Beardyman
The overwhelmingly talented Darren Foreman is Beardyman.
UK BEATBOX CHAMPION…
His rise to success began with him smashing up the standard forbeatboxing, becoming the heavyweight UK champion, ticking the WIN box twice for title of UK Beatbox Champion back to back in 2006/07. In 2008 he was the judge.
LIVE MUSIC PRODUCTION…
But Beatboxing has its musical limits so Beardyman went a step further, using up to 4 Korg Kaoss Pad IIIs and state of the art looping technology enables him to improvise live on stage to create tracks that that may take weeks in the studio, using the very vanguard of Live Music Production to build sonic soundscapes; a pistol duel at dawn with the capabilities of top DJs. Like some sort of musical Victor Frankenstein, on stage he works the sonic vernacular into mind‐expanding mashups using the sole instrument of his voice. His diversity and ability to musically evolve makes his skills truly exciting, probably the reason guru Rob Da Bank calls him “literally the most entertaining live human being I’ve seen in donkey’s years”.
NEW MODEL ARTIST…
Casting off the traditional shackles of the music industry, and using the very apex of cutting edge technology in his performances and marketing, Beardyman is a revolutionary in the media platforms he uses and is at the forefront of a new movement that is redefining the silhouette of what a musical act should be in the digital world of Web 2.0 and more. Without a record deal he has played to hundreds of thousands of fans and gained a database of over 100,000 online subscribers across his interactive fan sites.
YOUTUBE SUPERSTAR…
Beardyman is widely known for being a YouTube “Star”, famed for his comedic and jaw‐dropping virals beginning with Kitchen Diaries which has garnered over 5 MILLION views.
In the truest sense of the word viral, the talents of Beardyman have pervaded every last corner of the globe, gaining over 50 Million views of his videos, surfing into homes on the most prolific medium of the 21st century.
In November 2008 Beardyman was beamed LIVE into your computer as a main headliner on the first ever streamed concert, YouTube Live, becoming a supernova of the world wide web and personal hero of the entire Google empire (owners of the earth). There is even a Beardyman plaque in their toilets.
FESTIVAL HEADLINER…
On stage Beardyman has been playfully twisting the brains of ravers the world over with his unique brand of beatboxing‐technological‐mash‐ups, leading them on sonic adventures with their addled minds. He’s graced the famed mainstages of Lovebox, Rise, Sonar by Night, Turning Point (the Roundhouse), Bestival, Snowbombing, Beachbreak Live and many more, giving incredible performances that embraced the musical variety of the festival scene. In 2010 he will open Glastonbury Festival’s 40th Anniversary celebrations in the Dance Village. His eye for talent has led him to join forces with artists of fearsome calibre, such as Fatboy Slim, Imogen Heap, Reggie Watts, Groove Armada, proving his dexterity as an artist. In November 2009 he made world history by performing and improvised show with a full sized orchestra in his collaboration with The Heritage Orchestra; sharing conducting duties with Jules Buckley, Beardyman used the sections of the orchestra as he would use his loopstation building full‐scale improvised tunage from Dubstep to Disco, House to Drum and Bass.
TOURING ARTIST…
In May 2010 Beardyman completed his first ever tour of UK & Ireland, successfully selling out ALL venues, including the O2 Isilngton Academy in London. This is an impressive and unusual feat for an act yet to release any material. Beardyman will be touring the UK again in late 2010, as well as a debut tour of Canada in the summer of 2010 and his debut appearance in Japan at Fuji Rocks Festival in July.
COMEDY TIMING…
Central to all Beardyman performances is a playful sense of humour. Well aware that his incredible career is based on his ability to “tune a raspberry”, Beardyman is able to make fun of himself and the audience with a natural comedic ability, leading to standing ovations at sell‐out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe festival 2009, both with his own shows in the Udderbelly, Underbelly and at the Time Out comedy revue ‘For One Night Only’, as well as the Udderbelly on London’s South Bank proving an ability to cross over genres. In July 2010 Beardyman will be debuting at Montreal Comedy Festival: ‘Just For Laughs’ on the Britcom showcase alongside Brit giants Jimmy Carr and Phil Nichol, hosting the Amp’d music show (headliner Tim Minchin) and also performing on one of the JFL televised Gala shows.
RECORDING ARTIST…
Beardyman is currently recording an album to be released via Sunday Best later this year. Sharing production duties with Tom Middleton (famed for his work with other musical scientists Aphex Twin and Matthew Herbert), they are attempting to encapsulate the many sides and essence of Beardyman on one record: fusing funny skits with credible music, all using his golden larynx to beatbox 95% of the instrumentation.
Schedule
Sat 31st Dec, 20:00 Rhythm Stage