ferdinando arnò
leaving his studies in law, Ferdinando Arnò, at age 21, moved to the United States and enrolled in the jazz improvisation program at Berklee College in Boston, studying with Gary Burton, John LaPorta, Phil Wilson and Diana Krall. after university, Ferdinando started his professional career in Milan as a composer for television and theatre, working for Dario Fo, and Jérôme Savary. in the 90s, Arnò began a prolific career working in music for advertising, founding the music consultation and production company “quiet, please!" in 1999.
since then, he has worked on thousands of TV ad campaigns, doing new arrangements or composing tailor-made songs, from the ironic rap "Ga el Suv" for Skoda Yeti to the "Gran Soleil smash" for Ferrero and the remake of "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison for Allianz.
Ferdinando Arnò has received many honours and recognition for his original music and catalog tracks selected for commercials. among the countless campaigns that Arnò has done, there are the international TV ads for Barilla (with Roger Federer and Chef Davide Oldani), Tim, Fernet Branca, Crodino Twist, Giorgio Armani's "Frames of Life", Averna, Aperol, Vodafone, Fastweb, Poste Italiane, several commercials for the promotion of Expo 2015, Nike, Esselunga, Nespresso, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Ariston, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gran Cereale, Coca-Cola, Tic Tac, Sky Christmas Toy (with Robin Williams), Sky Mondiali, Sky Sport, Sky Restart and Sky Great TV.
in 2006, Arnò started a collaboration with the Italian singer Malika Ayane, which led them to win the 2010 Sanremo Music Festival Critic’s Prize with the song “Ricomincio da qui”. Arnò composed and produced several other Italian artists, among them Jessica Brando and Francesco Tricarico.
in 2012 Arnò began a new adventure founding and leading the group Common Mama with English singer Jon Kenzie. their hit songs “A New Kind of Something” and “Possibly Mine” obtained worldwide recognition. in 2014 Common Mama’s song “Meant from the start” gained 3rd place at the prestigious International Songwriting Competition.
Live@quiet, please! - Creativity in real time is the title of the format that was broadcast on Sky Art in 2015 and 2016 and recorded in Arnò's studios: the aim of the program was to capture the creative moment of recording, guests included Jack Savoretti, Devendra Banhart, Melanie De Biasio, le CocoRosie, Selah Sue and Benjamin Clementine.
in 2016 Arnò composed "Music For Radura", the soundtrack for an installation by Stefano Boeri designed as a decompression space within the city and housed in the Cortile della Farmacia of the Università Statale of Milan. in 2017, during Milan Design Week, Arnò presented his composition "Entrainment" (produced by the Triennale), a pagan mantra born from the idea of using music to synchronise with people nearby and with everything around us at the Triennale Theatre and the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.
"Dream On Me" is the title of the single that Arnò co-wrote with American singer-songwriter Joan As Police Woman and was released in 2018. in 2019 Ferdinando arranged "O Filho Do Recluso", a traditional portuguese song performed by Maro, a talented young singer with an intense, poignant voice and released the singles "You're My Life" with Common Mama and the funky Go For Gold, with Dede and Javier Starks.
in 2020 "What Love" was released: a single written and produced by Arnò and recorded between Zimbabwe (with the contribution of Isaac and Daniel Gonora and the Zimbabwe Kids Choir), Chicago, Los Angeles and Milan. among the musicians involved were the jazz legend Pharoah Sanders, Angel Bat Dawid, B'Rael Ali Thunder and a team of session men including Paolo Costa, Giorgio Cocilovo, Daniele Comoglio, and Luana Heredia.
in 2022 Arnò produced and conceived the genre-defying album "The Gathering", featuring a formidable collective of musicians spread across three continents such as Alfio Antico, Daniel Gonora, Joseph Chinouriri, Gabriel Jarrett, Sandy Chambers, MC Dante Lennon, Brother May, and many more. the album won the prestigious Premio Tenco as best project album and became a powerful musical hellzapoppin' that went live all around the Triennale Milano for all day long on September 18th 2022.