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Agent Orange (NYC), ARA, ARA Soundsystem, Calimocho & Orange Sound are some of the alter egos Ara has used over the past 20 years as a music Producer, Dj and Audio Engineer.
From performing at some of the world’s most prestigious clubs/events like mainstage at the Ultra Music Festival during Miami’s WMC, to legendary boatparties in Ibiza, concerts and clubs in S.Korea to festivals in North and South America, Ara has worked hard to spread his music to his fans worldwide. His contributions to the global music scene have included releases, remixes and collaborations with DJ’s like Carl Cox, Paul Van Dyk, Christian Smith, Ben Sims and many, many more.
To get a clear image of what his music sounds like, imagine the perfect blend of organic sounds that meet the digital age. Groovy, hypnotizing, pulsating dance-floor percussion, combined with music elements that at times paint deep, lush atmospheres while other times playing fast and furious melodies to create dance floor explosions!
At a young age ARA developed a deep love and respect for his own cultural music, while at the same time became very passionate about a totally new brand of music that was emerging – the Electronic Dance genre. He became an avid record collector and began to DJ at parties all throughout New York.
By age 18 he brought his unique fusion of world and electronic music to some of the most legendary clubs of NYC. Things went well and he decided to make music his life’s full-time passion and in 2000 he started his first record label Gotham Grooves. With the launch of the label came collaborations with many big artists and bigger gigs on a global level.
After years of touring, producing music, and releasing on internationally acclaimed record labels, he decided to move to Europe so he could be closer to the source of the music that he loved. From his studio in Barcelona, Spain he spent the next 3 years traveling and playing gigs all across Europe while at the same time continuing to carefully craft his own music and also began working as a mastering engineer before returning back to NYC in 2008 where he built his new studio and is working on music for EMI, Sony, and many underground labels as well.
Aside from his first label Gotham Grooves he has teamed up with DJ Becka to and start Gotham City Records and began a new label Para Disco. The first release, a deep electronic remake of the grammy award winning Amy Winehouse track ‘Rehab’, hit #16 on the Beatport overall sales charts and was a huge hit in Miami during the Winter Music Conference 2008, being played by artists like Armin Van Buurin, Who The Funk, Tommy Sunshine, Danny Tenaglia and more.