10 April 2013

Unearthed Reviews: Kodakbeatbox. Three stars

| Barcham
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kodak

One day the masses will look up and shout “Give us another Unearthed Review Barcham!”… and I’ll look down and whisper “No.”

Sadly today is not that day.

Who are we visiting today? Why it’s Kodakbeatbox who I thought normally was just called Kodak… but whatever.

Here’s what Kodakbeatbox has to say about himself:

Kodak (Karthik Lakshman) is a Beatbox artist from Australia based in Canberra. His career as a beatbox artist began early 2003 when he first heard famous beatboxer “Rahzel” (the godfather of noyze) back in 2003 but decided to take his skills to a higher level after being inspired by the skills of beatboxer Joel Turner on Australian Idol back in 2005.
Kodak is currently the face of Drumstick ice-cream Australia’s newest advertising campaign as of late 2012. Drumstick Australia have released two new flavours this summer by the name of “Rock” and “Pop” with Kodak featuring as the face of “Pop”. The commercial is currently being featured on high rotation on Channel V and Fox 8. Kodak’s interview, ads and music video as part of the advertising campaign can be viewed on the Drumstick Australia Youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DRUMSTICKAustralia

He actually says waaaaaaay more than that, but I think that’s enough for here. This is my review, not his biography.

Here’s what I have to say about him:

He’s talented. There is no denying that. He does stuff with his mouth that seems inhuman. How does he make any of those noises? How does he make all of them att the same time, in time? How does it come out sounding like music? It’s madness.

If I were basing my scores on skills alone, he’d get five stars easily.

The first track I listened to was Powerbeats. It’s vocally impressive, but that’s all it is. I was impressed, and I’ll never listen to it again. It’s one long hollow beat-boxing solo. It’s not a song, it’s a demonstration. He’s showing off, and saying nothing. What’s the point of having all that talent, if you can’t make anything with it?

Part Man Part Mechanical is better. It’s a complete song instead of just a solo and gave me a lot more to listen to. It still fell short of being enjoyable. He may have moved on from just showing how great a beat-boxer he is, but all he does here is tell us what a great beat-boxer he is. Actually I change my mind, this song is worse. Again it’s not terrible, just forgettable.

The third track finally gets it right. More of this Kodak please, I will listen to more of this. Ringtone Beat is another solo like Powerbeats, but instead of just demonstrating how many sounds his mouth can make, he uses those sounds to make something that sounds nice. It has personality. He has used his skills to make a song something that exists for it’s own reasons, not just as a showcase for his abilities. It’s not the best song in the world, but it’s enjoyable. Listen to this one. Just this one.

That last track, and his freakishly impressive skills earned Kodak three stars.

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