Over the past couple of decades, New Yorkers have witnessed the successive invasion of SoHo by bohemian artists, upscale art dealers, avant-garde designers and hip hoteliers. Each of these groups was lured to the downtown Manhattan neighborhood for a variety of reasons, including ample loft space, distinct architecture and a central downtown location.
Soho Sounds Glenn Laredo and Matt Roth agree that SoHo is aesthetically pleasing and located in a prime area of the city, and they believe the neighborhood also fosters and encourages creativity.
Downtown is more conducive, artistically. Theres a mood, said sound designer/ engineer Roth. Youre just pummeled by culture more than just people in suits.
Roth joined Soho Sounds parent company, post house P.I.G. (Progressive Image Group) in 1993 as a video assistant, and was promoted to assistant engineer in 95. When P.I.G. earlier this year launched Soho Sound, a postproduction audio mixing facility, Roth teamed up with new hire Laredo, who had come downtown after serving as co-founder/engineer at East Side Audio in midtown Manhattan.
For Laredo, his move downtown has been eye-opening. I think its a very different environment from what midtown used to be, but I think thats really goodaits creative, he said.
The big move, of course, is downtown, asserted Roth. SoHo is becoming a terrific center of production.
Although the artistic aura of SoHo may contribute to Soho Sounds success, the facilitys talented staff (which includes producer Michelle Lurie and executive producer Wendy Bryant) is no doubt responsible for the churning out of cutting-edge sounds.
In its recent commercial work, Soho Sound demonstrates its versatility and downtown roots. In Duracells Breakdown, directed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA, Venice, Calif., via BBDO New York, Soho Sound remixed Wild Cherrys classic tune Play That Funky Music. In Burger Kings Satisfied, directed by Greg Califano of Zero 2 Sixty Productions, New York, via Uniworld Group, New York, Soho Sound worked on editing and mixing a compilation of soulful, R&B vocal tracks.
Soho Sounds magic also extends to sound-design-only spots. In Breakthrough, a spot for Gillettes new Mach 3 razor directed by Allan Van Rijn of bicoastal RSA USA via BBDO New York, Laredo and Roth created the sound of a supersonic jet soaring through the sky.
Laredo enjoyed sound designing Angel & Devil, an anti-smoking PSA for the Environmental Protection Agency, directed by Larry Robins of Link Entertainment, New York, via Plowshare Group, Stamford, Conn., in which the voices of an angel and the devil are manipulated and distorted.
It was a lot of fun. … It was a chance to use our imagination, said Laredo. It wasnt a real corporate thing. The client said, AOkay, have some fun with it, and thats all we didawe just went a little crazy with it.
Laredo and Roth argue that P.I.G. and Soho Sound clients, as well as the companies staffers, reap the benefits of a one-stop post shop.
Its a huge, open space, and everyone has their own office, but the walls are pretty much kind of glass. … I can talk to [editor] Andrea [Newhouse] for hours here and there. If I have one little thing, I just ask her a question, said Roth.
We have a whole campus here. Its great for me to be able to go down to the Editbox or to the editors and work directly with the clients in the early stages of planning, Laredo said. We like to think, and I think this last year has proven to us that clients will come to Progressive Image Group when they see that we can do the whole thing.
For now, the whole thing refers to P.I.G.s post services and Soho Sounds finishing, mixing, recording, and sound-design servicesabut Soho Sound is on the brink of expansion. The facility is looking into offering its clients a slew of services based on new technologies.
We are very interested in doing audio for the Internet, for multimedia, DVD and hi-def TV, enthused Laredo. Thats something were very much looking forward to.
