Beardyman - Mr. Maybe

If you haven't head of Beardyman then where have you been? Beardyman, aka Darren Foreman, is the two-times winner and current beatboxing champion of the UK. His vocal skills at this year's champs made one of the judges turn to the other and say, "But that's impossible?" He made it all look so easy, and yet, behind the scenes, the bearded wonder has been working hard polishing his craft (So that's what they call it down in Brighton? Ed.)

It is a natural progression for Beardyman to release a beatboxing EP. In fact, beatboxing is only a recent addition to his skill set, as he is both an accomplished musician and comedian. He started his career as a musician through playing piano and guitar, and began dabbling in improvised comedy at university. Beardyman is a master of improvisation and this is what makes his performances so captivating and entertaining. It is also a skill that lends itself to beatbox battling, another genre in which he excels.

When Beardyman set about producing the track Mr. Maybe, he didn't want to mix beatboxing with electronically produced sounds. The result is a track in which every sound is made using the human mouth - the drums, bass, trumpets (and even the singing) are all produced vocally. Beardyman describes the track as 'electro funk with soul' and you can certainly hear overtones of Prince, James Brown and Michael Jackson in the mix. For Beardyman, the song comes before the sounds;

"I started singing a funky riff and then we pursued producing a beatbox track around the vocals."

Mr. Maybe was four months in production and shows what can be achieved with just a microphone and some recording software.

Here is a blast of Mr. Maybe:

Beardyman is set to go on UK tour with colleague and 2007 DMC champion John, aka JFB. The two champions create a ground-breaking set combining scratching and beatboxing. JFB and Beardyman have been working together for so long that they are able to improvise every set.

"We copy each other. John has the ability to record my beatboxing and he then beat juggles with it. I can add beats with my loopstation to his scratches. It's a battle of the egos! The whole thing is very creative."

The track Mr. Maybe is available exclusively on iTunes. For more beardyman musical craziness check out www.beardyman.co.uk