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: Tocando gira-discos invisíveis

Filmed:
860,132 views

A caixa de ritmos humana, James "AudioPoet" Burchfield, interpreta uma complexa mistura de três minutos — ritmos sexy e propulsivos de hip-hop e texturas de gira-discos — tudo usando apenas a própria voz.
- 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 startedcomeçado here.
0
739
3594
Vamos então começar.
00:22
Okay, just a momentmomento.
1
9712
3238
Certo, só um momento.
00:25
(WhirringZumbindo)
2
12950
5315
(Ruído sibilante)
00:31
All right.
3
18265
2128
Tudo certo.
(Risos)
00:33
(LaughterRiso)
4
20393
1941
00:45
Oh, sorry.
5
32923
3175
Ah, desculpem.
(Percussão vocal — beatbox)
00:48
(MusicMúsica) (BeatboxingBeatboxing)
6
36098
10611
04:34
Thank you.
7
261272
1894
Obrigado.
04:35
(ApplauseAplausos)
8
263166
2772
(Aplausos)
Translated by Pedro Martins
Reviewed by Margarida Ferreira

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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