By TheatreVillage 
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Answered by BASS6 (Rupert) from The Beatbox Collective
We managed an exclusive interview with one of the members from The Beatbox Collective- BASS6- Rupert
Hello, What inspired The Beatbox Collective to start their journey in beatboxing?
We all had unique influences growing up, from parents being musicians and the ability to being able to join in without a instrument, to making sound FX and doing impressions of teachers or simply mimicking TV theme tunes like the Thunderbirds! Michael Winslow (the guy from Police Academt for those that don’t recognise the name) you will see as a huge influence in our show ‘What’s Your Sound?’. Biz Markie, Rahzel, Dougie Fresh have all been key beatbox heroes of ours, as well as so many beatboxers worldwide that have helped us and the scene develop year on year. We all started on the beatbox scene at around 2002 and were straight into working with other musicians, performing at festivals and live music events. We then all met through UK Beatbox Championships, battling each other for years and from there we got asked to form an orchestra of beatboxers for Shambala festival in 2012 for their main stage. We had about 10 of us back then all freestyling and the shows went from success to success. We have gone onto become the World Champions, TED X talks, Glastonbury, SXSW Austin, BBC World News, multiple TV appearances and have been the gateway to a new generation of noise makers too!
What was it like to receive two 5 STAR reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe?
When we got our first 5 star it was quite special you know, because we have always done big festivals and private functions, but had never put on a public show (that isn’t just 1 hour of solid musical beatboxing). We put together something that hadn’t been done before, totally by ourselves (flyer design, production, flyering, busking, promo show after promo show, writing the show, sorting the lighting cues…. everything that goes with the Fringe mentality of putting on your own production)! When we got standing ovation and a 5 star review on our opening night we felt like we hit the spot and truly felt validated by a public crowd and a top reviewer, as a lot of our material really was risky, but the confidence from this first review really catapulted our confidence through the Fringe. We caught our stride with a 2nd 5 star review and we knew we were onto something good and seemingly refreshing with the way we deliver our show. It is quite raw and high energy, and no one knows what to expect from an hour of beatboxing supposedly and everyone is rewarded with breathes of comedy in the show. It was (and very much still is) 4 guys sweating it out on stage making ridiculous sounds and people really seem to get it as we cover comedy, music and get you to realise we can all do it…. depending how much free time you have on your hands!
What are some of the most memorable moments from your time performing at
major UK Arenas?
We have performed at the incredible Young Voices concerts for 4 tours now and there is no better way to have your office for the day with 8000 kids you are about to teach how to beatbox! The energy and also discipline of these kids to rehearse and perform all day with the energy they have is an absolute pleasure and wonderful feeling. Then at show time, we crank it up a few gears and get 8000 kids battling 8000 parents…. it goes… OFF!!!!
What techniques do you teach beginners when introducing them to beatboxing?
Remind everyone, every sound is a good sound. Put it into mathematical formula and equals music! We can all do it, it comes down to confidence and every beatboxer will welcome anyone who attempts it. Even attempting to beatbox you are doing it already! Its the voice and imagination, so don’t just limit it to music, do your funny impressions or sound FX and express yourself to discover your inner voice. Demonstrate your own influences and style and you will build your vocal vocabulary from there.
Can you share any tips for someone interested in starting a beatbox battle?
Watch beatboxers, meet beatboxers! The community is so helpful and engaging and even the competitions are so friendly, its all high fives and hugs after each battle! Everyone shares their sounds, there are no secrets (apart from the tricks up your sleeve for battle night)! Check out the UK Beatbox Championships for the annual battle and certainly check out Grand Beatbox Battles for some worldwide inspiration too.
How has teaching over 1 million people influenced your approach to performances?
We learnt so much on Young Voices tours and with some fantastic direction from Creative Director Andy Instone we learnt how to work with 20,000 people as opposed to our usual 2000 at a festival. The difference is real and how you approach it has to be calculated …. the first night we did an arena show we went over our time allocation by about 8minutes…. you aren’t meant to go over more than 10 seconds of performances time. Andy came up to us and said “Absolutely LOVE what you do…. but we are just going condense this into 3 minutes”. We took notes and rehearsed every moment back stage and turned an 10 minute piece into 3 minutes and hit all the major cues (despite finding it hard to cut certain gags)! When 20,000 people laugh or cheer at exact cue points, you know your onto a winner and it was great receive this helpful direction. We learnt then, taking notes after each show and re-rehearsing is the key to great performances.
Many Thanks!
The show is on the 8th September, so get booking! https://www.underbellyfestival.com/events-display/beatbox-collective
