I was performing with DJ Yoda, an amazing scratch dj and video artist. We created an audio-visual show for MTUM earlier in the year, and Bestival asked us to bring it to the mainstage.
Yoda getting set up
view from the stage
We were on right after human league, before hot chip and winehouse.
Apparently we played to around 30,000 people…. last major festival of the year.. what a summer
This weekend was Greenbelt festival in Cheltenham. Originally they were interested in booking the Vocal Orchestra, but some the choir weren’t about so Greenbelt commissioned me to create something different.
In the build up to Glastonbury I jammed with tabla virtuoso Pete Lockett, bassist Jon Cox and Pavan Mukhi – aka Orifice Vulgatron, the front man of the hip hop group Foreign Beggars. I decided to get this lineup together again and play around with some ideas.
It was a real pleasure to collaborate with Pavan again – he was one of the first people to believe in my skills and to get me up onstage. We first bumped into one another when I was a fresh faced fresher in Leeds. I was frantically beatboxing full blast outside a drum n bass rave where he was MCing, back in 2002. I was 18 and Foreign Beggars were doing their first shows together at the time. I quit Uni to go on tour with Foreign Beggars all over the world, and I learnt so much about stagemanship from performing with Pavan.
Pavan all smiles
Foreign Beggars are massive in the West Country and there were loads of fans going mad for Pav!
Pete Lockett is one of the world’s leading percussionists and a tabla wizard. I met Pete a few months ago at a development weekend for a percussion project we are both involved in, and earlier this summer he performed at Glastonbury with us. We had toyed with the idea of combining beatbox with Konnakol, the South Indian discipline of vocal percussion. This was a great excuse to develop some ideas a little further.
Pete and Shlo
We booked in a warm-up gig at the Big Chill House in King’s Cross a few days before the festival. This way we could rehearse all day, and run through the show in front of an enthusiastic audience that evening.
A few days before the rehearsal, Pete sent over some notation for some tabla vocals. It looked impossible. I didn’t get a chance to look at it properly until the day before the gig, and spent the whole afternoon trying to get my head round it.
Pete’s Konnakol notation
This was the first time that I have sat down and properly studied a musical exercise in years! It was difficult to get right but it felt really good to be challenged. After about three hours of going over and over the rhythms I was starting to feel a bit more confident. I called Pav and asked if he wanted to have a look at it too. He said he only had about an hour to spare that evening but he’d take a look, so I sent him the notation.
Next day we got together in the morning to rehearse. Pav had nailed the whole thing! In one hour!! I could not believe it. The piece sounded really good with Pav and Pete doing the tabla vocals, and me doing the same rhythms but using beatbox sounds.
Here’s a tiny snippet of us performing it…
It was such a pleasure to play some quite subtle and challenging material on a festival main stage, and to feel like the crowd really got it.
Lastly here is a picture of the delicious organic burger that I deleted just before the show.
Episode 3 of Shlomo’s Babelbox Podcast is out now, and it’s a Glastonbury special.
The podcast includes a backstage audio diary following Shlomo’s performances on the main stage in front of tens of thousands of people, plus highlights from the two-hour show on Park Stage. Features music and interviews from DJ Yoda, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Martha Wainwright, Martina Topley-Bird, Ed Harcourt and loads more.
Yo.. I just got back from the Big Chill festival, lots of fun.
Played on the Saturday night as part of the Mighty Boosh curates. It was totally insane, the tent was so rammed, people were trying to climb under the tent’s walls..
Womad was one of the best festivals I’ve been to. Did a guest spot with Nathan Flutebox Lee on the Friday night and another with Martha Wainwright on the Saturday.
Saw some amazing music too, highlights being Monobloco’s samba school version of Superstition, and the amazing modern Taiko act GoCoo.
Weirdest moment was being asked by Peter Gabriel for a business card, realising I didn’t have one and making him wait while I ran to the dressing room. How embarrassing.
Here’s a couple of videos of me performing during Nathan’s gig:
Did two festivals this weekend - Saturday was Picnic Rocks Festival in support of Action Against Hunger. It was on Clapham Common bandstand and the sun was blazing!
Then on Sunday it was Respect festival. It was the first full performance of the One Voice commission. The rain was hardcore. Myself, Hobbit, jestar* and Bellatrix were all stood out in front of the choirs and out of the shelter so we got soaked, but the choirs were breathtaking.
It’s 3pm. The show starts at 6. Emily Eavis has given us free reign of the Park Stage for two hours.
