Beating it loud!

Rhythmic patterns

Neil Newton is a beatboxer who got into the artform during his college days out of necessity. The Western acoustics team in his college needed a beatboxer and he decided to give it a try.

“I began to develop the art on my own after that,” Neil says. As he started to explore the form, he just couldn’t keep himself away.

Neil started picking up the basics from YouTube initially and also trained under the experienced flute beatboxer — Arun Prasad.

Soon, he began to carve his own niche in the art and began innovating various songs.
 More than the numerous college fests and competitions he has won, he fondly remembers the times he has judged events at Mount Carmel College, Reva Institute of Technology and RR Institute of Technology.

His most memorable moment was being part of ‘India’s Got Talent’. This year too, he is representing the country at the ‘Channel V India Fest’ and was ecstatic when he got his first salary for his show.

Despite achieving so much in the field, he wants to pursue it only as a passion and be an engineer by profession.

“There is always a question mark on the future of artistes in India. That’s why I have no plans of pursuing beatboxing as a profession,” he adds.

For the same reason and his passion for beatboxing, he also wants to motivate and encourage youngsters, who are new to this form of art.

As a self-taught artiste, he feels one doesn’t need to go for classes thanks to technology.
Yet he affirms, “No software can replace a teacher. If someone wants to learn professionally from a mentor, there should be no stopping them.” He also plans to take classes in future.

Being a final-year student, he finds it “extremely exhausting” to strike a balance between his studies and beatboxing.

 “My parents are very clear about beatboxing. One month before exams, I don’t participate in any show or event.”

However, it looks like he is not going to give up anytime soon. He is looking at collaborating with a few gospel vocal groups and artistes to add a spiritual touch to his music.

He even wants to perform a blend of Western and Indian music.  He feels that the growth of beatboxing in India over the last few years has been quite rapid.

Calling it a positive trend, he says, “Earlier, there were only about four people who would turn up for a beatboxing event but now, one can beatbox to a crowd of at least 40 people. The demand has increased as we find more artistes coming to learn. One day, Indian artistes will be known for their beatboxing skills worldwide.”