Darren Foreman (Beardyman) performing beatboxing on stage, NIA arena Birmingham, Young voices concert 70948_HAL-A
Darren Foreman (born 14 May 1982) also known as Beardyman is a musician from London renowned for his beatboxing skills. He was given the nick-name "Beardyman" because a name was quickly needed for a flyer for an early show, and at the time he had a beard. Though often unshaven, he does not usually sport what would be considered a full beard. In 2006 Beardyman battled to become UK Beatbox Champion and retained his title in 2007 making him the first beatboxer in UK history to win 2 championships in a row. As well as accomplished solo beatboxing, Beardyman uses music technology such as the Korg Kaoss Pad 3 in order to loop and sample his vocals. Through his use of looping tools he effectively produces whole dj sets where the records are constructed live from his vocalisations, as well as live production of original material. His interest in exploring new musical technology is also evident in the innovative Battlejam club nights he hosts with 2007 DMC champion turntablist JFB. Here the live looping technology is augmented with live sampling of the audience to make the hook of instantly composed tracks and even live video sampling and scratching. He has gigged and recorded with MC Klum-Z-Tung as part of MC/beatbox duo The Gobfathers. Together, they presented Get Lucky TV's 'The Freestyle Show” in 2005, and also appeared as traffic wardens in a hidden camera show for E4. In 2008 he collaborated with visual artist mr_hopkinson, to produce a video called 'Monkey Jazz' which visually describes the live looping process. Since then they have worked together to produce various multi-camera videos of Beardyman's performances filmed at the Cube Microplex. Beardyman has also appeared on stage for improvised live shows with mr_hopkison providing visual backdrops from images instantly searched from the internet in response to audience suggestions.
Size: 5100px × 3400px
Location: NIA concert Arena, Birmingham, UK
Photo credit: © Daniel Valla FRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: arena, beard, beardyman, beatbox, beatboxing, birmingham, concert, darren, foreman, london, manchester, men, musician, nia, performance, performer, sheffield
