Sandblast Productions Blends Art and Technology at 1650 Broadway; Party Set for 6/4

Once America's most famous entertainment building, 1650 Broadway was home to musical luminaries Irving Berlin and Fats Waller. Legendary Carole King, Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka wrote some of music's most memorable songs in its halls. Now a team of musicians and audio engineers at Sandblast Productions has opened a new sound facility at 1650, sharing building space with arts and entertainment giants Cameron Mackintosh, the New York Orchestra and Whoopi Goldberg, among others.

Sandblast is bucking a trend. Downward pricing pressure, in-house mix suites, reduced production budgets and high rents have pushed a string of New York studio and audio post closings in recent years including Sony Studios, Howard Schwartz Recording, Nola, BiCoastal Music, Sound Hound and Sound One.

Sandblast blends art and technology to help clients tell stories with compelling music, distinctive sound design, state-of- the-art mixing and Grammy-Award winning audio restoration. Its musical depth and audio post mixing expertise set it apart, a difference recognized by its long-standing clients, including some of the biggest names in news and entertainment such as CBS, NBC, Showtime, HBO, Sesame Street, ESPN and many more.

The secret to Sandblast's success is its people. Co-founder, composer and producer Loren Toolajian has collaborated with playwrights Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, producer T Bone Burnett and others at the renowned Signature Theatre Company, and is a radio host for the Metropolitan Opera. Co-founder, percussionist and sound designer Ralph Kelsey has been creating sound design for ESPN's graphic packages for the past 15 years, and has mixed Saturday Night Live parody spots for 20 years. Co-founder and senior mixer Michael Ungar has worked on projects as varied as Sesame's Emmy Award-winning Outreach series, and created sonic baths for visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey, and cymatics guru Jeff Volk. Grammy Award-winning audio restoration engineer Bill Lacey writes for British publications Sound on Sound and Resolution.

The unique philosophy at Sandblast is best described by its founding members:

Kelsey: "The whole focus of Sandblast is that sound matters."

Toolajian: "Music creates permanent memories. It resides in a different part of your brain."

Ungar: "Audible frequencies-what we call sound-affect you on a level no other medium does, from the molecular to the cosmic."

On Wednesday, June 4, Sandblast is hosting a party at 1650 Broadway in the Iridium Jazz Club, home of legendary guitarist Les Paul, to celebrate the opening of its new facility with friends, clients and celebrities. Attendees will be able to tour the studio upon request. The party is by invitation only.

Learn more about Sandblast and the team at www.sandblastproductions.com.