In the bustling streets of New York City, a distinctive figure moves through the crowds, wearing what looks like a futuristic backpack rigged with speakers, controllers, and a keyboard. This is Ari, known online as ARIatHOME, who has reimagined the concept of street performance by creating a mobile music production studio that allows him to compose beats, loop samples, and collaborate with strangers — all while live streaming the process.

Over the past year, Ari has captivated audiences with his approach to musical production, growing from a relatively unknown Twitch streamer to a TikTok and Instagram influencer with over 500,000 followers on each platform in just a few months.

From Classical Roots to Street Beats

Growing up in upstate New York near Albany, Ari grew up in a family deeply immersed in classical music. “My dad is a pretty accomplished orchestral conductor, and my brother is now a conductor as well,” Ari explains. “We all had to play instruments growing up.”

Despite this formal introduction, Ari never fully embraced classical training. He quit piano at 11 and began charting his own musical path, becoming what he describes as “the black sheep of the family” for his divergence from classical styles. He later went to college for literature, not music.

The biggest musical influence on Ari came from outside the classical world entirely—Sigur Rós, an Icelandic ambient band. “They are sort of what expanded my mind for what kind of sounds you can use in music.”

This exposure to ambient music freed Ari from the constraints of conventional genres, allowing him to experiment with sounds and styles that would later become central to his improvisational approach.

The Birth of a ‘Wearable Studio’

Originally, Ari had purchased equipment with the intention of putting together a live show, but when COVID hit, those plans had to change.

“I acquired a looper and some other camera gear that I just now had no use for,” Ari recalls. “So, instead of letting it collect dust, I set up an improv music station and started making music.”

From the beginning, Ari made a decision that would accelerate his growth: he started streaming his musical experiments immediately, even though he knew they weren’t polished. “My thought was if I just started broadcasting it instead of keeping it to myself, people would be so mean that it would motivate me to get better, faster, which was true.”

After trying various platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit’s now-defunct live streaming feature, Ari found his home on Twitch. There, he began building a community of loyal supporters who appreciated his authentic approach to music creation.

The transition to outdoor performances came in 2023 when Ari developed his now-signature wearable studio. “I do a thing where I build a sort of production studio, a wearable production studio that I put on, and I walk around in the streets making up music, handing a mic to strangers, and collaborating with them.”

His outdoor setup consists of a computer running Ableton Live, a MIDI keyboard, custom controls, a looper, six mini rig speakers, and camera batteries for power. Ari has also developed custom software to enhance his capabilities. 

“I have a lot of software stuff I built myself,” he explains. “I have these crazy macros that I coded that enable me to switch through different types of sounds or different instruments as fast as possible.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ariathome (@ariatinsta)

Breaking Through on Multiple Platforms

While Ari had been streaming on Twitch since 2020, his breakthrough came in late 2021 when he appeared on a Twitch talent show called the “Austin Show.” 

“It was the first time that big streamers ever saw me. I did well, and everyone was like, ‘Who is this guy? Where did he come from?’”

This exposure increased his Twitch following from about 10,000 to 40,000, giving him enough viewers and subscribers to make streaming a viable full-time career. “That was probably the moment I was like, ‘I can actually do this. I don’t have to start applying to jobs.’”

However, it was his expansion to short-form content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram that catapulted Ari to a much wider audience. This transition only began in late 2024. 

Ari’s strategy was simple: consistency. “My main strategy is just to try to post every day.” This strategy also encompasses repurposing content he’s already creating through his streams. “That’s how I make my living. It takes about an hour to create a social media post from existing stream footage.”

The Challenges of Creating on the Move

Creating music while walking through NYC streets is no easy task. Ari must simultaneously walk, navigate traffic, produce beats, sing, interact with strangers, and engage with his streaming audience.

“It’s kind of hard, I’ll be honest,” Ari admits. “I’m just slightly worse at each of those things in that setting because I’m doing all of them together.”

Image source: @true_sightvisuals

Ari emphasizes the physical demands of his content, noting that even basic musical tasks become more difficult when in motion: “Even stuff like playing the drums. It’s just very easy to play drums on a keyboard. But playing a straight rhythm is much harder when walking and wobbling.”

The cognitive load affects his creativity as well. “Freestyling, too. I’m pretty solid at it when I’m doing stuff inside. But I used to look back at these outside streams, and I was like, wow, my rapping is much worse. And, yeah, the reason is because my mind is splintered on all these things.”

Despite these challenges, Ari continues to improve, developing what he calls “a new muscle.” Some of his most viral content comes from outdoor collaborations.

The Perks of Genuine Connections

Ari’s content is characterized by an authentic human connection at its core. Rather than scripting interactions or working with professional musicians, he prefers spontaneous collaborations with strangers on the street.

“My hope is to keep going,” Ari explains, highlighting the improvisational nature of his work. “The less that I think about it, the better. I just like going out there and trying to see if I can make anything good.”

These unplanned moments have created some of Ari’s most rewarding experiences. He recounts a particularly meaningful interaction with a group called Legendary Cyphers, which hosts a weekly rap cipher in Union Square. “I stumbled upon them after coming out of the subway to start my stream. These dudes were like, ‘Yo, Ari.’”

The resulting collaboration became his most viewed clip across platforms and impacted the participants. “Seeing the post they had afterwards about how excited they were, that felt good. I don’t think about my clips having any impact at all, let alone positively impact the people in them.”

This genuine desire to create meaningful connections rather than choreographed content extends to Ari’s approach to potential brand partnerships. “When labels hit me up to try to get their artists on, they just want a clip that will do well to give their artist a bunch of followers. And that’s why I prefer to keep it just strangers, not label artists whose managers reached out to me. There’s something so beautiful about connecting with strangers and sometimes positively impacting them.”

Community Above the Rest

While Ari’s content spans multiple platforms, he maintains a special connection with his Twitch community. “It’s definitely my favorite. It’s my favorite community because it’s a community that I’m actually really connected with, that I interact with directly, and that has been supporting me for many years.”

Ari notes that this deep connection with his audience proves successful content creation isn’t always about massive numbers. “Having a mobilized audience is the most powerful thing you can have,” he observes. “You don’t need a huge audience. If you have 100 or 200 mobilized fans, honestly, you might be good to go.”

As his audience has grown, Ari has experienced the transition from anonymity to recognition. “I’m still in Iron Man mode, which is cool. Everyone recognizes me when I’m wearing the rig, but without it, I’m normal, so people don’t know who I am.” 

However, this is changing, with Ari noting recent instances of being recognized without his equipment, something he describes as “freaky.”

Monetization and Future Plans

Ari’s primary revenue stream is through subscriptions and direct tips from his Twitch community. “The main amount of money I get is from people tipping me,” he explains, adding that he sets a daily goal of $200 to cover the costs associated with his equipment and streaming.

As his presence has grown on other platforms, additional revenue streams have emerged, including the TikTok Creator Fund and brand partnerships. One notable collaboration was with Roland, the company that makes his looper, which brought him to NAMM, the largest music technology conference.

With his sights set on the horizon, Ari aims to refine his sound palette and potentially release more traditional music. “I probably need to release normal music at some point. I’ve not made a song now in four years outside of the improv stuff that I do.”

He’s also interested in taking his mobile studio concept beyond NYC. “At some point, I want to travel a bit and do the same format in other places where people can introduce me to the styles there.”

For now, Ari remains focused on creating spontaneous musical moments that connect people across digital and physical mediums.

“There’s something so beautiful about connecting with strangers,” Ari reflects, capturing the essence of what makes his work resonate with so many.