British beatboxer Shlomo had announced his Voctronica project last year and called for people with exceptional vocal talents (ranging from beatboxing to singing) to apply for the opportunity to be part of a vocal orchestra. Shlomo worked with many beatboxers and musicians in India since his last visit and explained that Voctronica is a culmination of the vocal orchestra idea (more on his thoughts about Voctronica here). Upon looking through the candidates that applied, a few talented individuals were selected along with Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy (of Scribe) to form Voctronica.
The vocal crew was trained for eight days under the expert guidance of rapper/MC Testament (who is also a fellow beatboxer in Shlomo’s Lip Factory) before their debut gig at Bonobo, Mumbai. The show was opened by Testament, who quickly ran the crowd through the basics of beatboxing and what exactly was going to happen on the night. Testament went on to do some solo beatboxing of his own, as well as throwing in some rapping and singing in his performance. He then opened up the stage to Voctronica.
A diverse group of individuals hailing from various Indian cities, Voctronica was a blend of youth and experience with the youngest member being only 14 years of age. Their debut performance started off with a bit of a wobble but they grew in confidence and played to a receptive audience at Bonobo, who got quite energized as the gig went along. Check out the setlist below.
Setlist
‘Raasati’ (Telegu) vs. ‘Killing Me Softly’ (The Fugees)
Unstructured jam
‘Someone Like You’ (Adele) vs. ‘Use Somebody’ (Kings of Leon)
Structured jam
‘Why This Kolaveri Di’ (Dhanush)
Here are some photos of the workshop and gig below.
Testament teaches the Voctronica group how to drop the beat
Testament addresses the crowd at Bonobo
Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy & Raj Verma of Voctronica
The Voctronica crew celebrating the end of their debut show at Bonobo
Photos by Mehr Singh
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