Los Angeles, California, USA, July 20th, 2026, FinanceWire
Katya Lee announced the release of "Blindfold," an immersive audio composition constructed entirely from manipulated environmental sounds, which has drawn the attention of a Los Angeles Dolby Atmos–capable studio and been used as study material while engineers learn multichannel immersive mixing techniques.
"Blindfold" was created without a single conventional instrument. The composition was constructed from manipulated gunshots, explosions, sirens and screams that were layered, processed, and arranged so the aggregate registered as an environment rather than as discrete sound effects. The track was conceived and executed as sound design: a deliberate effort to explore the boundary where processed environmental audio ceases to read as noise and begins to read as a spatialized musical environment.
The density and complexity of that sonic construction prompted engineers at LemonTree Studios, a Los Angeles facility equipped for Dolby Atmos playback and mixing, to use the piece as material for study while adopting Atmos workflows. The studio, listed among a limited number of facilities in the Los Angeles area outfitted for Dolby Atmos, selected "Blindfold" for its concentrated layering and textural detail, citing the work’s suitability for training in object-based spatial placement, multichannel balance and immersive reverb mapping as engineers familiarized themselves with Atmos tools and monitoring setups.
The Atmos mix for "Blindfold" was prepared by Grammy-winning engineer Ed Donnelly. The recording is registered with ASCAP. Distribution metadata indicates the recording appears on major streaming platforms, including Spotify, where it is listed alongside other recent releases by the artist. Credit for the Atmos mix is attributed to Donnelly in the distribution and registration records associated with the composition.
Katya Lee’s approach to "Blindfold" follows a trajectory established over two decades of professional activity in music and related disciplines. Born in Russia and now based in Los Angeles, Lee previously performed as the female lead for two prominent Russian pop acts, the dance group Hi-Fi and the all-female group Fabrika, before leaving that stage career to pursue independent work in the United States. Her recorded output and public projects have increasingly situated production practice at the intersection of songwriting, sound engineering, and emerging technology.
That interdisciplinary orientation extends beyond studio releases. Lee has developed a wearable instrument project called the CyberSuit in collaboration with Ken Perlin, a New York University computer scientist and director of the university’s Future Reality Lab. Perlin’s work in computer graphics was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a Technical Achievement Award, and his academic affiliation and lab leadership are recorded in institutional materials detailing the collaboration. The CyberSuit project positions gesture-based wearable design alongside Lee’s studio experiments in environmental sound, indicating a sustained interest in live and recorded forms that combine physical interface research with immersive audio outcomes.
The selection of "Blindfold" as study material by a Dolby Atmos facility underscores an emergent crossover between experimental sound-design practice and expanding immersive-audio production workflows in Los Angeles. Engineers at LemonTree Studios reported using the piece as a reference for learning object placement, automated panning trajectories and the management of dense overlapping sources within an Atmos project session. Studio personnel documented the piece’s use in training logs and session notes that accompany the facility’s early Atmos projects, noting the track’s layered construction as a reason for its inclusion in introductory and intermediate mixing exercises.
Technical credits for "Blindfold" as recorded and registered list Katya Lee as the composer, producer, and primary sound designer. Credits for the Dolby Atmos mix identify Ed Donnelly as the mixing engineer specializing in multichannel immersive delivery. Performance and registration details recorded with ASCAP list the work under the title "Blindfold" and show associated metadata consistent with contemporary digital distribution practices.
Information associated with Lee’s broader creative practice references a move from mainstream pop performance in Russia to independent interdisciplinary production in the United States, with documented projects that combine field recording, digital signal processing, and wearable interface design. The CyberSuit collaboration with Ken Perlin has been described in academic and production notes as a partnership linking musical gesture and computer-science research, with Perlin’s affiliation and award history listed in those materials.
About Katya Lee
Katya Lee is a singer, songwriter, producer and interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Born in Russia, she performed as the female lead of the pop groups Hi-Fi and Fabrika before relocating to the United States to pursue independent work at the intersection of music, design and technology. Recent projects include immersive audio recordings built from manipulated environmental sound and wearable instruments developed in collaboration with computer-science researchers.
Website: https://www.katyalee.com/
Article by: Nancy Gragham
Contact
Katya Leecontact@katyalee.com
Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.