Tucked away in the unassuming meatpacking district in New York City, the music/sound design company New York Noise has been mixing tunes at its present locale for the past two years. Before that, the shop operated out of New York Noise president/creative director Rick DePofi’s Sullivan Street apartment. With its swanky mix of Latin, jazz, orchestral and lounge music, New York Noise is all about "making cool tracks" no matter where the facility is housed, asserted DePofi.
Recently, DePofi wrote and arranged (with the exception of "Pockets" which was scored by New York Noise colleague Danny Louis) some pretty cool tracks for Sears Fashions Spring/ Summer campaign via Young & Rubicam, New York, directed by David Cameron of bicoastal The A+R Group. The spots-"Spring Collections," "Bathing Suit," Spring Skirts," "Dress," "Capris," "Pockets" and "Summer Extra Small" as well as a :45 point of purchase piece entitled "In Store" (which was out of Y&R, Chicago)-presented a unique twist for New York Noise in that they were completely music driven with no voiceover.
"Every time we get a job, we ask ourselves how we can make everything sound like a little record, and not like a commercial," explained DePofi, who willingly accepted the Sears challenge. The music featured in the spots, which made their debut during the Academy Awards, makes you want to pick up a martini and dance the cha-cha barefoot with a sombrero on your head. That is to say the adept mix of lounge lizard mambo and a Latin lover’s paradise begs the question, "Hey, where can I get the CD?"
What brings that "little record" feel to New York Noise’s spot scores is the fact that its composers are all involved in music gigs outside the commercial scene. DePofi is the co-leader of the cover band "Mojo Mancini," whose music has been featured in the original campaign theme for AT&T’s "Paul Reiser" via Foote Cone & Belding, New York and in "Sheets" for Cotton Inc., through Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
In addition, New York Noise composer Ed Potokar is a club DJ, Danny Louis wrote a song for the feature Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh, Miki Navazio composed the original music for the feature All Over Me and Ed Choi, an orchestral/ choral scoring specialist, has a six-picture deal with Miramax. "We’re like a series of concentric circles where there is a lot of overlapping of skills. There is a certain amount of collaboration here on any given job," explained New York Noise executive producer Craig Bishop.
While New York Noise is known for putting out a wacky and eclectic mix of music, the shop wears many other musical hats. For instance, "Awful Soccer," a spot for Sony Digital Camcorder via Young & Rubicam, New York, has an epic, Star Wars-like sound scored by Ed Choi. Bishop hopes that the addition of Choi to the staff last January will bring more orchestral-based jobs to New York Noise.
Last year New York Noise created some formidable sound design for a PSA entitled "No" promoting Prepare, an organization that promotes female self-defense, out of J. Walter Thompson, New York. In the spot, directed by Compass Films director Don Hannah (at the time Hannah was with now defunct Citizen Film), the tension mounts as a stalker waits to pounce on a young woman in the street. To build the viewer’s anticipation, New York Noise infused the PSA with such subtleties as the throaty, guttural sound of a growling tiger ready to strike and a man’s heavy breathing.
"We do so many things that it’s hard to put it all on one reel and say ‘this is us,’ but if you ask, chances are we have it," concluded Bishop, holding up two more reels for proof.
