“A well balanced mix of smiles, verbal sparring and an impressive performance convey deep emotions. Dazzling!” * *Rolling Stone Fr**
Heymoonshaker are the unlikely pairing of two art forms that are decades apart; grit-your-teeth raw blues guitar and impressive heart-pounding beatboxing. Urbanizing blues music now for nearly 3 years, Andy Balcon and Dave Crowe are extremely talented at their craft but what impresses most and has made their commitment to ‘Beatbox Blues’ so successful is the indescribable chemistry these two have on stage. The musical sparring of Crowe’s powerful beats versus Andy’s possessed vocals forge together like two pieces of iron, creating an inspired piece of creativity and originality.
Meeting as street performers in New Zealand in 2009, Andy and Crowe began fusing their interests in the blues and electronic bass music in front of the passing crowds of the south island. After separating to take different travelling routes, the boys re-met back in the Northern hemisphere in Sweden where they began earning a living as performers both on the street and on stage. In late 2011, Andy & Crowe decided to bring their creation home to the UK for the first time, showcasing it on Brick Lane. The resulting video footage went viral and has helped Heymoonshaker amass over 32 million views on YouTube.
As their stage show developed in 2012 and their touring routes became more extensive, so too did their sound, mixing features from heavy rock & roll, roots music and dubstep. But their love and appreciation for the blues is something that stays true throughout their writing and the driving force behind their music. Taking huge inspiration from the likes of Led Zeppelin and Muddy Waters, Heymoonshaker’s big riffs, loud rhythms and howling vocals have truly impressed.
In Autumn 2012 Heymoonshaker were invited to support De La Soul and Baxter Dury at Marseille’s Marsatac Festival, with Rolling Stone Magazine describing their performance as “Dazzling”. This sparked major interest in the band in France and over the past 2 years Heymoonshaker have appeared at some major French venues such as Bataclan in Paris where they supported Walk Off The Earth, and Le Divan Du Monde where they sold out their headline show in May 2013.
Not surprisingly, Heymoonshaker’s unique and energetic take on the blues has also been snapped up by festivals around the world including WOMAD & Glastonbury (UK), SXSW (USA), Festival d'Été (Canada), Printemps de Bourges & Cognac Blues Festival (France), Fusion Festival (Germany), Paléo Festival (Switzerland), Sziget Festival (Hungary), plus countless others.
In March 2013 Heymoonshaker self-released their 8 track EP ‘Shakerism’. A mix of early recordings from New Zealand and material from their stage show, the focus of the extended EP was to illustrate the journey of the band’s ever growing sound. In August 2014 ‘Shakerism’ was distributed in Japan through Rambling Records alongside a DVD.
2014 has seen the band concentrate on new touring regions including Japan, Netherlands, Italy, USA and Mexico. Work on the band’s debut album is also underway and set for release in 2015.