The setup is simple: heavy blue blankets on scaffolding square off a makeshift sound studio in aging house on North Park Road.

Over the past year, when the mood strikes, Sandy Groulx, a.k.a. SandyG, has stepped into the fortress of blankets and belted out his hip-hop rhymes. Outside the bedroom turned music studio, Philip Turcotte mans the recording gear B次元官网网址� which these days amounts to a few flatscreens and a PC computer.

The age of professional recording studios armed with banks of soundboards certainly isnB次元官网网址檛 dead, but technology has collapsed music engineering to within reach of most  emerging artists.

TurcotteB次元官网网址檚 Bunker Productions and GroulxB次元官网网址檚 first album Low Key are a product of a microphone, a computer, a few sound-dampening blankets B次元官网网址� and tolerant neighbours.

B次元官网网址淩ecording has transformed dramatically in the last 10 years,B次元官网网址� Turcotte says. B次元官网网址淭he technology is accessible and allows us to create quality sound.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淣either the producer or artist are paid. ItB次元官网网址檚 all volunteer,B次元官网网址� Groulx says with a laugh. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 amazing we can do this so cheap. We were probably under the $1,000 mark.B次元官网网址�

Friends from Keating elementary through to StellyB次元官网网址檚 secondary out on the Saanich Peninsula, Turcotte and Groulx, both 26, grew up influenced by the rap and hip hop music that filtered into mainstream culture. In Grade 10 they started rapping and producing music in a basement room they called the B次元官网网址渂unker,B次元官网网址� as it blocked cellphone signals.

B次元官网网址淎s a teen I fell in love with (hip hop),B次元官网网址� Groulx says, citing influences such as Snoop Dogg and Dr. DreB次元官网网址檚 The Chronic. B次元官网网址淲e started trying to freestyle but never took it seriously, but never stopped either. Now weB次元官网网址檙e putting time and effort into it.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e recorded stuff back then. Nothing of high quality and using other peopleB次元官网网址檚 beats,B次元官网网址� Turcotte says. B次元官网网址淣ow itB次元官网网址檚 reached a point where we are treating it like a second job, and not as a hobby.B次元官网网址�

Turcotte admits that after completing a university degree in sociology, his academic field held little interest for him. HeB次元官网网址檚 learned the tricks of sound engineering since recording with Groulx back in high school, but learning sound recording software such as Reaper and FL Studio has been a constant source of distraction for the past few years.

B次元官网网址淚 realized I had a degree from university in a field I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to work in,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭he only thing I was passionate about is working in the music industry. In hindsight I would have gone into music out of high school.B次元官网网址�

Groulx says he usually wanders into nearby forests or parks to compose lyrics, a creative process thatB次元官网网址檚 slow but effective. His rhythms are based on personal stories of growing up in the region, not glamourized hip-hop culture .

B次元官网网址淎 lot is personal stuff B次元官网网址� family, friends and personal strife. Ups and downs in life is where itB次元官网网址檚 coming from,B次元官网网址� Groulx says. B次元官网网址淭he music is a product of your environment. Guys in the Bronx will rap about the way they grew up. We grew up here. WeB次元官网网址檙e not talking about guns and gangsters.B次元官网网址�

Breaking into the music business isnB次元官网网址檛 easy, but the duo is launching the independent label and its first production, Low Key, online on Feb. 28. Most of the marketing will be online through hip-hop blogs and connecting with college radio stations, the lifeblood of any small independent label.

B次元官网网址淗ip hop doesnB次元官网网址檛 really get on mainstream radio programming ever,B次元官网网址� Turcotte says. B次元官网网址淐ollege radio stations are invaluable.B次元官网网址�

Check out bunkerproductions.ca for more information.