Azad

5 years after we dropped our first tape, we got our first magazine cover. and to have it be rolling stone 🇰🇷 really blows my mind 🥺🤯 we’re lucky enough to have performed around the 🌎 a few times over but the love we get in seoul hits a little different. to all the fans, thank you for always appreciating & accepting us like your own. and to our team who has been riding with us through the ups and downs, i love you and couldn’t be more grateful for your patience. what a fucking moment!!!! creative executive: @rolling_ray_ editor: @soameschoe photography: @kimmoondog design: @janekim_7 mgmt: @thevolunteerexecutive @meza_700 @thisisrory art & design: @brando label: @avantgarden @colture_

my first trip to tokyo was for my birthday in april 2019. i can’t explain how deep i fell in love with this city. 7 years and more than a dozen trips later, it’s still my favorite place on the planet. as a birthday gift to myself, we partnered up with @tokyo_burnside to host our 2nd @avantgarden dinner party. thank you to all my incredible friends for flying out to 🇯🇵 & a big arigato gozaimasu to everyone who came out to celebrate 🫶🏽 photos & flyer design: @brando music: @chiiild & @shxtsfiredofficial special thanks to @harlem.globetrotta for helping put it all together 🙏🏽

with everything going on back home, i wanted to bring a piece of the middle east to 🇰🇷. thank you to all the incredible creatives who came out to our first @avantgarden dinner party. eternally grateful to @casablancasandwich and his wife for being such gracious hosts 🌷

Azad doesn’t talk like a typical music exec... because he isn’t one. He quietly built his own version of a label system 📌 Follow and comment “EMOTIONAL” and I’ll send the full episode straight to your DMs. He’s an artist who built systems. A founder who built culture. And someone who’s actually lived the parts of the industry most people only observe from the outside. Avant Garden Records. Peace of Mind Studio. Emotional Oranges. None of that was an overnight thing. It came from slowing down, being intentional, and refusing to skip the steps everyone else is trying to avoid. While most artists are chasing a label, chasing a tour, chasing a moment, Azad was building the infrastructure that makes moments last. In this episode, we get into: • How burnout pushed him into building something completely new • Why Peace of Mind is becoming one of the most important ecosystems in ambient, neo-classical and jazz • The deal structures every artist needs to understand • Why “development” isn’t old-school, it’s the only path • How to build systems that protect your creativity and your revenue • The mindset shift artists need if they want a long career • Why saying “no” is one of the most powerful tools you have This episode isn’t just advice. It’s perspective. It’s what happens when someone actually designs their career instead of reacting to it. And trust me… Azad’s story is one a lot of artists and managers need to hear right now. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Azad Naficy on The Manager’s Playbook Podcast.

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salutations from los angeles, the city of perennial winners, with love ofc 💙🤍

last fall, i had the opportunity to go to seoul to work with the incredibly talented @livvy__marsh . “lucky me” was the first song we worked on together. experiencing how positive liv was inspired me to write a letter to the younger me as he was getting ready to pursue this music thing. the song was meant to serve as a gentle reminder that no matter how big your dreams get, you have everything you need back at home - don’t lose sight of the simple things and people who truly love you & bring you joy. “lucky me” - olivia marsh ft. @jiwonstein co-produced by me & @chiiild co-written by me & @livvy__marsh engineered & mixed by @robbiegardunio mastered by @jlaportamasters label: @mplifyrecords x @warnermusickorea [special thanks to @cafleen & @jingwang ]

started as an intern at interscope in ‘08 while going to school full time. put out my first song in 2011 and opened for dot in 2012. no relationships & no bread, just a whole lot of love for music and the drive to create something out of nothing. thank you to @billboard for acknowledging the work britt, brando & our incredible teams at @avantgarden & @peaceofmind.studio have done. i still can’t believe i get to make art & support great artists/humans for a living!!!

thank you to @soundcloud for the crazy billboard love on orenjii 🫶🏽🥺. it’s a real full circle moment, our first couple singles “motion” & “personal” were first dropped on sc back in 2018 🧡

meet Orenjii, our debut album 🍊🌎. it only took 6 years of dropping mixtapes & 4 worldwide tours but here we are nevertheless! enjoy it in all its glory and prepare to finally see us with a full live band this fall 🥁🎸🎹🎤 there’s too many people to thank for making this possible but none greater than you all who still continue to listen, live & love our music 🧡 executive produced by @azad & @chiiild written by @azad & @vali mixed by @robbiegardunio mastered by @jlaportamasters art direction by @brando illustrations by @conrad.javier mgmt: @thevolunteerexecutive @meza_700 @thisisrory PR: @charlotteroses @pbmosleyodonnell legal: @paulrothenberg biz mgmt: @master_joga live: @jbeau @nallykoko @meyer_sees @cameronkaiser label: @avantgarden 🌷

london’s been my 2nd home since 2015. respect to @notion for giving us our first UK magazine cover & thanks to the best british publicist on god’s green earth @pbmosleyodonnell . next stop is @roundhouseldn 🍊🇬🇧 credits: ✍🏽 @charlottelauragornall 📸 @hannahsider 👘 @rafnosimons 💇🏽‍♀️ @alexthaohair 💋 @makeupartistmichael 🌷 @thevolunteerexecutive @meza_700 💿 @avantgarden

thank you for all the birthday wishes 🐂🐉!!! i took the team to see dot perform at the superbowl & my eagles won 💚. that’s the best birthday present ever even 2 months later lolol. nah but for real, i can’t believe this is life & i’m just focusing on being present. from new orleans to seoul, here are some of my favorite moments from the last few months