now that's some vocal percussion

May 13, 2009 6:47 PM

17 year old Julia Dales, from Canada, winner of the first Beatbox Battle Online World Championship. Her amazing wild card audition, "two minutes of DJ noises, a good bass line, a full drum kit, a remix of Justin Timberlake, Fergie and Nelly Furtado, some rewinds, a car starting, and an arsenal of other noises".The contest site.
posted by nickyskye (77 comments total)

Whatever, I could do that.*

*I could not do that in a million years.
posted by kbanas at 6:49 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

That can't be good for you. God, I'm getting more like my mother every day.
posted by marxchivist at 6:50 PM on May 13, 2009 [4 favorites]

How?
posted by gman at 6:50 PM on May 13, 2009

can't wait for the Bjork collab! i think she's going to look really good doing this in a swan costume.
posted by radiosig at 6:55 PM on May 13, 2009

Daichi had a great entry, too.
posted by boo_radley at 6:58 PM on May 13, 2009

How?
posted by gman

1. Seems like that would hurt your vocal cords. It's actually a little painful to watch. Maybe its just one of those things that squicks me out.

2. That is the first thing my mother would think of.

[If that question was addressed to my comment]
posted by marxchivist at 6:58 PM on May 13, 2009

I dunno, I think Daichi's gonna be the one to beat.
posted by ShawnStruck at 7:00 PM on May 13, 2009 [20 favorites]

All the winning entries are amazing! I was also astonished by Peterpot and Skiller. Skiller is so retardo fast and spastic that I had serious trouble believing it wasn't sped up (and half the comments are to that effect), but apparently he is actually that fast. Insane.
posted by jake at 7:01 PM on May 13, 2009 [6 favorites]

Check this kid out
posted by autodidact at 7:01 PM on May 13, 2009

Not you, marxchivist. Just - how? Like, how the hell?
posted by gman at 7:02 PM on May 13, 2009

Daichi had a great entry, too.
...Yeah, he should have won. His was way groovier, and actually sounded like something. Hers just sounded like she was trying to sing through some terrible disease.
posted by joe defroster at 7:07 PM on May 13, 2009

She shoulda beatboxed in Bb!
posted by ElmerFishpaw at 7:07 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Pooped your pants yet today?
posted by callmejordan at 7:09 PM on May 13, 2009

Good stuff!

Here's some vocal purcussion for you all: Beardyman and Flutebox. 18 minutes of brilliance.
posted by edverb at 7:09 PM on May 13, 2009 [13 favorites]

pbbbbbbt!!!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 7:25 PM on May 13, 2009

Daichi got robbed.
posted by BillBishop at 7:36 PM on May 13, 2009

Daichi rocks, it's true, great finesse but I think Julia Dales' creation is less predictable, a colorful confetti, a futuristic urban lyrebird of surprises. It dazzled in unexpected, jazzy scat ways, framed by the nonchalance of her posture, unpretentiously in the backseat of a car in a parking lot. It wowed me anyway.
posted by nickyskye at 7:46 PM on May 13, 2009 [5 favorites]

nickyskye!
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:50 PM on May 13, 2009 [4 favorites]

framed by the nonchalance of her posture, unpretentiously in the backseat of a car in a parking lot

I loved that. It was like, she was at the mall, or Target or something, and was like "Hold up. Before we go inside let me knock off this beatbox video entry real quick."
posted by nooneyouknow at 7:59 PM on May 13, 2009 [9 favorites]

What? No love for the second place winner?

Primitiv
posted by oddman at 8:01 PM on May 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

My god, both of them are amazing. Daichi's more traditionally hiphop, but Dales' is definitely freakier. Thanks for the pointer to this contest, nickyskye - and great to see you back here again!
posted by mediareport at 8:07 PM on May 13, 2009

Peterpot gets my vote though they were all interesting.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:08 PM on May 13, 2009

Frog noises!
posted by zinfandel at 8:09 PM on May 13, 2009

Jesus, Primitiv gets my vote for sure; that last minute is unbelievably awesome.
posted by mediareport at 8:10 PM on May 13, 2009

She's awesome. There is some really awkward shit when you start clicking on "related videos" though.
posted by futureisunwritten at 8:11 PM on May 13, 2009

that fucking owns so goddamn hard
posted by Damn That Television at 8:14 PM on May 13, 2009

Yeah, I would go with Daichi or Primitiv. Both of them are crisper and build into something rather than just throwing a bunch of things together. More to the point they weren't as disjointed, which is mostly the problem I hear whenever a beatbox video pops up.
posted by P.o.B. at 8:20 PM on May 13, 2009

