Beatboxing and heritage fishing are coming together in a new way. The dramatic tales of herring trawlermen are taking on a modern sound which comes from international beatboxer and sound artist Jason Singh.
Jason is re-tracing the journey taken by the North Sea trawlers as they follow the shoals from the northern isles and down the east coast. His semi-improvised live performance will provide the backing for John Grierson’s 1929 film Drifters.
Jason said: “I am bringing a unique live experience to a brilliant silent film. It’s a live beatboxed score where all the music and sound effects are created vocally.”
The documentary follows the trawlermen in their daily routines and looks at the struggles of the fishing industry thanks to tradition, technology and nature. It is a film that has been given a modern edge to bring it to the attention of current audiences. For Jason it was the power of the visuals and the story of the herring fishermen which provided him with inspiration. The challenge of creating the sounds of the engine rooms, underwater scenes and the people took him on an exhilarating and challenging musical journey.
“I had been speaking to Shona Thomson, from A Kind Of Seeing, for a few years about the possibility of touring Drifters with my live vocal score,” said Jason.
“I did a major England tour last year and we both thought that a Scotland tour would be very exciting especially if the tour followed the journey of the Drifters around the northeast coast of Scotland, hence Following The Fleet.”
More than 80 years later, Jason is taking this film on tour where audiences will be able to hear about his score. Some of the venues will also offer local performers the chance to share their songs and stories from the fishing traditions of their communities to accompany the film.
Jason said: “I love improvisation and performing live. I get more inspiration from performing live than being in a studio composing as there are so many more factors involved, including the audience, space and nerves.
“The live performance to Drifters is never the same twice because a large part of the score is improvised. I really like working in this way as it keeps the performance experience fresh and I am always seeking new ways to improve and develop the live element.”
For Jason, Following the Fleet is a very personal piece of work which he hopes will create a lot of interest and discussion.
“Not only for the live score, but also because of the interesting legacy of the herring fishing communities and the industry which once surrounded them,” said the beatboxer.
The tour of Following the Fleet: Drifters is travelling from Orkney to Anstruther. It will be in Aberdeen on September 14 at the Lemon Tree. For the full tour dates see www.followingthefleet.com
