ABOUT THE SPEAKER
James Burchfield - Human beatbox
James Burchfield is a human beatbox. Using only his mouth, tongue, throat and vocal cords, he performs heavy, layered, club-style jams that seem to come from real drum machines and lusciously scratched turntables.

Why you should listen

Outside of the hip-hop world, the art of "human beatboxing" was mostly overlooked until the droves came to YouTube. For that trend -- from obscure fad to open mic-night fixture to full-scale Internet meme -- some credit is due to James Burchfield. Known by the handle AudioPoet, the young artist was a main figure in Seattle beatboxing competitions and open-mics in the early 2000s, and then on larger stages like San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.

For a musician whose goal is "enlightenment of the mind," Burchfield has a fairly concrete tack: studying the mathematical formulas that are the foundation of music. He brings that knowledge -- and an instinct for dance-friendly grooves that simulate seemingly impossible-to-mimic machine sounds -- onto every stage.

More profile about the speaker
James Burchfield | Speaker | TED.com
TED2003

James Burchfield: Playing invisible turntables

James Burchfield suona una consolle (invisibile)

Filmed:
860,132 views

Il beatboxer James "AudioPoeta" Burchfield esegue un intricato breakdown di tre minuti, fatto di ritmi hip-hop e tessuti musicali sexy e propulsivi -- il tutto usando solo la voce.
- Human beatbox
James Burchfield is a human beatbox. Using only his mouth, tongue, throat and vocal cords, he performs heavy, layered, club-style jams that seem to come from real drum machines and lusciously scratched turntables. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
Let's just get startediniziato here.
0
739
3594
Vediamo di cominciare.
00:22
Okay, just a momentmomento.
1
9712
3238
Ok, solo un attimo.
00:25
(WhirringRonzio)
2
12950
5315
(Fa un ronzio meccanico)
00:31
All right.
3
18265
2128
Perfetto.
00:33
(LaughterRisate)
4
20393
1941
(Risate)
00:45
Oh, sorry.
5
32923
3175
Oh, scusate.
00:48
(MusicMusica) (BeatboxingBeatboxing)
6
36098
10611
(Musica) (Fa beatboxing)
04:34
Thank you.
7
261272
1894
Grazie.
04:35
(ApplauseApplausi)
8
263166
2772
(Applausi)
Translated by Silvia Papa
Reviewed by Ana María Pérez

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
James Burchfield - Human beatbox
James Burchfield is a human beatbox. Using only his mouth, tongue, throat and vocal cords, he performs heavy, layered, club-style jams that seem to come from real drum machines and lusciously scratched turntables.

Why you should listen

Outside of the hip-hop world, the art of "human beatboxing" was mostly overlooked until the droves came to YouTube. For that trend -- from obscure fad to open mic-night fixture to full-scale Internet meme -- some credit is due to James Burchfield. Known by the handle AudioPoet, the young artist was a main figure in Seattle beatboxing competitions and open-mics in the early 2000s, and then on larger stages like San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.

For a musician whose goal is "enlightenment of the mind," Burchfield has a fairly concrete tack: studying the mathematical formulas that are the foundation of music. He brings that knowledge -- and an instinct for dance-friendly grooves that simulate seemingly impossible-to-mimic machine sounds -- onto every stage.

More profile about the speaker
James Burchfield | Speaker | TED.com