Beatboxer

We all sing in the shower, but not everybody is laying bass drum, hi-hat and snare tracks while we lather, rinse and repeat. Meet Servo Caesar Prayoga, or Avo to his friends, who creates all the beats he needs with his lips and lungs.  
But the 27-year-old is not the only beatboxer in the city; there are hundreds more talented Jakartans, who flocked to the vocal technique following the screening of “Love Peace & Beatbox,” at the Goethe Institute in 2008. It’s pretty interesting how one movie could spark a generation of artists. Today, Avo tells us all  there is to know about beatboxing Jakartans. 



Could you explain a little bit about beatboxing in Indonesia? 

We are the third generation of beatboxers. Meaning that we learned from the Internet during the expansion of Hip-Hop in 2000s. In 2008, there was a European film festival at the Goethe Institute. 

They screened “Love Peace & Beatbox,” a German music documentary made by Volker Meyer-Dabisch. Mando, one of the German beatboxers in the film, came to Indonesia. 

That’s when it all really started. The visit gave rise to IndoBeatbox — Indonesia’s largest beatbox community, founded by Billy BdaBX, Indra Aziz and Tito Gomez of Fade2Black. 

What drew you to beatboxing? 

I can’t sing well. That’s one of three things I can’t do in this world — singing, drawing and playing basketball. It’s not that I’m tone deaf, but if I went to a singing audition, I think the judge would cut me off before I finished my first song. 

Beatboxing is just another way to sing for me. 

How long did it take before you knew you were good? 

I mastered the basic pattern of bass drum, hi-hat and the snare sound in just a night. 

What was the first song you taught yourself? 

‘Where Is the Love’ by the Black Eyed Peas and ‘I’m a Slave for You’ by Britney Spears. Those were beatbox cover versions, which means we made our own beat to go over the original lyrics. 

What’s the most difficult technique in beatboxing? 

Techniques like techno alarm and vocal scratch are tough, but humming and deep throat bass were the most difficult techniques for me to learn, they gave me a sore throat [laughs]. 

Any advice for young beatboxers out there? 
Practice. I myself practice in the bathroom or on my motorcycle with my helmet on. You can hear your voice very clearly. 

Or you can search the Internet, YouTube or go to any of these Web sites: indobeatbox.com, humanbeatbox.com, beatboxbattle.tv. Or just come hang out with the community. 

We meet every Wednesday evening at Taman Menteng. 

Are there female beatboxers? 

Of course! We have several females in IndoBeatbox, and the number grows each day. I’m sure they’ll be able to beat foreign female beatboxers like Bellatrix, Steff la Cheffe and Butterscotch — one day. 

Do you guys compete overseas? 

IndoBeatbox just celebrated its second anniversary and we just came back from Singapore after performing at the Esplanade. 

Now we’re preparing ourselves for the world-class beatbox battle in Berlin next year. 

What do you do when you’re not busy beatboxing? 
I’m an editor, digital artist, musician, writer and lecturer. I’m teaching and developing a curriculum for a company that runs an editing systems training center during the day. 

Also, at night, I’m editing ‘Rindu Purnama,’ an upcoming feature-length film by Mathias Muchus. In my spare time I play futsal and do capoeira. 

You seem to do a lot of things at the same time. Wouldn’t you prefer to focus on one of them? 

One thing leads to another. I’m doing a lot of things to inspire people in many ways. If they become a better, happier or more successful person that’s my source of happiness. 

I’m trying to do that step by step. Right now, I can say with confidence that I’m living my dream. 

Is beatboxing a music genre by itself or does it fall under the category of hip-hop? 

I don’t classify genres of music. Music is universal. It all comes from the same root. I don’t label people by their taste of music. Even in our current atmosphere of decreasing musical quality, I still have respect for all musicians. 

The music industry is to blame for giving some music genres a bad image. Recording companies and media are responsibility for that too. 

What’s your favorite place to hang out in the city? 

Magali in Fatmawati. They have the best menu; nasi goreng kambing [goat] and hot chocolate with marshmallows. Such a perfect match. 

Is nasi goreng kambing your favorite food? 

Except durian and jengkol [type of bean], all food is delicious. Oh wait, there’s one thing I love above all: a double portion of instant noodles with half-boiled eggs — lezaaat [delicious]!! 

If you can color Jakarta in your mind, what would the color be? 

Purple, equals sexy. For what it’s worth, Jakarta is one of the sexiest cities in the world. 

What would you do if you were governor of Jakarta? 

I’d give free education to all of those who are eager to learn, build hundreds of public spaces for music, film, sports and art. 

Also, a lot of training centers, from culinary schools to computer programming classes. 

And they’d all be free. I repeat, FREE. Oh yeah, and I will train my own black ops team to exterminate every single corrupt government official [laughs].


-Posted on Jakarta Globe