The Daily IIJ

If you asked me last week about beat boxing –the creation of sounds using the mouth- I would have told you it is not a strange concept to me. I’ve seen it on TV and I didn’t find it attractive or interesting because I believed beat boxers used more of technical support when performing on the stage.

But all this changed on Wednesday evening after we, IIJ participants in the Multimedia and Online Journalism course, enjoyed the movie “Love, Peace and Beatbox” (cinematic trailer - youtube), directed by Volker Meyer-Dabisch.

The film was recommended to us by our assistant Slyvia…. She sold it as a must-see movie and she was right in every sense of the word. She took us on the 8th floor of an old building without lift, where the movie was shown in a bar.

Exhausted, thirsty we were after taking the ‘million’ steps up only to be welcomed by cold beers and comfortable chairs. The beer was tasty and the movie was quite exhilarating, especially in atmosphere like that.

It’s a documentary film about 4 guys, 4XSample. I must confess that despite the movie being in Germany, I didn’t read the English subtitle at all. I was attracted to the great rhythms and sounds from the beat boxers. I couldn’t help move my legs to the beat.

“How do they do that?” was everybody’s wonder. The answer was given directly by Mambo, a member of the 4Xsample: “practice and practice,” he said.

He said he has spent 10 years practicing beatbox, trying out new rhythms and sounds. He does it everywhere, from bathroom to the S-Bahn.

And last night, I spent half an hour, at midnight, on an empty stomach, trying to practice beat box, trying to make drum sounds with the mouth. But I just created ‘rain’ instead. I know I will never become a beat boxer. But I have learnt that practice and practice is the way to success.