Shlomo (beatboxing artist)
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| Shlomo | |
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 Shlomo in 2007. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Simon Shlomo Kahn |
| Origin | Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Genres | Beatbox, Hip-Hop |
| Occupations | Beatbox artist |
| Instruments | Human voice, percussion |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Unsigned artist |
| Website | shlo.co.uk |
| Members | |
| Shlomo (Vocals) | |
Simon Shlomo Kahn (born c. 1984) (Shlomo) is a British beatboxing artist.
[edit] Background and career
Shlomo is of Israeli, Iraqi and German descent and grew up in the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. He can speak Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic;[1] he is a classically trained percussionist and a jazz drummer.
His original beatboxing techniques include his 2-mic trancebox routine. He is one of the key people behind the global beatbox portal humanbeatbox.com.[2] He and Björk performed Oceania at the opening ceremony of the Athens of the 2004 Summer Olympics. The song Oceania was commissioned by the Olympic Games Committee and heard by 3.9 billion people around the world making Shlomo one of the most-heard beatboxers in history (although most would not have realised that the drum sounds were vocal). The performance was nominated for a Grammy Award. He has also worked with artists such as Martha Wainwright, DJ Yoda, Mad Professor, Mr Scruff, Nitin Sawhney and Foreign Beggars.[3]
Shlomo toured the UK, Europe and Canada with London hip hop act Foreign Beggars, before making a solo appearance on Later... with Jools Holland in late 2005. In 2006, after an appearance on the Radio 1 Rap Show, hip hop DJ Tim Westwood named Shlomo the 'Harry Potter of beatbox'. Following a performance at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall concert hall, he became Artist in Residence at the South Bank Centre in 2007.[3] He has also run his own collaborative concert series Music Through Unconventional Means 2007-9. Shlomo has performed at festivals including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Glastonbury, Bestival, Womad, Latitude, Oxegen Ireland, and the Lovebox. At The Big Chill festival he appeared as a guest of Nightmares on Wax in 2006, with his Vocal Orchestra in 2007, as a guest of the Mighty Boosh in 2008, and as a cameo with Hexstatic in 2009. At Glastonbury 2007 Shlomo performed a live version of A Message to You, Rudy accompanying Terry Hall and Lynval Golding from The Specials with Damon Albarn on piano.[3]
In 2007, he put together the world's first beatboxing choir, the Vocal Orchestra, to headline at the International Beatbox Convention. The Vocal Orchestra went on to perform at the Big Chill Festival and on the Park Stage at Glastonbury 2008, where Shlomo and the Vocal Orchestra performed a two-hour set with several guest appearances including Martina Topley-Bird, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Reverend and the Makers, Portico Quartet, Lemn Sissay, Ed Harcourt and Pete Lockett. In 2009, Shlomo worked with BBC Blast to promote beatboxing to young people.[4] At the 2009 Latitude Festival he collaborated with Jarvis Cocker as part of the Cape Farewell presentation, performing Purple Haze.[3] At Glastonbury in 2009 and 2010 he performed with vocal artist Imogen Heap.[5]
In May 2011, he performed at the Red Bull BC Cypher B-Boy Championships in the Ulster Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
[edit] References
- ^ The diversity of Foreign Beggars
- ^ humanbeatbox.com Humanbeatbox
- ^ a b c d Shlomo profile at the Southbank Centre
- ^ The BBC Shlomo Guide to beatboxing
- ^ Concert with Imogen Heap 2009