Am I a ridiculous skeptic if I actually believe Dales' entry more wholeheartedly because I can see her hand(s) and she's in a car? There's something more than inhuman about Daichi's noises that sets off my 'let me see your hands, not infront of a computer" sensors.
Or maybe I'm just jealous.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 8:24 PM on May 13, 2009

Dyam!
posted by 3.2.3 at 8:30 PM on May 13, 2009

They were all good, but Daichi was more entertaining and musical to me. Damn fine beats. And edverb, thanks for the introduction to fluteboxing. That is so fun.
posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen at 8:35 PM on May 13, 2009

So nice to see a post from nickyskye again. Yay!
posted by netbros at 8:39 PM on May 13, 2009

Daichi is able to keep a constant beat and it's much more of a song that most of the others. I think this is probably because he beat boxes for his a cappella band.
posted by utsutsu at 8:43 PM on May 13, 2009

HOLY CRAP THAT GIRL WAS MAKING BREAKCORE WITH JUST HER MOUF
posted by infinitywaltz at 8:44 PM on May 13, 2009 [4 favorites]

That's gotta short circuit something crucial in the limbic system.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:45 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Weird, I just heard this girl being interviewed on As It Happens, but it's much, much better to see her do this on video. I don't know, there is something about seeing a real human being making those noises that is amazing!

I don't think I could do that without hyperventilating.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:46 PM on May 13, 2009

There is some really awkward shit when you start clicking on "related videos" though.

Yeah, one of those is my son.

You were saying?
posted by ook at 8:51 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Daichi rocks, it's true, great finesse but I think Julia Dales' creation is less predictable, a colorful confetti, a futuristic urban lyrebird of surprises. It dazzled in unexpected, jazzy scat ways, framed by the nonchalance of her posture, unpretentiously in the backseat of a car in a parking lot. It wowed me anyway.

It wowed me, too. She's fresh, and raw, and good.
Daichi kind of floored me, though.
posted by BillBishop at 9:01 PM on May 13, 2009

they're both awesome but that beardyman and flutebox is sick and a half.
posted by saul wright at 9:02 PM on May 13, 2009

Nickyskye, great to see you back and posting!

And... beatboxing gals, previously.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:36 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Throwing in Beardyman and Flutebox is like pros vs. college. It's not even fair.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:37 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Beatboxing has forever been ruined for me by a roommate who frequently practiced the craft. He was mistakenly convinced of his own skills.
posted by msbrauer at 9:55 PM on May 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think I love this post more than anything, ever.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 10:11 PM on May 13, 2009

Holy shit. I mean I know the link said she won the contest but I wasn't expecting that after the first few seconds of video.
posted by delmoi at 10:15 PM on May 13, 2009

here's another performance of hers (yeah it was on related)
posted by delmoi at 10:21 PM on May 13, 2009

Daichi is able to keep a constant beat and it's much more of a song that most of the others.

Another Daichi vote here. Julia had some mad skills, for sure, but she was lacking Daichi's musicality and ability to transform mere technical proficiency into the kind of performance you could watch for more than two or three minutes.

nthing also the vast chasm between all these newbs, and the pinnacle of professional beatboxing that Beardyman and Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee represent.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:34 PM on May 13, 2009

Never heard a girl make better fart noises. I dig.
posted by dagosto at 10:47 PM on May 13, 2009

A rare case of a teenage girl possessed by audio technology. Don't be lured by her channeling radio! She needs an exorcist before she starts to bop around in unnatural machine-like ways.
posted by Free word order! at 11:08 PM on May 13, 2009

Man, 22 years ago my sister used to whale on me something fierce (With our parents' tacit approval) for making "Unnecessary noises".

If it hadn't been for them, I coulda been somebody. I bft-bi-dooda could-bi-dooda been-bi-dooda a hikky-hikky-hikky contenda.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:18 PM on May 13, 2009 [7 favorites]

The males are still more impressive.
posted by pracowity at 1:00 AM on May 14, 2009

This video of her at a school talent show is actually more impressive to me, as it shows a little stage presence and sense of humor.
posted by roll truck roll at 1:15 AM on May 14, 2009

"My name is Julia Dales and I wanna win the Beatbox Battle wildcard," she says, rolling her eyes and sounding like she's about to die from boredom. And just drops into that insanity. Awesome. Dales has some sick skills and creativity. And that video was hilariously unpretentious which certainly added a cool off-the-cuff vibe to it.

