Kid Beyond

Amplivate EP

Who is Kid Beyond

Kid Beyond is arguably one of the most exciting beatboxers on the planet today. Aside from having been into beatboxing since 1983, he’s also a talented singer and, if his new Amplivate EP is anything to go by, a good composer. Kid Beyond is also a pioneer. Harnessing the power of Ableton live to create huge tracks, on-the-fly, directly in front of an audience. His way of working is an inspiration for a whole new generation of looping beatboxers. Over the years he has crafted his set, and now has taken it to the studio.

What's this about an EP?

The Amplivate EP is the culmination of all that work. Taking his four most well known songs, and creating them within the studio to give them the full treatment they deserve. And it does not disappoint! The production, arranging, and use of fx are top notch. And it’s made all the more incredible by virtue of the talent within Kid Beyond himself. Aside from being a great beatboxer, KB sure can hold a tune too. His singing voice is strong, and the lyrics are both well executed, and deep. This guy is on an altogether different level! I will go as far as to say, this is the finest layered beatboxing yet to be put on a recording medium. A truly jaw dropping piece of work.

So, what about the choons?

The EP is made up of four tracks from Kid Beyond, and a further four remixes by Hypnomadic, Mutaytor Dublab, DJ Jethro and Aspect McCarthy. You can hear a one minute preview of each track at Fr-Shh Music following the link at the bottom of the review.

1. Wandering Star - A strange blend between the hard sounds, and the laid back feel of the arrangement. KB whips out some strange sounds, and clever use of fx. His harmonica sound is tops.

2. Mothership - Probably one of his most well known live looping tracks. The studio gives him the scope to go all out with this one. An absolutely banging drum’n’bass track. Heavy beats and THAT trumpet comes out all guns blazing. The lyrical side of things works well too. A tongue-in-cheek delivery with power and timing that works well with the arrangement.

3. Deep Inside - The track starts with a breathy rhythm panning around. Followed by a nice deep bassline. Deep is the word, as KB gets thoughtful and spiritual. A really chilled feel to this track, with lovely melodies, and would go perfectly with the Sunday sesh.

4. I Shall Be Free - The clever use of panning, fx, and right choice of sounds play a big role. This provides a spacious backing for the vocals, which again give plenty of food for thought. Some great harmonizing comes in leading to more layers of distorted tweaked fx. The whole thing builds up to the main part at around 4:00 where the plethora of sounds fills your head, but doesn’t sound cluttered. A testament to the selection of sounds, and arrangment.

5. Wandering Star (Hypnomadic remix) – A dubby remix of the track. Some added beats, percussion and synths.

6. Mothership (Mutaytor Dublab remix) - Kept as a d’n’b track. More reliant on samples in both the beats and sound sources. A nice track but I still prefer the original.

7. Deep Inside (DJ Jethro Remix) - A full on dub remix. Retains the original bassline, but adds classic dub beats and fx. The vocal also gets the dub echo treatment to trippy effect.

8. Wandering Star (Aspect McCarthy Remix) - An added piano and some beats go on this one. The whole arrangement it stripped down giving a large sense of space.

Sources/references/links

Kid Beyond Homepage
Kid Beyond Myspace

Available as an MP3 download from