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You mean besides when I learned how to actually pronounce Audeze??
I remember a week into getting the LCD-MX4 headphones, I decided to listen to them in bed. I used a USB-C to headphone jack right out of the iPhone and put on a track I’ve been listening to for 30 years: Dark and Long by Underworld. WHAT A SHOCK!!! For the first time ever, I heard that there was a tiny stereo bass drum echo I HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE. I got right out of bed and went to my studio monitors. Even though I knew what to listen for, I could barely discern this new sound from the main bass hit on my monitors. I was blown away. And I developed 10x more respect for Underworld’s production skills at the same time.
I’m testing a new way of life, testing the edge of expansion vs burnout.… it’s been like that. My roles are all new, I’m in an uncharted place. It feels electric and also alone. And alive. And legitimately uncomfortable. No matter if I’m directing a commercial or cooking, I love projects where I can surprise and delight, reframe expectations, be a bit mischievous and create unusual connections.
Good people who see each other as teammates make all the difference. So one of my favorite projects was a commercial for asthma medicine. It’s clearly the people. That’s why my projects with BMW are so meaningful. The agency and client are enablers (and reward certain acts of mischief!).
My dad had a remarkable appetite for music in Iran. When I was 7, he had bought an album called “The Story of I” by Patrick Moraz. It was a fiery symphonic prog rock album. When my dad would leave for work, I would binge-listen to it. I felt my brain change. Then it was Jean Michelle Jarre, King Crimson, Pat Metheny, Jean Luc Ponty, Zeppelin, Kraftwerk, The Police, Steely Dan, The Orb, Hum, Rollins Band, Arvo Part, huge amounts of Allan Holdsworth, Talk Talk, Kronos Quartet, Bjork, Steve Reich, Ravi Shankar, Underworld, and into microtonal music and polychromatic music by Dolores Catherino. I am a polyrhythm-fusion-minimalist-techno-guitar-solo-prog-rock-ambient-pipe-organ aficionado.
It was never even my intention to become a director or photographer but life is a mystery. I’m known for my visual work like shooting print for BMW’s Super Bowl campaign. Brands like Alfa Romeo, Samsung, a bunch of rare vintage cars and commercials for coffee are in the mix.
I recall working all night to sneak a rogue track into an Apple iPod Nano ad. I had heard the producers were still looking for a solution and Steve Jobs’s email was widely known. He responded personally with “it isn’t right” and I’ve kept that rejection email to this day. It just wasn’t time, and I learned that you can’t force things.
During lockdown, USC dance professor Achinta McDaniel approached me to direct a dance film she had choreographed to a track by Moby. Then she stumbled on something I composed 20 years ago and asked to use that track instead of Moby’s. “Wait—you want me to direct my own music video?” It premiered at the LA Music Center and was awarded some 14 laurels. I saw my father sink into his chair and say “Wow, isn’t that so beautiful” and thought maybe it’s finally time…
At some point, answering “The Call” to take music more seriously became unbearable. Being honest about music has reinvigorated my life, oriented me towards a deeper connection with spirit, and made my morning cocoa taste absolutely delicious. Not many people know that I compose, so I booked a church on April 27, 2024 to premiere music I wrote for pipe organ, modular synths, string quintet, marimba and voice. No more hiding.
It took me a few decades to realize that “starting” was hard but once I sat down, it began to flow. So the biggest shift has been about trust. It’s still not easy but now I tell myself “just start, just put one foot forward and see where it goes.” It is humbling how difficult this simple effort can be. But it has led to a measurable increase of output.
The second thing has been to ask. Open my mouth and ask for help, share an idea, or share what isn’t right and needs to be addressed. Again, not very easy but has had a major impact on how I create.
Beyond that, I see the world in shapes and I love taking micro-risks. “What if I move this note? What if I changed this sound? What if this new spice I bought works with scallops?” Sometimes I work backwards, starting with the end of a composition. But it always initiates with sitting down and with trust but a blank mind, and seeing where it takes me. I become an observer to the process.