Otoh, Daichi had amazing flow. I couldn't believe how bloody tight that perfomance was, everything on the beat.

Dead even!

(And cool post, thanks.)
posted by Glee at 1:40 AM on May 14, 2009

Meh, whatever, I've seen a lot of beatboxing, this girl can't be HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME. Where'd you find this?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:25 AM on May 14, 2009

Morning Brandon, you're up with the dawn. *smiles and waves, YAY loving MeFite buds!
I found it right there on the web.

the vast chasm between all these newbs, and the pinnacle of professional beatboxing that Beardyman and Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee represent.

Yeah, but that's like comparing Basquiat or Jackson Pollack and their unexpected street art blam and filligree chaos with establishment art. There is additional delight, imo, in the more raw, less figurative, less commercial expression.
posted by nickyskye at 4:16 AM on May 14, 2009

Seems like that would hurt your vocal cords

I would have thought that, like any exercise, if you warm up and cool down there should be minimal risk.
posted by asok at 5:43 AM on May 14, 2009

Impressive, interesting, neat. However...

Dales wants to develop her beatboxing and integrate it with her other musical skills.

Good luck with that. Beatboxing pretty much always sounds just like a gimmick to me. Maybe it's because I only notice it in demo reels which are all "this sound, I'm making it with my head".
posted by Nelson at 7:36 AM on May 14, 2009

My vote goes to Daichi. Not only his entry but his other videos, this guy is awesome.
posted by Vindaloo at 8:17 AM on May 14, 2009

I wonder if she has a part lined up in the next Police Academy movie.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:36 AM on May 14, 2009

What... Michael Winslow wasn't entered?
Probably too busy making Police Academy Eight Thousand and Fifty-Five.
posted by The Ultimate Olympian at 8:47 AM on May 14, 2009

I should probably click refresh before I post things.
posted by The Ultimate Olympian at 8:48 AM on May 14, 2009

Wait, they really say "fresh"? I thought that was just made up by Ali G to sound like the stupidest possible thing to insert into any sequence of noises.
posted by interrobang at 9:17 AM on May 14, 2009

"Fresh" is one of the many traditional samples to drop into turntable sets, and is probably featured on a number of battle records. I don't know where the original "Fresshh" came from, but it probably sounds stupid to you due to its over-use.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:52 AM on May 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

I watched some of these this morning and these are the kinds of things that I love about Metafilter. This is new and interesting to me. And the comments have links to so many other good examples.

Thanks for bring a smile to my face (and some foot-tapping).
posted by dios at 10:11 AM on May 14, 2009

And, didn't Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull) invent fluteboxing?
posted by oneironaut at 10:12 AM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, if Anderson didn't invent it he certainly unveiled it for a large audience.
posted by bz at 10:40 AM on May 14, 2009

Minor derail: I was always under the impresison that Ian Anderson was Jethro Tull, not "of Jethro Tull." Kind of like Trent Rezner/NIN. Is that true?
posted by dios at 10:43 AM on May 14, 2009

Nevermind. I remembered that this very computer has access to the googles and just went and found that I was misled years ago by my evil cousin about the Tull.
posted by dios at 10:45 AM on May 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

ook, is your son the one that does the Pokemon beatbox?
posted by JonnyRotten at 12:58 PM on May 14, 2009

Hee -- nah, he's just a spectator.

So far.
posted by ook at 1:42 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Nicky!!! Great post as always (and I missed you!)
posted by grippycat at 3:02 PM on May 14, 2009

I'm just trying to imagine the number of hours practicing in one's bathroom that are necessary for such a feat.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:44 PM on May 14, 2009

marxchivist: "God, I'm getting more like my mother every day."

If your mother only knew.
posted by mullingitover at 3:58 PM on May 14, 2009

And, didn't Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull) invent fluteboxing?

Uh-uh. Ian copped it from Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:08 PM on May 14, 2009

where the original "Fresshh" came from

Fab 5 Betty "Change the Beat"
posted by First Post at 1:49 AM on May 15, 2009

it probably sounds stupid to you due to its over-use

no longer so fresh?
posted by idiopath at 5:21 AM on May 15, 2009

So will someone combine this with an auctioneer?
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 7:29 AM on May 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

So will someone combine this with an auctioneer?

That would be 10000% awesome.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:11 AM on May 15, 2009

my worlds collide: A beatboxing parrot.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 9:08 PM on May 15, 2009