Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Farhod Cigarchi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Farhod, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Alot of producers are just about the money. So they will re sell the same beat to hundreds of different artists for say a low cost of fifty bucks. I don’t do it for the money. When I make a beat it’ll be one of a kind and exclusively for the artist. Sure the price is a little more than fifty dollars. But that artist will be the only one with that beat and they will own the rights to it as well. Majority of these producers lease there beats so at the end of the day the artist that purchases them doesn’t fully own the rights. That’s what I do differently. I try to educate the artist.

Farhod, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My real name is Farhod Cigarchi but most people know me by my stage name which is AOTT which stands for Axis on the track also known as Axis. I was born in Iran and moved to the U.S at the age of 3. I started making music at the age of 15. I was always into the hip hop culture, but what changed it all, is one year I visited my cousin who I didn’t know was a rapper who had put together a cd. I’ll never forget it the album had a real Eminem vibe to it. Keep in mind at this time there weren’t many Persian rappers so for my cousin to come up with this album it was sorta a big deal. It inspired me to start writing and that’s when I really dove into the hiphop culture. Shortly after that I picked up a couple turn tables and a mixer and started learning the art of Djing. That’s when my passion for music and hiphop grew. I continued djing for several years and became good enough where I started to do paid gigs. At one point I had a residency at a local hookah lounge where I would dj every Saturday night. It was a blast while it lasted. But I wanted to do something more with music. I wanted to create my own songs and not just play them. So I figured since I had stacks of note books that I had filled with lyrics I figured I’d save up money and go to a recording studio to lay down a song. Luckily my cousin who I previously mentioned happened to be in town so we spent like 300 bucks and got a recording session in and that’s when i recorded my first track. Soon after that I figured I could learn to record mix and master my self instead of paying someone else to do it. So I did just that. So after releasing several hundreds of songs i decided to dip my feet into music production. Because what would be cooler than rapping on your own beats right? Well that dream was.short lived. After trying for a month all my beats were sounding the same, so i simply gave up and figured music production wasnt for me. Fast forward to the year 2013 that’s where things really changed. My lovely wife gave birth to our beautiful daughter and that’s when I decided that I was gonna taken a break from making music and djing. So I sold all my equipment and took a 6 year hiatus. In 2019 when covid struck there wasn’t much to do as everything was on lock down. So I figured now that my daughter is older and I have free time on my hands that maybe I could get back into making music. But this time around I wanted to really learn and make beats. So I picked up an Akai MPC drum machine/ sampler and I started learning. I did get frustrated and was ready to quit again after a month but this time around I decided to stick with it. After a few months of practice I started to make beats that I was actually proud of and that sounded decent. In 2020 I moved to Dallas, Texas and that’s when I linked up with Arash Motian another talented rapper who also happenes to be Persian. Which brings me to the project that I’m most proud of, His EP that I fully produced called Tehran to Texas. This was the first time ever where I had the operttunity to producer not only a song but an album for someone other than my self. I learned alot along the way. If there’s one thing to take away from my journey and story is that you should never ever give up. No matter how frustrating things get stick with it and you will overcome the frustration and you will become successful. Some of the services I offer are music production, as well as mix and mastering services for your music. As far ad music production goes my go to genre is hiphop but I’m not afraid to dive into other genres. AOTT MUSIC is a premier music store dedicated to providing customers with the highest quality and exclusive beats at an affordable price. Axis works tirelessly to create original beats that set your music apart from the rest. Whether you’re a professional musician or just starting out, we have the beats you need to take your music to the next level.​

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I’m a musician/ music producer by night but my day job is a Lab Lead Phlebotomist in the ER. When I first started making music I quickly learned that music gear was really expensive and that if I was going to keep up with this music gig that I would need a stable Career that paid decent which would allow me to afford to invest in music gear. So a couple years after graduating high school I ended up going back to school to become a phlebotomist. For those that don’t know a phlebotomist is some one who Draws blood. That’s how I’ve been able to afford to purchase music gear over the years.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a music producer is seeing the finished product and seeing the project form start to finish. Also theres something special about the success of the artist it makes me feel accomplished that I was apart of their success, or that I helped them achieve that goal that they were trying to reach.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Aottmusic.com
• Instagram: @Aott_Music
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/QHyQU
• Other: Apple music –

  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/aott/1697053096?ls

  Spotify –

Image Credits

CJS Photography

Mike Q