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ACTION STATIONS MOTOR MOUTH PERFECT 10

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ACTIVEVauxhall Magazine; Summer 2007

MOTOR MOUTHMOTOR MOUTH

 



'And I sing as well, write songs and orchestrate things. And produce. I'm a bit of an all-rounder.

But where next for beatboxing? 'I think it has reached a plateau already. It can't be that long to go before we've come to the limit of all the different noises that can be made by the human voice. After that, it will be up to people to use it creatively. 'People have to turn beatboxing into a method of self-expression, as has happened with rap - and that is likely to be the next stage.' Artists like Shlomo, who provides a showcase at the Vauxhall Beatbox Championships, are beginning to do this. 'That's what I am trying to get into', says Beardyman. 'For me, the technology that I've got at the moment is so powerful it is ridiculous. I'm really able to make this music live. I've already demonstrated a tiny bit of what I can do. The real surprise is going to come when I bring out this ridiculous laboratory of equipment I've been working on at home, and start working on the

music - everyone is going to be completely blown away'. Until the world is fully braced for Beardyman the artist, he's happy to bide his time, and still hosts regular beatbox nights in Brighton, where serious fun is to be had. 'We give a microphone to people who may have had a few drinks', he says. 'Then we record what they say and scratch it back at the whole crowd. It's like when the naughty kids have something to say to the rest of the class'. Lesson learned?

THE VAUXHALL UK BEATBOX CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007 - THE FINAL 8 JUNE, LONDON

The UK Beatbox Championships bring together the best beatboxers in the country, collected from nationwide heats. The event works like the knock-out stages of a sporting event, with the winner of each one-on-one battle going through to the next round. What makes beatboxing different, though, is that it's the audience that decides the results, making a whole bunch of noise to show their affiliation. Remember - here, booing is a good thing. Rightly confident, Beardyman still faces stiff competition from the likes of Lyrical Lips and Bellatrix before meeting Zani - a strong competitor last year - in the final. It takes a note perfect rendition of Kanye West's 'Gold Digger', complete with horn section, for Beardyman to claim victory, with a polarised crowd won over by the defending champion's talent. Beardyman reclaims his crown and snares himself the keys to a new Corsa to boot - not a bad evening's work.