Why we founded Secret Samples

Our story

Two composers, one recurring problem: the scene needed a sound that did not exist in any library we owned. Everything we have built since started there.

A solid foundation

How do you find a new sound?

Unique instruments are how a composer develops a voice of their own. But the bigger developers face a problem we do not have: at their scale, they have to play safe. Another string library sells. A library of bowed metal plates has to be argued for.

So they keep perfecting what already exists, and the strange sounds never get recorded by anyone.

Who we are

Two composers who work in film, television and production music – and who kept hitting the same gap.

Johannes Riedl

ComposerMixing engineer

A German composer of film and production music, and a mixing engineer. Since 2019 he has worked on more than 25 film productions, including projects for companies under the creative leadership of Idris Elba and Morgan Freeman.

His work includes the short film Into the Woods for the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts in New York, the film One Can Only Hope And Wonder for the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, and the multiple award-winning WingMan. Alongside that, his music has reached numerous television credits through production music libraries.

Tayib Thomas

ComposerProducerEngineerEducator

Four professions pointing at one thing: making better music, and helping other people make better music. Recent productions have run on American and European channels including Fox, Fox Sports, Sky Sports, Nickelodeon and Sixx.

His approach is hybrid – he mixes genres and goes after the particular strength each one brings. The “Hip X Rock” project with Johannes Riedl is where the idea for Secret Samples came from: building the virtual instruments needed to craft sounds nobody else had.

Ready to finalise your project?

Two instruments so far, each built because a scene needed it. Have a listen.

Explore the instruments