Here I get up close and personal with the eight members of Shlomo’s beatbox choir ‘the Vocal Orchestra’ who perform on Saturday 13 December at 7.30pm in Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Beatboxers’ technique often requires the musician to cover their mouth with their hand, both for technical reasons (it creates an air chamber when using a mic) and social ones (it avoids expectorating upon innocent bystanders).
On a visual level however, half the face is lost, an area used substantially in human communication. We hear these incredible sounds but have no idea how they’re produced leaving us with a sense of mystery and misunderstanding. By removing this barrier, the process is demystified, and, in turn, allows us to identify better with the musicians.
This has an underlying metaphor with youth culture relations in general – much understanding is lost through poor communication.
jestar*
Testament
Neo
Alyusha
Yvette
Bellatrix
Shlomo
Billy
