Out of the Box

It is not often that one meets beat-boxers who are trained in jazz and other forms of western classical music.

Grammy-nominated British beat-boxer Shlomo is in town with his unique variety of music

It is not often that one meets beat-boxers who are trained in jazz and other forms of western classical music. But that is what makes Grammy-nominated British beat-boxer Shlomo different from the rest of the vocal percussionists who are working with in this genre. Ive been obsessed with music since I was a small child,belly-dancing at my grandmothers parties and banging on the pots and pans. I got my first drum-kit when I was eight-years-old and have never looked back since. I started beat-boxing in my teens after somebody played a tape of a beatboxer and things seemed to spiral from there, says Shlomo,26 who is all set to display his vocal talents at the Hard Rock Cafe tonight,layering them with some folk music by Rajasthani moorchang player Raies Khan and a collaboration with two members of Delhi-based band Advaita. The gig is being organised by That Cat Entertainment and British Council.

For the uninitiated,beat boxing is more like the vocal imitation of turntables and the art of producing drum sounds and other instrumental noises by using ones vocal chords. I love going onstage and interacting with a crowd,whether its 10,000 people at a festival or 10 people in a tiny club. I get a buzz from doing my thing and watching people react, says Shlomo,who is known to the world for his 2004 performance at the Athens Olympics with Academy Award nominated singer and songwriter Bjork. This was the performance that won him a Grammy nomination as well.

Shlomo says he has always been open to collaborations of these kinds. There was one track that Bjork had written for the opening ceremony of the Olympics which she wasnt going to use on the record. She changed her mind at the last minute,and wanted to record an all-vocal version. The next day she got a choir in,and the day after that I came in to do the beats. She performed it at the Olympics and several billion people got to hear my beat-boxing. It was a great experience to work with a legendary performer like her and I guess she brought out the best in me, he recalls.

Shlomo then went on to start the worlds first beatbox choir called the Vocal Orchestra,and founded the global beat-box portal called umanbeatbox.com and has worked with artistes like Nitin Sawhney,Gorillaz Frontman,Damon Albarn and Martha Wainwright

In fact,Shlomo has used beat-boxing as an educational tool as well,with his Beatbox Academy in London,for inner city kids. Its amazing because a lot of these youngsters have been excluded from mainstream education,but beatboxing is something that they really get excited about, he says.

Talking about Indian music Shlomo says he finds it similar to beatboxing,From my experience,Indian music is a massively diverse world. I love the range of sounds and instruments. One thing that I find fascinating is the similarity between Indian vocal percussion and beatboxing. They are the same idea,but born in totally different parts of the world at different times. says Shlomo,who is also excited about tasting some spicy Indian curry. I cant wait to find out what will happen, he says.

(With inputs from Pooja Pillai )

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