Beardyman Interview
The former UK beatbox champion incorporates a lot of humour into his innovative sets, his incredible vocal gymnastics have to be witnessed so we caught up with Beardyman to chat about his unique sound and crazy sets!
Hey hows things?
Hello..all good.
Firstly where did the name Beardyman come from?!
It was my great grandfathers name. My parents named me after him.
What inspired you to become a beat boxer?
It was watching the other kids playing and wondering if they'd ever let me join in their fun. . when I realised they wouldn't I decided to devote my life to fighting crime, and striving to protect truth and justice for all the . . then I sneezed and forgot what I was thinking about. . . It was then that i realised that all I needed was to make loud noises and I could distract myself for indefinite periods, fending off the feelings of hopelessness and despair. My leg hurts.
In 2006 you battled to become UK Beatbox Champion and retained this title in 2007 aswell, was this a mad time in your career?
Yeah. . . it was a broke time in my career. I was gaining notoriety in the beatbox world, but gigs were still mainly filler slots, as most beatboxers find.
What was the first major event that you performed at?
Major? hmmm. . I don't know. . . depends what you mean by major. . I was hosting festival main stages all around the UK in 2007 and before that I'd played at some really prestigious things. . . so. .err. . .pass. . can't remember. . . I was too stoned. . . don't do drugs kids. . .
You played at Bestival this year and completely blew the crowd away!The vibes in the Big Top tent were crazy...how was the set for you?
It was good, I loved it. . . it wasn't what i meant to do though, but that always kind of happens. . I improvise everything so you always end up going off on tangents in the moment. . . the crowd had a wicked time. . I had a good time. . . I suppose that's all that matters. . Next time though I'll stick to whatever vague plan I've made. . if I make one. . which I do less and less often these days.
I think some people do not realise that all the music you make is made from your voice and live loop technology, tell us a bit about this?
At present, I use Kaoss pads to loop and manipulate the sounds which I make with my mouth, some keyboards and other units. It's slowly turning from a beatbox show into a live improvised music show.
You always incorporate a lot of humor into your sets and interact and engage with the crowd..is this something that is important for you?
Well. . . for me, it's a show, so it's gotta be entertaining, whether that means doing a disgustingly sick dance set for a 10,000 strong audience of ravers, and surprising them with a bit of comedic rambling, or a comedy set for 400 people sitting in chairs and getting then dancing at the end you've gotta give them a good show which they'll love and go away talking about.
Where do you find the inspiration to make your music?
Can be from anything. A rave, a band, love, a comedian, an art installation, an inventor, a hatred for x-factor, so many things inspire me.
How are the preparations for your ‘Where are you taking me tour’ going?
Really good. . . the tickets are selling really fast and we're gonna have a craaaazy, next-level light show and insane visuals which respond really tightly with my improvised musings and the suggestions coming live from twitter for the tour! It's gonna be mental! I'm so stoked!!
You also have your new album out in February on Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best Recordings, what can we expect from you on this album?
So much mash-upness. . . its a real mixture of things. . . all of them heavy but in different ways. . Its a very diverse album. . . i hope people like it. . I do. . It's a bit like putting an ipod on shuffle. . . but all with a dance/hip hop, sensibility. . some joke tracks. . some serious ones. . all kinds of stuff. . it's a bit schizoid but in a good way. .
Where is your favourite place to play?
In my basement to my $1000, super realistic sex dolls. I have 20 of them. . .
You are always exploring new music technology with your work, whats in store for the future?
I'm developing my own computer based live production system. It will be out at some point before the end of the world. . . I hope . . .
We look forward to catching Beardyman’s new album dropping in February.
