Supreme Music Asks Michael Ohanian: And What About Music?

Q> Please tell us your name and what you do professionally.

Michael> Michael Ohanian, executive creative director, antoni Berlin

Q> Can you tell us about your first truly memorable musical experience and how it impacted you? Why do you remember it so clearly?

Michael> I grew up in a household where music was always playing. I’m the youngest of three kids. I got the disco vibes from my brother, the ’80s from my sister. We always watched Formula 1 (Music TV Show) together and used to tape the charts off the radio every Friday. In the ’90s I listened to a bit of hip hop and discovered my love for house music. My dad used to listen to old Armenian oriental tapes from back home – and sometimes a few tears would roll down his cheek.

There are a bunch of records I remember. My very first was The Smurfs with Father Abraham. Then as a teenager: the Falco EP with Jeanny, the Thriller EP from Michael Jackson, and the first techno record I ever bought – Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Marusha. That’s when it really kicked off: Love Parade, Mayday, 4-to-the-floor. After my first trip to Ibiza, I completely fell in love with house music. Still my big love to this day. ’90s house – nothing beats it.

Q> Give us an insight into the most memorable project you executed and did music play a role in it?

Michael> Music played a role in a lot of my work. My first Cannes Lion was for a film made from athlete interviews – mostly full of 'uhms' and awkward pauses. The script was funny, but the film didn’t really work. It only came to life when we stopped focusing just on the picture and started listening. We arranged all those 'uhms' into a rhythm and cut a kind of crescendo – and suddenly it worked.

Another one I’ll never forget: a Mercedes spot with Michael Schumacher, Franz Beckenbauer and Häkkinen. We tested over 100 music tracks – nothing made me happy. Until someone tried something completely different: an old German song from the ’40s or ’50s – Zwei Spuren im Schnee. Suddenly the film had exactly the charm it needed.

Q> Did you, or do you play an instrument?

Michael> Like I said – lots of music in our home, but no one actually played. I really wanted to make house music. So I got myself Logic at some point. Then a drum machine. That’s my instrument. I bang out a few beats every night. Helps me deal with stress.

Q> What should we have asked you that we didn’t ask?

Michael> Where can we buy your music?

Great question – on Traxsource, under my pseudonym Don Swing.
By the way, 'Swing' is actually a groove setting on the drum machine – it makes the beats feel like they’re really grooving.