The Florida Beatbox Festival definitely seems to be one of Agen’s great cultural events. He has also earned a good reputation internationally…
Next weekend will be dedicated to beatboxing. The sixth edition of the Agenais festival will be held on Friday March 31 and Saturday April 1. From now on, for the director of Florida Florent Bénéteau, “it is an appointment which is part of the duration”. The event to the glory of beatbox has a local, regional, departmental and even international dimension. Each year, artists arrive from all over the world to compete on stage, and the competition is broadcast live on the Internet, then on the Youtube channel SwissBeatbox.
It’s not just a competition. For two days, it is a question of creation, of discovery in the prison environment (beatboxers will meet the Agen prisoners next Thursday, others will meet high school students from De Baudre). The Florida Beatbox Festival also aims to showcase both amateurs and professionals. From year to year, the organizers are amazed to see more and more young and talented beatboxers.
Beatboxing has come a long way. Tioneb, beatboxer from Agen and figurehead of the festival, reminds us that originally it was more of a “gadget to accompany musicians than a discipline in its own right. Instead of a drummer , we had someone who created sounds with his mouth, his tongue, his throat”. Straight from the African-American ghettos (like the Bronx in New York), he accompanied the birth of hip-hop from the end of the 1970s. “France is the country that adopted it the fastest, after the United States,” says Tioneb. “Rhythms have become more complex, we have found new ways to create sounds”.
First evening Friday, dedicated to creation. The duo Rogue Wave, composed of River and Colaps (world champion and vice-champion) will perform as a duo, and a surprise awaits us with the H²Gang. Three beatboxers will each propose an original title, accompanied by a mystery orchestra… Then, it’s time for improvisation! We won’t say more, because the beatboxers will only discover the orchestra the same day!
On Saturday evening, it will be played one on one on stage. In the jury, specialists of the genre, “the cream of the crop”. Once again, participants come from everywhere. Two Malaysians, two Americans, two Canadians, a Frenchman and a Tunisian. “We expect the highest level in terms of competition this year”, declare Florent Bénéteau and Tioneb. With an ever-increasing audience, some of whom come from abroad, the city of Agen is opening up, decompartmentalising, and carving out a name for itself in the world of beatbox.