Today we’d like to introduce you to AJ.
Hi Armin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a teenager consumed by music and art with a small studio setup in my bedroom, I would make beats and record my rapper friends. I had an egg-crated closet for a vocal booth and Protools recording software on a PC in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is where my story begins.
At the age of 18, I was severally injured in a terrible collision where my friend and I were rear-ended by a tractor-trailer going 60 miles per hour as we were at a complete stop. We were the first of four cars to be hit. I was airlifted from the scene via helicopter due to head trauma, and a torn knee and shoulder. I couldn’t walk for several weeks following this accident. On my road to recovery, I was still going to local studios and working on music at home more so than ever. At this point, I realized that life can come to end at any moment and made it a purpose to do what I loved doing most. Once I was fully recovered, I enrolled in audio engineering school and moved to NYC to pursue a career in music.
In 2006, while still in school, I began my professional career as an audio engineer, working at a studio called Stush Music, owned by British producer and engineer, Steve Francis. At Stush, I was recording and mixing for rappers and producers such as Method Man, Ron Browz, Mathematics, June, Dip Set, Ruff Ryders, Maya, Murda Mook, and many more. Thanks to Steve’s recommendation, I secured a second job working at a world-renowned music rehearsal facility called Euphoria Productions. At Euphoria, I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most prolific and legendary names in the industry, such as David Bowie, Sting, Lana Del Rey, Ernie Isley, Sean Lennon, James McCartney, Yoko Ono, Idina Menzel, Courtney Love, to name a few. As some of you may know, most rehearsal studios are really grungy, but Euphoria was built (soundproofed) and managed like a recording studio with its cleanliness and top-of-the-line gear; however, no capabilities of professional recording. With industry professionals coming through the doors daily, I immediately saw an opportunity and built a control room in the back office by discretely connecting to the main live room that housed a beautiful grand piano, boutique amplifiers, and a pristine Pearl Drum Kit. That is when I started Room 5 Productions. My first real paid session in Room 5 was a two-weeklong lockout with composer and bassist Curtis Lundy (who Kanye West sampled for “Jesus Walks”) for a National Geographic documentary called “A Decade Behind Bars: Return to the Farm” (2007). After that, things immediately took off!
For several years, as the General Manager of Euphoria, I worked 90+hr weeks while owning and operating Room 5. I would work sessions until all hours of the night recording and mixing for numerous critically acclaimed Grammy Award-Winning artists, iconic influencers, Broadway shows, notable broadcasting networks and media outlets such as MTV/Viacom, Bravo Media, iHeart Media. I collaborated and co-produced commercial adverts for Target, Kohl’s and Old Navy, among many other major organizations. With that said, I have to shout out the owner of Euphoria, David Sokol, who truly believed in me. He not only allowed me to operate my business out of his facility, but also mentored me with navigating the ups and downs as an entrepreneur, the music industry and even my personal life.
In 2014, I was charging top dollar as an engineer, but I knew I had to pivot. I noticed major studios discounting rates and having a hard time booking sessions due to technology becoming smaller, more affordable, and efficient to create at-home studios. At this point, I was also doing live sound and production for events, as experiential events were super lucrative. Sometimes I would make more in a day on an event than I would in a month working 90+ hours at the studio. So, I decided to take a leap. I closed the recording studio and started producing events full-time. I had great access to talent because I had cultivated such an extensive network of A-List musicians, artists, labels, agents, non-profits, NGOs, and managers. As I booked artists for these events, they started to notice I was bringing them work. This is when vi talent group (Vertically Integrated Talent Group) was born. One of the first artists to sign on was legendary Rockjazz pianist, ELEW. He noticed my drive and keen business practices, so he called me one day to ask if I was interested in managing him. I thought to myself, “YOLO,” and said, “Yes.” With my technical background and business mindset, and his unique talent, we traveled around the world for about 4 years rocking some of the most sought-after and high-profile events, such as The Prince of Monaco’s Foundation Gala, Cannes Film Festival’s “Rocket Man” premiere, Miami’s Art Basel, Paris Fashion Week, Oscar and Grammy Award Show parties, private events for high ranking members of the Saudi Royal Family, Salesforce and the Davos World Economic Forum.
Then the pandemic hit… Millions of dollars were wiped out overnight. Ahhh the ups & downs of an entrepreneur 🙃🙂
At this point, I again had to pivot. I moved my operations to where I knew entertainment would come back first – Las Vegas, NV – and started curating and producing podcasts and virtual/hybrid events for organizations such as Vonage, Tradeshift, YPO, The Mandela Foundation, International Jazz Day, The Kennedy Foundation, Yale University, Own Your Data, PepsiCo and iHeart Media. Crypto/NFTs/Web3 started to grow exponentially during the pandemic, so I shifted the company’s focus to working with talent more in the visual art space, such as extraordinary painter Mr. Dripping, and digital artist, DJ, designer and icon, KESH.
Post-pandemic, I’m focused on creating everlasting, monumental, and immersive moments that combine visual art and music. One recent event that stands out for me is with KESH, this past August, where we brought a visual fantasia to the 90+ billboards of Times Square every night of the month with her immersive installation titled, eye-land – imagining a verdant world within the hyper-digital center of the city. On August 25th, KESH performed a live DJ set synchronized to the “eye-land” installation being displayed on the iconic billboards of Times Square, offering a fully immersive experience through sonic, visual, and performance art.
I look forward to conquering tougher challenges while continuing to produce unique experiences and taking on more multidisciplinary and avant-garde talent as me and my business consistently grow.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is never smooth. If it is, you’ve become too comfortable.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
vi talent group is a management and consulting company that specializes in developing avant-garde talent and experiences. Utilizing our reputation as disruptors, our knowledge, and our massive network of entertainment industry contacts, we expertly manage careers and/or projects from conception to realization.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
The abundance of Art & Creativity is definitely what I like best. And obviously the beaches. The traffic is the worst.
Contact Info:
- Website: vitalentgroup.com
- Instagram: @ajmolaee
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajmolaee/
Image Credits
BFA Anna Lopez
Michael Hull
