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Beardyman Announces Debut Album

15th Oct 2010

BEARDYMAN is Darren Foreman. Beardyman begins his transition from performing artist to recording artist with the announcement of his debut album to be released in February 2011 after becoming a marquee signing for superstar DJ, festival king and uber-successful clubland groover Rob da Bank and his label Sunday Best. Beardyman’s live odyssey reached epic proportions throughout the summer culminating with possibly the greatest 3 minutes of the year at Reading & Leeds Festival (check out 24:00 to 27:00 min). His performance turned the Alternative Stage, which had earlier played host to various comedians, into the unofficial ‘Rave Tent’ for Reading. As the afternoon sun streamed in it all went a bit Beardy. The overspill from the tent was bigger than the Gulf of Mexico Deep Water Horizon slick. Arms were most definitely aloft and at one point someone lost their trousers!

Whilst Beardyman might be known only for his beatboxing exploits, he is far from just another beatboxer. He is a musician with superhuman-like abilities and his voice is his superpower and his instrument. His sets boast dazzling variety, changes in beat-fuelled freakouts, a unique approach to a wide array of genres and a vivacious sense of humor – all of which set him apart from his peers and establishes him as being far more than a novelty jaw warmer. A genius savant would be a better way of looking at him.

For those unaware of the mindboggling and reason-defying Beardyman, his vast CV includes: being a two time Beatbox Champion (when he tried to enter for a third time he was forbidden but asked to judge instead) making him the first ever to retain the title and judge the event; various television appearances including BBC Breakfast who captioned him as “King of Sound and Ruler of Beats”; and most notably his jaw-dropping virals such as the Kitchen Diaries which has amassed over 5 million views globally. His creativity as a visual artist has lead to a partnership with Dolby Surround Sound, Beardyman is both the face and voice of their soundtrack which he wrote, conceived and produced.

Currently available for download on his website is ‘You Need Some Samples’. This track is the debut release from Beardyman as a recording artist. In typical Beardy fashion, Darren enters a multi-media plane: all the samples heard are volunteered by clubbers at Battlejam, Beardyman and DJ JFB’s interactive club night. A technique which will be showcased via live internet on the forthcoming tour. On ‘You Need Some Samples’, the volunteered themes were then turned into an original composition by Beardyman and you can see one of those samples happening when Tommy from South India invades the stage and proclaims his love for Beardyman, racial equality and for life.

The Where Are You Taking Me? Tour (17th Feb – 12th Mar 2011) is where Beardyman asks the audience exactly that question. He will be performing up, down, left and right of the country allowing fans to suggest tunes, genres, sounds, words and everything else in-between like a hirsute Dr. Frankenstein of the dance spectrum, mashing up different genres from disco with drum & bass and introducing Stevie Wonder to dubstep, Beardyman creates mesmerizing live and improvised sets that break the boundaries of the traditional live music experience and leave audiences speechless and powerless with no option but to bow down to the power of Beardyman. There’s nothing left to say but to forewarn that with his new album World Domination beckons.