As part of our Edinburgh Fringe 2024 coverage, we are running a series of interviews with artists and creatives that are taking part in the festival.
In this interview, we speak to BASS6 about their show The Beatbox Collective’s What’s Your Sound.
Where did your arts career begin?
My arts career was ignited when I was asked to stand up on a chair in the middle of a restaurant in Amsterdam whilst on a football tour aged 13. My 2 identical twin headmasters asked me to standup and do my impressions of their staff, with sound effects! They were on the floor laughing and I've always had the confidence to host from here onwards and stand up in any situation on stage!
Whether you include beatboxing the Thunderbirds theme tune at aged 4 (no I didn’t know then I was actually beatboxing!) or doing impression of my teachers, either way I knew my voice was my instrument.
Whether you include beatboxing the Thunderbirds theme tune at aged 4 (no I didn’t know then I was actually beatboxing!) or doing impression of my teachers, either way I knew my voice was my instrument.
The Beatbox Collective; What’s Your Sound? Is the only all beatbox show at Edinburgh Fringe. Its all the funny sounds you have never heard as well as some dancefloor bangers you can party along with us too. We love to demonstrate we all have an inner beatboxer within us and its incredibly inclusive for all the family (Mum and Dad will be rapping and raving along)!!
We have self-written and produced the show and been together as a group for over 15 years, and this year we have the incredible support from the Keep it Fringefund. We met through the music and festival scene and have since gone on to become official World Beatbox Champions amongst many other accolades. We’ve just appeared in National TV on ITV’s This Morning promoting our Ed Fringe show. We did a music performance, interview taking all things Edinburgh Fringe, a remix of the This Morning theme music, taught Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond how to beatbox and even performed a freestyle impromptu collaboration song with Alison!
Our next stop after Edinburgh is London at the Underbelly in September, and then from our huge success and collaborations at SXSW Austin, USA earlier this year we are heading to SXSW Sydney, Australia in October, and aim to bring the show to Adelaide fringe for 2025 or 2026.
How would you describe the style of the show?
What’s Your Sound? was written specifically for Edinburgh Fringe in 2016. We wanted to demonstrate the high level of what we do musically, but also had so much fun making the show, comedy sketches were formed. The show has a varied format and doesn’t necessarily take you where you expect. The idea is to cover as much as what you can do with the voice and imagination and appeal to everyone, whether 8 years old or 80 years old it translates to everyone as beatboxing is simply speech, language and glorified fart sounds! :)
How have you approached developing the piece?
Every year another 74 sounds are added!! We do always add, adjust and improve the show and really wish we had 2 hours as we are sitting on so much material it’s hard to cut some jokes and tracks!
How do/will you prepare yourself for a run at the Fringe?
The months of planning builds into a rush for the 2 weekbuild up. It’s important to keep on all the tick lists daily and not take the foot off the gas and really get talking to people and getting the Fringe buzz off other artists energies, excitement and pre show calamities (our flyers were meant to arrive last Monday... Eeeeeek!!! But sharing that thrill and feeling is a wonderful way to build into Ed Fringe mode! I will also eat lots of vegetables
As much as I’d like to see all the new weird and wonderful, I really look forward to returning to certain shows as well. This year my Father is coming up to Edinburgh for his first ever Ed Fringe and I’m really look forward to finding some great shows for him as well as him seeing our show.
What keeps you inspired?
The evolution of beatboxing is insane and new sounds and vocabulary are increasing daily. It keeps us on our toes and we love to learn as much as teach, and have now taught over 1 million people through live arena events with the incredible Young Voices concerts.
The evolution of beatboxing is insane and new sounds and vocabulary are increasing daily. It keeps us on our toes and we love to learn as much as teach, and have now taught over 1 million people through live arena events with the incredible Young Voices concerts.
A totally different view on beatboxing, mind blown and cheeks smiling and a good sweat on after a good dance!
31st July - 11th August
6:15pm @ Assembly Studio Three.
https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/665-the-beatbox-collective-whats-your-sound
Post a Comment