Sound Designer Arman Naféei on His Unique Role as “Directeur D’Ambiance”
In Conversation with Paul Holdengräber on The Quarantine Tapes
Hosted by Paul Holdengräber, The Quarantine Tapes chronicles shifting paradigms in the age of social distancing. Each day, Paul calls a guest for a brief discussion about how they are experiencing the global pandemic.
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On Episode 196 of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by Arman Naféei. Paul and Arman discuss Los Angeles, influences, Arman’s new podcast, and much more in a lively and enthralling episode. Arman launched a music podcast a little over a year ago, Are We On Air. He explains the podcast’s origins and structure before Paul turns the tables on him to ask Arman one of his own classic interview questions. In this fascinating episode, Arman breaks down his unique title of directeur d’ambiance, talks about Hugh Hefner’s jazz record collection, and more.
From the episode:
Arman Naféei: The idea of Are We On Air, being the Director of Ambience at the Chateau—I meet all these wonderful and great creative minds from all different fields and generations. Being fortunate enough to have the access, to have meaningful conversations with these people, why not record these conversations and share that access and that knowledge with a wider audience?
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To listen to the episode, as well as the whole archive of The Quarantine Tapes, subscribe and listen on iTunes or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.
Arman Naféei is the host and creator of the culture podcast Are We On Air and Directeur d’ambiance at the Chateau Marmont in LA. After a chance meeting at Jay Joplin’s White Cube Gallery in London, Arman was handpicked by André Balazs in 2010 as the Music Director of all of his properties including The Boom Boom Room at The Standard Hotels, Sunset Beach in the Hamptons, celebrity favourite Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, and the Chiltern Firehouse in London.
In 2013, Arman launched StudioNeu, a creative agency specializing in Music direction, Sound Design, spatial strategies and cultural programming. Here, Arman has worked with a wide range of clients in the cultural sector. Ranging from Nile Rodgers’ “Freak Out Let’s Dance” Festival to the weddings of both Gwyneth Paltrow and Heidi Klum. StudioNeu has also helped to define the sound identities of Fashion houses such as Giorgio Armani, Moncler, Chanel and Prada.
In 2020, Arman launched Are We On Air. The interview series was launched in April during the first lockdown to share some inspiring stories and sounds with the world and since then developed into a cultural audio magazine with some incredible personalities giving an intimate glimpse into their musical taste, creative process and entertaining stories. Arman plans to spend 2021 between LA, Berlin and Milan, developing Are We On Air further, delving into the on-screen realm, as well as spearheading several music direction projects for fashion brands in Milan.
