Moktadir Dewan Shanto shares how his musical journey led him to beatboxing. Fatima Faheem is all ears
Photographs By Kazi Ahnaf Aquib
The guitarist used to beatbox way before he ever picked up the guitar. He thought it was his own unique perspective on music and had no idea that it existed until the day he saw Micheal Jackson do it. That is when he decided to master this unique artform. “Beatboxing comes in two forms, the technique and the usage.” Being creative and incorporating Beatboxing with instruments such as the guitar, or even rap. “I like to be creative and experiment with different genres of music in order to incorporate it with my beatboxing through my Looper – it’s a device,” elaborates Moktadir.
Human beings are capable of making various sounds through their mouths. From the very basic beats to the blending of multiple beats with various instruments and genres, there are infinite possibilities to make the final product stand out from the rest.
Moktadir says, “Beatboxing is a rather innovative form of music. Everybody should experiment with it and make sure that they are creative and very spontaneous.”
“Criticism has horrible consequences, unless you believe in yourself,” comments Moktadir, who despite the setbacks made his way up and has successfully established his own identity among the masses as the ‘Beat Baksho.’ He also states that he didn’t face as many challenges during the beginning or while transitioning from being Blunderware’s guitarist to the Beat Baksho compared to present day, because this has raised interest among the audience – they want to learn more about the genre.
“I encountered challenges while incorporating beatboxing with multiple genres like fast paced metal songs to local fusion and folk songs,” divulges Moktadir.
Music never comes to a standstill; it always branches out to something new. With the changes in the music industry, people’s expectations have changed. As far as ‘beatboxing’ is concerned, currently there is a beatbox community consisting of people from all over Bangladesh known as ‘BeatBox Bangladesh.’ Their primary objective is to expand and intensify this platform for young individuals. Also, they are ready to step above the negativity and be determined to promote the musical art of beatboxing. Moktadir concludes, “I hope that 2016 brings prosperity to the community and that people learn to accept that talent comes in many forms and no talent deserves criticism.”