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Human Beatbox Convention 09 |
Human Beatbox Convention BOXCON 09
Sat 11th /Sun 12th April
‘Flash Jam’ on Saturday –
Flash Jam is a coordinated musical intervention around the iconic sites of London, all beatboxers secretly meet at a designated time and place (Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament etc) and on the leaders say-so; commence synchronized beatboxing. Within minutes the group stops and reconvenes at the next location. Simple… like river-dance for the mouth.
Everyone who was there Saturday said it went well, I think I heard the word “sweet” thrown around a bit too. This is the 5th annual BOXCON, so expect even more original activity next year.
Main day Sunday – afternoon convention and evening performance
The afternoon convention (which was open to all and free!) was a collection of short open mic performances from beatboxers of all ages, genders and nationalities.
The beauty of beatboxing is that you can make and utilize so many sounds with your mouth, and as with all music; the strongest performances came from those with original sounds and distinct technique. What really set the mark was the 3 youngest performers (all under 17), who grabbed everyone and everything in the room by the balls and showed us what beat boxing is about! If you guys aren’t there next year then I’m cancelling Christmas.
Created with flickr slideshow.
‘Reeps one’ is another guy really worth mentioning from this segment of the day; he made full use of the word convention by actually demonstrating some of the “tools” in beatboxing i.e. visual FX and progressive layering. Nice one.
There was a real sense of interest from the audience and an even greater sense of enthusiasm from the performers. The stage had a magnetism about it that kept everyone glued to their seats, and being conveniently set up in the middle of the foyer everyone had room to move between the bar and balcony. Even if you’re not into beatboxing I suggest you check this segment out next year, it’s free and Southbank is littered with some of London’s best street performers, graffiti, restaurants, theatres and attractions.
“Ether is Southbank centre’s festival of innovation in sound and art with an emphasis on digital culture, cutting-edge collaborations and cross-arts experimentation”
The main evening performance was in the Purcell Room, and was much more than just beatboxing:
All female group ‘The Boxettes’ gave an honest and energetic performance of their harmony-enriched, scat-soul style. There were two things distinctly bouncing in the air that evening… hands and good vibes. French Performing arts collaboration ‘Omm’ brought a touch of class to the evening by incorporating theatricality, break-dance and costume. They were definitely the most established act of the evening, but they didn’t deliver the same “edge” as the other performers. Omm are an invigorating group in their own right, but fell short of maintaining the intensity that some of the acts had provided in a concert heavily built around improvisation.
Beatboxer Adam Matta (NY) and Tuba player Oren Marshall (London) were the final act of the evening and the term “save the best until last” has never meant so much. Using an array of FX pedals, microphone/vocal/recording techniques; they showed an extensive knowledge of repertoire and minimalism which drew upon so many aspects of contemporary music.
I recommend BOXCON to anyone with an interest in any music, not just beatboxers, or fans of drum n’ Bass and hip-hop; beatboxing grasps firmly to all music in its wake, and the huge variety of people who showed up on Sunday to be astounded will confirm this.
As mentioned before, this is the 5th annual BOXCON to be held at the Southbank Centre, and you can expect to see more original entertainment next year, hopefully with some of the same acts and all the enthusiasm as this year’s line-up.
Venue: 4/5
Sound System: 4/5
Music: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Line up: 4/5
Review by Adam Bain
For more information on The Line up, ‘Flash Jam’, BOXCON and Ether Festival, follow the links below.
http://www.beatboxconvention.com/about.php
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/festivals-series/ether?gclid=CK-wnsr085kCFUgTzAoddiuYRw
http://www.myspace.com/reeps1
http://www.myspace.com/boxettes
http://www.adammatta.com/
http://orenmarshall.com
http://www.humanbeatbox.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50749 - (Full Flash Jam description)
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