s lineup is an open invitation to get weird. And in a world full of cookie-cutter plugins, that’s a very welcome thing.
TRY MNTRA’S LIBRARIES HERE!
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