Beats and blues mix new with the old

Beatbox blues? Music like you’ve never heard it at The Moon Club

Heymoonshaker have found success on YouTube

Heymoonshaker have been remarkably successful for an unsigned band. Image credit Stephanie Durbic

Howling vocals, blues guitar and beatboxing: not your usual musical combination, but British band Heymoonshaker are making waves with this very formula.

The band – comprising beatboxer Dave Crowe and guitarist Andy Balcon – play at The Moon Club on 18 December on the back of phenomenal YouTube success and glowing reviews, described as “dazzling” by Rolling Stone France and “intoxicating” by Retox Magazine.

Indeed, they first gained attention on the video sharing website, with their most popular video amassing close to 16 million views. This brought considerable interest their way, leading to a spate of festival appearances across the UK and Europe – including Glastonbury – and has seen them build a considerable following in France.

And the band, which describes itself as “beatbox blues rock, heavy drops and a visual pleasure,” looks to have a brighter future.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pehSAUTqjRs[/youtube]

Watch Heymoonshaker performing on Brick Lane, London

The band played at the Glastonbury festival in 2013. Image credit Stephanie Durbic

Heymoonshaker’s striking sound reflects their equally unusual beginning. As they explain, they first met, “on a deep sea fishing boat off an island in the Pacific called Rarotonga. We shared the moment around a cigarette and jammed that evening in a small condo.” And with that, Heymoonshaker was born.

The band even featured at the Glastonbury festival in 2013. The experience was not what they had hoped for, however, and they describe it as, “A massive ball ache and really uninspiring”. The rain didn’t help, but the band says the event was just too big, lacking the fun of smaller festivals.

They have been particularly well received in France, and describe the experience of playing there as unique. “The shows are always full, and we always have a ball,” they insist. “And most of the audience thinks that they are sexy, which helps the general vibe of the show.”

beatbox, beatboxing, blues, Glastonbury, guitar, Heymoonshaker, Moon Club, performance