CD Review: Heatbox’s System
Live Music Alert: Heatbox, Crosstown Lounge, Grand Forks ND, Wednesday Sept 23, 10 pm, $5 and a free beer.
Heatbox
Aaron Heaton, aka Heatbox, has a dynamic new sophomore album out. A 12-track disc of good stuff, System brings more of the vast talents of this Minneapolis beatboxing artist. For the last six years, Heaton has been charming audiences through the region, often leaving them slack-jawed at what he’s capable of doing with one mouth, a mic, and a looping station. This one-man show previously was only available live or in his debut recording Entertainment.
Unlike a lot of other beatbox artists, Heaton has been able to capture not just the beats and not just sounds or musical instrument copies ala Bobby McFerrin. Heaton also produces some of the most silky vocals, backing himself up with rich harmonies, that before could only be found in brothers groups like the Ames Brothers or in some very well rehearsed vocal groups like the Nylons. System clearly shows how Heaton can combine all of that into a rich mix that sounds like a vocalist accompanied by a backup band and singers. This incredibly talented performer is able to do it all with incredible finesse and musical accuracy.
Singing since he was ten, Heaton soon found a place for himself in Minneapolis school choirs and doing a lot of musical theater. He performed with the funk/rock/blues band City Collective, adding not only his rich singing voice, but his vocal beats. Quickly admitting he plays a number of instruments badly, Heaton, however, can hear all of that inside his head.
System CD cover
His new album System offers his usual mix of genres. Sometimes, there’s that silky doowop sound of the 50s with tight, blended harmonies. Sometimes, there’s hip-hop. Sometimes, there’s jazz and reggae. Sometimes, there is indeed the fun and eccentricity of Bobby McFerrin. In addition, you’ll hear beats and other kinds of percussion, including quiro, as well as horns and keyboards. Sometimes, you can even hear a guitar thrown in. But mostly, you’ll hear these incredible vocal harmonies.
The first album, Entertainment, was released in response to fan demand, wanting something they could listen to when they couldn’t make it to a Heatbox show. They clamored for his “Bitches from the Milky Way,” a song that really isn’t offensive even though it keeps using the word “bitch,” but Heaton, with his boyish charm, desensitized the word and soon has audiences singing along. There were love songs and fun songs and songs that just stretched his creativity.
System, which came out this spring, has a dozen new songs that cover all of the above. His “Remembering Me” echoes the 50s doowop he’s known for. I’ve seen him live layering a song like that, putting down the instrument tracks instrument by instrument, looping them while he laid each background harmony, and then singing over the top of that. And, amazingly, it wasn’t boring seeing and hearing him do that. It was like watching a painter paint a portrait, sketching it out, blocking in colors, and adding detail.
The vocal blends are incredibly accurate and, of course, his lead work is effortless. But the instrumentation isn’t corny. It’s just there, sounding incredibly like real musical instruments.
“Man Vs Machine” and “Suburban Dessert” dip into hip-hop, but “Suburban Dessert” has an undertone of the Diamond’s “Little Darlin’” while sounding very 21 st century urban.
“Satisfied” is a lovely R&B tune, and “Good Kinda Usin’” is a strict 50s number and done so slickly. His “I Need a Jack and Coke” is a Zappaesque rendering done only as Heatbox could—and must make a great club offering. “Pizza Funk,” done in a huskier vocal register, is a tip of his hat to “Bitches from the Milky Way,”only with a touch of those silky background vocals.
Then there’s “4 Turntables,” a pure DJ offering, but done with vocals, and “Another Plan I,” a pure “instrumental” that’s very tastily done.
“Enter Balgator,” however, must have a tiny bit of some electronic help, but don’t quote me on that. The cymbal tink could be synth generated, but that is so out of Heaton’s expertise I doubt he would have done that. This track could be a fun video game soundtrack.
The album ends with “Goodbye Outro,” a sort of boy-band combo of oohs and ahs, that is so smooth. In addition, as in Entertainment, System offers a track of what Heaton calls “Heatbox Tricks” This is a collection of beats, sound effects, and other of his signature vocal spins.
What I have appreciated so much from watching Heatbox is that he has led me into a deeper experience of trance, hip-hop, and electronica in a way I never would have done otherwise. It is definitely the warmth of his sound. It’s organic, coming from a human being. This affects me more positively than just purely synthesized or computer-generated music, even though the sound of a lot of it is similar.
Heatbox is definitely an artist to give a listen to, but, more importantly, see Heatbox live. You won’t believe your eyes and ears!
http://www.myspace.com/heatboxrcb
