New life for 'mouth music'?
As beatboxing gets exposure from American Idol's Blake Lewis, local talents hope to cash in
By Jeanmarie Tan and Syahirah Anwar
June 02, 2007




AMERICAN Idol fans this season were enthralled when runner-up Blake Lewis performed his unique take on Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name.

Student Kiyoki Mori, who came in fourth in 987FM's beatboxing competition twoyears ago. --
The classic rock song was given a novel spin - with Lewis imitating drum beats and rhythms using just his own voice, lips and tongue.
In hip-hop culture, it is the art of vocal percussion, or beatboxing.
Lewis lost the Idol crown to vocal powerhouse Jordin Sparks last week.
But the way he fused beatboxing with chart-toppers like Maroon 5's This Love and Jamiroquai's Virtual Insanity throughout the reality TV singing competition has thrown what is essentially an '80s artform back into the spotlight.
Beatboxers in Singapore are a niche group, but in their midst are some bright sparks.
Blazing the trail are Dharni Ng and Zul Mystroe, both 20, who started beatboxing when they were only 15.
AWARD-WINNING
They are now known in local beatboxing circles as pioneers of the scene and have won many awards between them.
Dharni, a recent Temasek Polytechnic graduate, has performed at Liquid Room and Centro, Zouk in Kuala Lumpur and the Motorola Street Style Awards in Macau.
He is now in talks with local hip-hop club The Butter Factory to possibly collaborate with its DJ on a twice-weekly trial run for a month.
Meanwhile, NS man Zul has appeared at Ministry of Sound (MoS), Home Club and Dbl O.
He said that clubbers were mostly 'supportive and appreciative'.
According to both men, there are only about 50 to 60 beatboxing enthusiasts - and only about 15 actually get paid to perform.
The money can be respectable - Dharni says he gets $400 to $500 for five to 10 minutes' work - but employment is 'seasonal'.
Zul, who charges similar amounts, says the frequency of his gigs ranges from twice a month to once every three months.
He joked: 'The pay is not enough, but can last me a month if I don't go shopping.'
Dharni said the local beatboxing scene peaked in 2005 when radio station 987FM organised Singapore's first official beatboxing competition.
There were then about 100 beatboxers here and 'the hype was crazy'.
But there was no follow-up contest and the scene soon 'died down' because the beatboxers ended up 'focusing on other stuff', they said.
Zul said that the local scene is 'not moving' and that he and Dharni are the only ones committed enough to take the intiative and persuade organisations to put together beatboxing shows and competitions.
But with Lewis in the limelight and beatboxing becoming mainstream, Dharni hopes there will be a revival.
He said: 'He has given it international TV exposure and made the biggest impact.
'There are beatboxers who have been around for many years, but they didn't go on Idol, which is watched bymillions.
'Even in the US, it's still a niche (interest). Not many people knew about it until Blake showed up.'
Still, at least Dharni and Zul's enthusiasm in promoting beatboxing here has created new aficionados.
One of them is Kiyoko Mori, possibly Singapore's sole female beatboxer.
The 18-year-old Japanese-Chinese student picked up beatboxing twoyears ago from Dharni.
She was fourth in the 987FM competition, where she was the only female among 30 applicants.
On being the rose among the thorns, she said: 'It's my nature to be outrageous and be into things that most girls don't find interesting.'
She has performed at dinner functions, alumni events and in clubs like Thumper, and gets about $100 to $400 a session.
But to her, beatboxing is a 'second thing' for 'extra cash if I have the extra time'.
Said Kiyoko, who hopes to study graphic design at Nanyang Technological University: 'Right now, I want to try other things.'
Charles Wong, a 21-year-old NS man who started beatboxing four years ago, has performed at school events and at Club Momo, The Butter Factory and DXO.
He said: 'One thing I like about beatboxing is the freedom to decide how I want things done. You have full control of how you want your music to sound.' Clubs like The Butter Factory, MoS and Home Club have been supportive and have given beatboxers a place to showcase and hone their craft.
MoS holds monthly Sho'Down series, where emcees, DJs, B-boys and beatboxers spar, musically and rhythmically, against each other.
It held its first beatboxing contest last year.
Mr Calvin Sio, assistant vice-president for marketing of LifeBrandz, which runs MoS, said the club is 'very open' to having beatboxers on board as residents 'as long as they're good', because of their 'high entertainment value'.
He added that although clubbers are more used to DJ sets, they respond well when live elements are added.
Said Home Club's marketing manager Kelvin Tan: 'A beatboxer has the potential to connect with the audience on a greater scale than even the DJ.
'We have plans for beatboxing in future events and see not only a need but a growth in their involvement.'
However, club operators agree that beatboxing is still a niche musical form that some clubbers can't appreciate.
Said Ms Celeste Chong, The Butter Factory's marketing director: 'We're willing to try anything linked to hip-hop... but I'm not sure whether it (can be) a regular event, happening every Friday and Saturday. Right now, it's more suitable for one-off events.'
LIMITED APPEAL
Club operators say they also doubt whether beatboxers can ever replace the sounds they try to emulate - the punchy beats and grooves which DJs spin from behind their turntables.
'There might be more chances for them to work together, but to entirely replace them - I don't think so,' said Ms Chong.
Added Home Club's Mr Tan: 'The DJ's main goal in a club is to make clubbers dance.
'While a beatboxer is able to manipulate sound, create beats and a rhythm, I believe his skills are limited by the youth of (the genre) and its ability to create a flow to dance to.'
He added: 'It is much more difficult - almost impossible - for a beatboxer to maintain a beat as long and as consistently and with as much variety as a DJ.'
That doesn't put off Dharni and Zul, who want to be full-time beatboxers.
Dharni, who has been taking lessons from US-trained vocal coach Daniel Singh since 2005, hopes to be signed up to a USlabel to cut an album and then produce for other people.
Zul plans to release an EP soon, which will have beats solely from his mouth - without computer software or synthesisers - for other artistes to use in their music.
Beatboxing fans like Mr Ariffin Mohamed, 25, a freelance dancer, say they wouldn't mind paying for an album with beatboxing tracks because it's 'more interesting and unique'.
But others say it's still too niche for their taste.
Said undergraduate Eunice Kow, 22: 'It always amazes me whenever I hear people beatboxing... But the market for that scene is quite small.
'(Most people) would be in awe initially, but it will ultimately be just a novelty for them.'
- Additional reporting by Seto Nu-Wen