Genelec brings healing sounds to wellness centre
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"It’s a truly multi-use space with the focus on healthy living," explains Andrew Goldin, Gaia Nomaya’s founder and CEO, who launched the venue with his partners Sara Ramirez Loaiza and his brother David Goldin. But the central core of Gaia Nomaya is its Wellness Womb, an island of serenity with a calming, immersive aural ambience created using eight Genelec 4430A Smart IP Installation Loudspeakers.
The installation began as Robert Stern, account manager with Guitar Centre Professional (GC Pro), had a conversation with audio engineer and designer Silas Drewchin (of the Praxis Audio Design Group), a friend of the founders and the facility, who told Stern he had a client, Gaia Nomaya, with a very unique space and wanted to install immersive audio. "I recently had an exchange with Genelec Inc.’s Senior Technical Sales Manager Paul Stewart, who made me aware of their new IP speakers, the 4430As, which we agreed would be perfect for this installation and use," stated Stern.
"Then I pitched the idea of installing the 4430s to Silas and Gaia Nomaya, who had a lot of questions, so we jumped on a call with Paul, who offered a comprehensive explanation – and soon everyone was super-pumped about the idea. So I ordered and delivered them to Silas, who installed them at the facility."
The Genelec 4430As are used to play continuous streams of soothing music and sounds that evoke forests, oceans and other tranquil environments. It’s the Genelecs’ ability to faithfully reproduce all of those sonic experiences that make them so valuable to Gaia Nomaya’s mission.
"The beauty of the system is that it lets the music transport people to those environments," says Goldin. "But they’re also excellent for all of the other things we do here, from having a DJ in to hosting jazz and other types of music. The Genelec loudspeakers do it all – and sound great doing it."
There’s one other aspect that both Gaia Nomaya and Genelec have in common that supports both their missions. "One of the things that makes our location special is that 90 percent of the space is made with repurposed and reusable materials," Goldin explains, pointing to the venue’s bar and other elements throughout the space that use 100-year-old repurposed Coney Island boardwalk wood.
"And if you look around, you’ll see what look like giant crystals all over the space, but they're actually glass rocks, called eco rocks, that were recycled from the ocean. Well, we learned that the vast majority of Genelec loudspeakers are made from recycled aluminium, which is very beneficial for the environment. Once we found out about that, it made so much sense that we connected with the company, because their mission really aligns with ours. Sustainable is beautiful, and so is Genelec’s sound."
