adam matta

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"Like a John Coltrane solo, Adam's Beat Boxing creates narratives which mere words could never accomplish."--Reg E Gaines, playwright, Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk
"...beatbox maestro..." Wired Magazine
"...virtuoso..." Flavorpill
"....brilliant...like sonic abstract expressionism..." Ithaca Times
"...clever..." The Star Tribune
"......his ability to remix his own voice is remarkable, at first singing over a synced beat and then slowing it down, speeding it up, dubbing, scratching, even using the layrngeal equivalent of a wah-wah pedal. He's wonderful to watch in these moments, right hand on the mic, left hand flailing in time, drops of spit and sweat flying off him. He must get terribly dehydrated...." Village Voice
"...Matta is the soul of ['Beatbox Bard'], and because his mic covers his face throughout, we only see his impassive almond eyes and his quiet, rhythmic physical presence — until the curtain call, when the mic drops and the person behind the performer breaks through. With throat, tongue, voice and breath he creates not just beatbox rhythms (an urban tradition already a quarter-century old), underscoring or counterpointing the play's action, but an entire soundscape..." Ithaca Journal
"...incredible..." Art or Something Like It, CUNY TV
"His beats are unsurpassable, but what really makes this guy wail is the mind inside the body heretic."-- Lynn Book, professor, Sarah Lawrence College
Adam Matta, a professional human beatboxer from New York City, is influenced by jazz, hip hop, classic rock, and world music. He was a 2007-08 Artist in Residence at Cornell University’s Risley Hall, beatboxing for dance classes, and creating a regularly-occurring music series, called “Cat and Mouth,” where he invited musicians-- such as Hank Roberts, Julianne Carney and Sparlha Swa-- to improvise with him and involve students who wished to participate. He organized a concert at Cornell, entitled, “Axis of Equals,” which showcased Middle Eastern and Jewish music with an “urban edge;” at the concert, he shared the stage with Pharaoh’s Daughter, Haale and members of the Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble and Klezmer Ensemble.
He performed at Carnegie Hall with Bobby McFerrin and 19 other young, up and coming vocalists from around the world, creating an improvised opera based on the story of the Tower of Babel. He performed a solo show, “Beatbox Drift,” at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, in New York, showing how living in an urban environment informed his vocal expression and rhythms. In December 2007, he appeared with the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, performing a piece composed specifically for him and the string section by Duke University Masters’ Candidate, Paul Leary.
He was the feature performer in “Beatbox Bard,” Bruce Levitt’s play mixing beatboxing and Shakespeare, produced at Cornell University, in 2007. He was a 2006-07 Artist in Residence at Here Arts Center, where he created a multi-media performance, “Makeshift.” His music has been aired on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, and appears on the 2005 release, “The L Word, Season II: Sessions,” on Tommy Boy Records, and in Benson Lee’s 2007 documentary, “Planet B-Boy.” He was featured in Stride Gum’s online promotions, and at Heavy.com’s Circus of Awesome events. He appeared on Damon Wayan’s, “The Underground,” on Showtime, and on Ch. 25 WNYE’s “Afterschool.”
He performed with Bora Yoon at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and John Zorn’s downtown space, The Stone; with Shara Worden and My Brightest Diamond at Town Hall; with United Way's Literacy Arts Initiative, 9th Annual Student Showcase at the World Famous Apollo Theater, Produced by Plays For Living; and with Beatboxer Entertainment at Madison Square Garden. His musical sensibility was informed by his experience appearing as an extra in Meredith Monk’s 2002 production, “mercy,” and in Shirin Neshat’s “Logic of the Birds.”
Contact: Adam Matta www.adammatta.com