Definitely established as the French benchmark for beatboxing, the Florida Beatbox Festival was a great success for its third edition.
Two evenings, it almost felt like it was too little. Such an amount of energy and fervor on both sides of the stage, we hadn’t seen this since before the pandemic. Agen has established itself as the world capital of beatbox; this weekend, we heard both English and Spanish among the spectators who came by the dozens from all over the world.
The Florida Beatbox Festival attracts crowds, French or foreign. The beatboxers invited this year came from seven different countries.
As usual, the festival was divided into two evenings. In other years, Friday was dedicated to mini-battles and Saturday to the big competition between international artists. This year, a new formula has been put in place for Friday. World champions Skiller and Pe4enkata (a Florida regular for a few years) opened the show with demonstrations of their sounds. Both set the bar high when it comes to playing human drum machines. A dazzling start to the festival, because both have their battalion of fans.
Incantation of spirits
The show continued with an innovation from Florida: Yurei. This Japanese term refers to Japanese ghosts, who cannot leave this world because they left regrets, anger. It is the Japanese dancer Sakiko Oishi who gave life to this choreography, in duet with Brice Rouchet. Tioneb, the most Agenais of beatboxers, was at the sound mixing desk while light effects accompanied the two artists. The highlight of the show, with these gleams in relief, was the disco ball outfits of the dancers. A multitude of colors, shapes with variable geometry, and the impression of seeing two extraterrestrials materialize before our eyes.
The next day, we got to the heart of the matter with the big battle between international beatboxers. In front of a jury representing ten nations (four different continents), eight artists competed on stage. The challenge: to appear as the best human rhythm machine, a high-flying exercise where the only instruments used are the mouth, the hands and the microphone. The set gives surprising results, which sound hip-hop as well as jazz or electro. For beatboxers, the sources of inspiration are varied.
Three hours of “battle”
After almost three hours of clashes, the final was played between the Welshman Graycloud and Piratheeban, originally from Singapore. Among the public, as much admiration for one as for the other. But the jury’s choice fell on Graycloud… No regrets for the other candidates, however. After showing the extent of their talent, they are ready to return to Florida at the next opportunity. See you in 2023.