Apple has quietly released a brand new Sound Library pack for GarageBand on iPhone and iPad, Logic Pro for iPad, and Logic Pro for Mac called Eko Soul: Afrobeats Pack.
The new pack focuses heavily on Afrobeat-inspired grooves, percussion, live instrumentation and melodic loops, offering a noticeably different flavour from many of Apple’s recent electronic and dance-focused Sound Packs.
At the time of writing, there’s one odd omission here though: while the pack is available in GarageBand for iPhone and iPad, Logic Pro for iPad, and Logic Pro for Mac, it does not currently appear to be available in GarageBand for Mac.
What’s Included?
The exact contents depend on which app you’re using.
GarageBand for iPhone & iPad
In GarageBand iOS, the Eko Soul pack is fairly straightforward. You get:
- More than 370 Apple Loops
That’s it. No instrument patches, no drum kits, no Live Loops grid.
Still, the loops themselves are genuinely solid and cover a pretty broad range of sounds including:
- Congas and percussion
- Talking drums
- Shakers
- Electric guitar
- Saxophone
- Flutes
- Keys and pads
- Vocal loops
The overall vibe leans much more organic and instrument-driven than many previous Apple packs. There’s far less emphasis on trap-style 808s, Hip Hop grooves and electronic drum programming here.
Instead, Eko Soul feels warmer, looser and more performance-focused.
Apple describes the pack as drawing inspiration from:
“Talking drums, shekere grooves and Highlife syncopation born in Lagos and Accra.”
That description feels pretty accurate once you start previewing the loops.
Logic Pro Gets the Full Experience
While GarageBand users only get the loops, Logic Pro users get a much more complete package.
Logic Pro for iPad & Mac Includes:
- More than 370 Apple Loops
- 6 Drum Machine Designer Kits
- 10 Instrument Patches
- 1 Live Loops Grid
That extra content makes a fairly significant difference.
The Drum Machine Designer kits in particular stand out because they move away from the standard electronic kit approach Apple often defaults to. There’s a lot more percussion here, with congas, hand drums and layered rhythmic textures taking centre stage.
The included instrument patches also add a bit more flexibility for building original parts around the loops.
One of Apple’s More Interesting Recent Packs
What makes Eko Soul interesting is that it doesn’t really feel like Apple chasing current ‘viral’ or EDM production trends.
There’s a much bigger emphasis on:
- Groove
- Percussion
- Live instrumentation
- Musical phrasing
- Organic rhythm
The saxophone and guitar loops in particular sound excellent. Some of the sampled instruments genuinely feel far more usable than you might expect from a bundled stock library.
For GarageBand users especially, this pack could end up being one of those libraries you dip into regularly just to quickly spark ideas.
Live Loops Integration in Logic Pro
Logic Pro users also get a dedicated Live Loops grid project based around the pack.
It’s a nice way to quickly experiment with combinations of loops and explore the sounds without needing to build a project from scratch.
You can trigger entire scenes, remix grooves on the fly, and combine percussion, melodic loops and vocal chops pretty quickly.
It’s probably not the headline feature here, but it does make the pack feel more complete inside Logic Pro.
GarageBand for Mac Missing… For Now?
The strange thing about this release is the lack of support for GarageBand for Mac.
Whether this is intentional or simply delayed rollout remains unclear.
Given Apple recently updated GarageBand for Mac with the redesigned iOS-style icon and several under-the-hood fixes, it feels odd to leave the Mac version out entirely.
There’s a decent chance the pack arrives later via a silent Sound Library update, but right now, Mac-only GarageBand users appear to be missing out.
Eko Soul ends up being a surprisingly refreshing addition to Apple’s Sound Library collection.
Even if Afrobeat-inspired music isn’t something you regularly create, the pack contains a lot of genuinely useful loops and textures that could slot into pop, indie, hip-hop, lo-fi and cinematic productions pretty easily.
The more organic instrumentation helps it stand apart from many of Apple’s recent packs, and for Logic Pro users especially, the additional drum kits and instrument patches make this feel like one of the stronger Sound Library releases in a while.
For GarageBand users on iPhone and iPad, the lack of extra instruments is slightly disappointing, but the quality of the included loops does a lot to make up for it.