I’ve got the Vocal Orchestra and a heap of guest collaborators and I need to rehearse. We find a bar backstage with a decent soundsystem and get to it. Before I know it we are ready to go on, Park Stage is totally rammed!
The sun has come out and the people are smiling. Pavan from Foreign Beggars is helping me host the stage. I hear him saying my name followed by a cheer and next thing I know I am beatboxing to about 10,000 Glastonbury punters.
I kick it off with a short solo set to introduce the crowd to what I do. As I power up my looping setup, there is a loud popping noise followed by silence. I’m told that I have blown the generator for the entire Park Area. Oops. Now I am freaking out – so much work has gone into this show. This can’t be the end of it! The audience aren’t having any of it… they remain enthusiastic, singing and cheering until the power eventually comes back on. Phew!
No time to lose now, I skip straight to my drum n bass looping song to get everyone moving again, and then bring out the Vocal Orchestra. They are on fire today.
The Vocal Orchestra
What follows is a unique mish-mash of guest stars performing spontaneously. The music ranges from folk to jazz to hip hop to tabla to scratch battles to raucous sing-a-longs. If you would like to hear some of the music you will have to wait for the podcast – we did an audio diary of the whole weekend which will be out soon. There are some pics below, mostly taken by RJ Fernandez, more to come.
Martha Wainwright sang a version of ‘In the Middle of the Night’ with me on beats
Martina Topley-Bird sang ‘Police and Thieves’ by Junior Mervin with the Vocal Orchestra as backing band
Ed Harcourt presented me with a fake diamond encrusted golden microphone onstage… I think he wanted me to look as bling as Jay-Z! Then he sang ‘50 ways to leave your lover’
It was a moving experience, I came off stage exhausted but happy – I felt like all the collaborations and musical experiences from the past year as resident at Southbank have armed me with all the tools I needed to rock a two hour improvised show. It was probably the best show I’ve ever done, certainly the most fun show I have been a part of. I can’t wait to do it again. Watch this space!
Was starving after playing Pyramid stage on Friday, so I had a ‘Glastonbury Garlic Guzzler’ (amazing burger). Wandered down to the Park Stage to see Dizzee Rascal. The highlight was Calvin Harris coming on to sing ‘Dance wiv Me’… it’s now at number 1!
Then came on Pete Doherty. He was sort of stable and seemed to be able to remember his chords and lyrics. It is a bit like listening to an old drunk in the pub way after closing time singing songs about the past.
On Saturday morning I woke up early to try out the solar-powered showers (first wash since Wednesday. Nice). Then it was over to Pyramid stage for my appearance with Martha Wainwright. Pyramid felt a bit more normal second time around.
Martha’s music is a blend of folk and country rock and pretty much the last thing the crowd was expecting was a duet with a human beatboxer.
But playing to a crowd of 40,000 people in the afternoon can’t be bad promotion for the gig that evening!
As soon as we came off stage we were ushered into a Land Rover to take us back to the Park Stage to start rehearsing for the show that evening.
We got to the festival on Thursday evening and set up camp in the Park area. In the past I have camped in the ‘public’ camping areas to be with my friends, but last year I had such a crazy time (my tour manager was taken ill the night before so I was dragging my gear through the mud in a complete daze) so this year I opted for the artist campsite!
SO day one, Friday, and I woke up knowing that today I was going to achieve one of my personal ambitions - to play the Pyramid Stage. I vowed I would do this when I first came to the festival in 2005. I had been invited to do a guest spot with singer songwriter Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. I had no idea what we were going to do.
The crowd that had gathered to watch the set was massive. I’m talking make your whole body tingle every time they cheer massive.
The view from onstage as I watched the first half of the show was incredible. I start to feel a massive release of adrenaline…
In a flash it is all over. I have played the Pyramid!
OK. I’m all packed. Got my boots and wet wipes. I’m not sure what to expect weather-wise but I’m prepared for the worst! I’ve camped at Glastonbury for the last two festivals, got drenched, but still loved it.
Me at Glasto last year
Been rehearsing all day at Southbank with a whole selection of artists who will be joining me on Park Stage on Saturday evening. I had Nitin Sawhney down today jamming with Pete Lockett on tabla and Orifice from Foreign Beggars rapping. Also had Ed Harcourt down as well as Portico Quartet. Those guys and MANY MORE will all be collaborating and performing on our stage at Glasto!
I’m also playing two guest slots on the Pyramid Stage this year.. on Friday with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and on Saturday with Martha Wainwright.
