Shlomo Interview
Hit & Run have just announced they are hosting the Oxford Heat of the UK Beatbox Championships. The heat will be taking place at The Cellar on Sunday 3rd of June. In anticipation of will no doubt be a good show, Blunted brings you an exclusive interview with Competition founder, Shlomo.
Are a successful 5 year run in Oxford, HnR have recently moved themselves to a bigger stage. Whilst holding down the residency at The Cellar, the last 2 nights at The Zodiac have been big (look out for a review of Jehst and Zinc night on Blunted soon).
DJ Fu, co-founder of Hit & Run took time out to review Shlomo of Foreign Beggars fame. He and the Stig of the Dump will be performing live at Oxford Heat. Read on for talk or Parrots, Parrekeets and free Vauxhall Corsa’s. If you’re an aspiring Beatboxer be sure to sign up for the competition at AllFromTheMouth
Right, thanks for sparing us the time for a chat. Firstly. how did you get into music?
I’m from a really musical background - my dad plays jazz guitar and I got my first drum-kit aged 8. I’ve played in various orchestras, bands and on my own ever since!
So from day one pretty much - fair play! How did you get into beat-boxing?
I had a pet parrot called RahzKela who taught me the ways of the mouth musician.
Haha, okay and what inspires you?
Mostly the World Parrot Beatbox Championships held annually in the Canary Islands.
Hmm, parrots then! You recently performed with Bjork, how was that and is she as crazy as she looks?
No but her Parrot is mental. Actually she is dead sweet, quite shy and softly spoken. It was a wicked experience, she was the first person who treated my Beatboxing like a musical instrument. Before that I’d always seen it as a bit of a party trick and hadn’t really linked it in my head with my music.
So after hooking up with Bjork, how did you hook up with the Foreign Beggars?
My Parrot was having a secret love affair with the half-brother of Orifice Vulgatron’s lovechild’s Parakeet.
Your not leaving these Parrots alone…would you ever train a parrot to beat box?
No. Now you are just being ridiculous.
Haha. Why did you start up the Beatboxing Championships and is there a plan for a World Beatbox Championship?
It all kicked off back in Leeds in 2003. We decided to host a one off tournament and it was a smash out success! Since then it has grown into a national competition with heats in 8 different cities, and the UK Champion wins a Vauxhall Corsa!
Nice, getting bigger and better it seems. Has Beatboxing reached as far as it can go or do you think there is more scope to push this art further?
For me it’s all about constantly trying to push the boundaries. Recently we held an international event called the World Beatbox
Convention in London.
We had people from all over the world come down to display their crazy vocal chords. But we needed a finale to close the show, so I decided to put together the world’s first Beatboxing choir. It was sick! I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun on stage!
The choir sounds dope! What can people expect from the Oxford heat of the UK Beatbox Championship and who so far has caught your ears?
Oxford is looking great, we are all really excited. We’ve had loads of demos sent in already. There’s a few names out there but it would not be fair to mention specifics!
Okay, fair enough. I know we’ve got talent on the shores, is the UK at the forefront of Beatboxing?
There is a wicked scene here, but if you really want to see some off the hook vocal wizardry, you should head to the Canary Islands and battle yourself some Budgerigars!
I’ll get myself to the Canary Islands then. What’s this stuff your doing with a sampler?
It’s a loop sampler which allows you to create layers of looped audio. It’s sweet because you can create entirely structured music. Since I started looping I’ve been able to perform my own original material instead of just one-beat covers of Jay-Z beats!
Right enough about your music, what’s your favourite food?
My gran’s Iraqi red rice… chicken and rice yo!
Whats your favourite computer game?
Streets of Rage on the Mega Drive.
If you had to take 5 things to a desert island what would you take?
My wife, my parrot, my parrot’s wife, my drum-kit and a big foot truck so we could bomb it round the Island all day. Would never get bored!
Nice one. I look forward to catching up with you on 3rd June at The Cellar. For now, feel free to add anything on that you want to push or tell people about?
Check out the BAC Weekender at Battersea Arts Centre in London on 18th-20th May. I’m gonna be creating a brand new Beatboxing choir in the space of 48 hours! Check Battersea Arts Centre site.
Also check out the Myspace for all the latest tour dates and come say hi!
Questions: DJ Fu
No related entries.