The internet is connecting our minds more closely than ever before; it could be the most significant advance for our species since opposable thumbs. However, since I am an entertainer, I have chosen to harness these incredible new technologies to perform acts of exuberant fatuity. I’m a beatboxer/live-producer/comedian and make all my music using my mouth, a microphone and a few other bits of kit.
My sets vary wildly, from stand-up comedy to flat-out raves. Before my first tour I asked people what they were expecting. Suggestions came in for covers of Prodigy, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Limp Bizkit and Manu Chao. I did them all. There were made-up song titles, from I Fell in Love with a Kentish Zombie to I’m an Egg Wolf, and unlikely genres to mash together: polka and trance, Kraftwerk reggae, dubstep opera. The shows were awesome, but I knew the idea could be explored further.
My 2010 Edinburgh Festival show was entirely improvised, based on audience suggestions. Having tried this before in clubs full of inebriated dancing nutters, where the most eloquent suggestions tended to be “Aeurgh!”, doing it with a seated audience was a revelation, like conducting a Ouija board.
I became obsessed with the two-way nature of these shows and for my last tour I asked fans to send me suggestions that I could improvise on the spot. Images searched live from the internet were mangled into rave visuals to go with the randomness.
To avoid falling victim to the “tragedy of the commons”, I act as the filter. It’s the opposite of democracy, more like a writing team. Ideas from the masses, one decision-maker choosing between them. I’ll be working hard to make it slicker and better. It’s worth the effort if you have the biggest writing team in history.
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Beardyman’s album, I Done a Album, is out now.