Internet Helps Local Musicians Reach Audience Near and Far

“We know how to get famous,” said Av Ganguly, the rapper, producer and Southbury resident A.V.

Ten years ago, remote Southbury wouldn’t have been ideal for a musician like resident Av Ganguly to build a fanbase.  But as A.V., Ganguly has been able to create a following, reaching thousands just through his computer.

Ganguly and an artist he produces, Ryan Hackett — RHack professionally — use home software like FL Studio to produce songs that have garnered thousands of downloads on internet music sites like datpiff.com and Hackett has two new mixtapes coming out March 1.

Music like Ganguly and Hackett’s reach a new audience through the internet; an impressive feat, as even with wider access, they are in competition with corporate recording audiences.  And even though the internet is world-spanning, it has been a boon in  reaching local audiences.

Jordan Almonte, who works with Ganguly in the studio, has a few ideas about that.

“There’s a more real feel to [web-distributed, local music],” said Almonte. “The internet is a better and more convenient way for people to access our music on their own time.”

“I feel a lot of high school kids are more into the scene because you’re listening to someone you know, and how they express themselves, it's more relatable, contrary to 50 Cent or something like that,” he said.

Producing your own music isn’t a simple matter of plugging in and playing, according to Ganguly (“Everyone says you can be a producer if you have FL Studio. That’s not true.”) It’s still easier to get the tools that are necessary to make a mixtape: all A.V. used on his first one was his computer and a little microphone.

With the music so easy to access and with the means to record so obtainable, hip hop has spread from just the cities out into the suburbs, and A.V. and RHack fully acknowledge that they are in fact from the suburbs.

“[the music] is really ‘burbs-oriented stuff,” said Ganguly.

 “A lot of kids hear what I’m saying,” said Hackett, agreeing.  “We share a lot in common.”

The fact that Ganguly and Hackett are marketing, making and distributing their own music means that they need to be business-savvy and good at networking; Hackett said that he’s going to have a couple of shows at Danbury’s Club Crystal in the next couple of months, and is also hoping to perform at Toad’s Place and Sin City.

“Ryan won’t stop,” said Hackett’s fellow performer Zach Trump — also known as ZT.  “I don’t think he ever will, no matter how popular he is as home…so I know the kid’s got a future in hip hop if he keeps it up.”

Earlier this month, Ganguly performed with Jordan Almonte at UConn Waterbury, and hip-hop’s influence on this generation was obvious. People were reading poetry and singing songs, but when the students heard a beat, a live guitar, and rap lyrics, their attention was held, and they cheered loudly for A.V.’s songs, which featured an edgy take on Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” beat. Hackett says that night’s enthusiasm was an eye-opener into this generation’s preferences and cultural revolution.

“A lot’s changed and hip hop’s evolved…hip hop’s just evolving like we all are,” said Hackett.

RHack’s mixtapes are available at his datpiff page, A.V.’s mixtapes aren’t available anymore because he’s fully focusing on producing, but his work with RHack is promoted on the facebook page for “StormTV,” named after RHack’s manager, Austin Stormer.