There have been distinct seasons in my relationship with music and the Iranian Revolution was the most significant, in that it interrupted the natural flow of life and broke my family’s trust in the world. This led my family to a well-meaning but more measured and fearful orientation to life. They just believed “creativity doesn’t pay” and I wasn’t encouraged to pursue music.
Playing for me became private, I would create short progressions so I could solo endlessly and get into meditations, allowing myself to be taken over and I felt animated and almost out of body. I was trying to mimic the jazz fusion greats. Sometimes I would have the focus to finish a track and mix it. It was all naïve and sloppy but it was my piece of heaven.
In college I found a kindred spirit and we geeked out about fusion and electronic music, minimalism, Rush, Lyle Mays, Bill Frisell’s early work, the Orb’s debut, and the discovery of Steve Reich.
My listening never stopped and thinking back, I think it was a miracle that I was exposed to what I was. Record store clerks now seem shamanistic to me. Tech has brought us Discover Weekly, a miracle to be honest. I continually yearn for complex, thoughtful compositions and textures. Even if techno.
In 2022, something shifted. I experienced profound heartbreak, twice. I saw Sinead O’Connor’s interviews about how she made music without considering her audience. She helped me see how I could transform pain into music. I created a dark, massive re-arrangement of “Nothing Compares 2 U” and the response I got buoyed me. Gave me permission, finally. I realized that I was making excuses and time was running out. I came up with a live music concept and booked a church so I couldn’t hide anymore. It’s terrifying. I wake up very very early… not because I want to.
Absolutely: Lose your country and way of life, have your family’s land and savings stolen, move to a place with different values, and go to schools where you are force-fed things that aren’t aligned with your gifts.
Or, end up with parents like Jacob Collier’s.
OK now that you’re done with that, trust that the faint voice inside you is telling the truth. I’m not talking about the inner-bully’s voice (you can tell that one to STFU and leave you alone). Ask to be mentored, no matter how old you are. Be very honest with yourself about your gifts and shortcomings. Trust that the world does run on merit, and that by directing your energy and having output, you will find your way. Develop agency and be in action, a little every day. Get as much feedback as you can. Of course people told me this all my life but I had to wait decades for it to make sense. Every effort I made to rush the process hit a road block.
Ultimately I had to clear my heart of regrets before there was room for creativity again.
I have incredibly sensitive ears and I want to be in the middle of the soundstage when I compose music. If I’m playing my synths, I’m usually facing sideways and I don’t like that. When I first put the MX4’s on my ears, I felt like I was wearing my studio. It was a revelation. I see music in shapes (I can’t read yet) so I need to tune into very subtle physical sensations when I compose and the Audeze have been the purest path to that sensation! I had initially wanted them for Spatial mixing but now I use them to compose as well. I’ve even thought about setting up a sub + the MX4’s so I can have a perfect soundscape no matter which way I’m facing.
This morning I made a patch for the Osmose and tried my old headphones vs the Audeze. I ended up being late for work because I was immersed and felt filled with magic. It also helped me hear some of the areas where the Osmose’s patch needed help. Wow. It’s as if I’m wearing Truth on my head.
When something is beautiful, I want to use it more. When something has a specific purpose, I look forward to that activity. The Audeze LCD-MX4 are just that. I even reconfigured my workspace when I got them. I have started to compose with them and mix as I record, putting instruments in place. It’s a delight TBH!! I’ve also started to listen to my old music with them and experiencing everything anew. I’m blown away by the mastery of some of these engineers. So many details I had never heard before.
I’ve made an arrangement that has complex / competing bass energy in it. I like working in open / high ceiling spaces and that makes for a terrible place to mix bass. The composition has layered Oberheims, sub-kick energy, mid bass and a sine wave bass. I am beginning to hear each individual instrument now and being able to place it in the mix in a way that I had not been able to before.
There’s another thing that must be known about Audeze, and that’s the people in the company. They’re all artists, they’re passionate. They are invested. Everyone I’ve met is enthusiast, and that’s infectious too.
