Andy Balcon (born Andrew Balcon; 1988) is a British singer, guitarist and composer.

Early life

Andy was born Andrew Balcon on 1988 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England. He took guitar lessons and in

highschool A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

played in a rock band. He took some jobs to pay his journeys and performed in local scenes.

Recording career

Heymoonshaker

Andrew Balcon met the British

beatboxer Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

Dave Crowe in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 2007 and formed a beatbox

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

band in 2008 called Heymoonshaker. Dave Crowe was born in 1988 at

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...

. He discovered the

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

and the beatboxer A-Plus and decided to become involved in beatboxing. In 2008 he participated to

Britain's Got Talent (series 2) The second series of British talent competition programme ''Britain's Got Talent'' was broadcast on ITV, from 12 April to 31 May 2008. Following the success of its first series, ITV commissioned the programme for additional episodes, with more ...

and joined the band ''The Anomalies''. In 2010 he reached finals of

UK Beatbox Championships The UK Beatbox Championships (UKBC) are hosted every year in London, England. This historic annual all-day event, which brings together the country's top beatbox artists for gladiatorial knock-out of face to face beatbox battles, in five different ...

. They made street-shows by jaming and played at

Buskers festival A buskers festival is any festival in which street-shows or street-performers (also known as buskers) of music, theater, dance, juggling, etc., play a prominent role. Some of the world's more prominent Buskers Festivals are held in KortrijkLa Rue ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. They published on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel the single ''London Part 2'' who made 20 million of views and in 2017, 50 million. In 2012, they produced and sold their first album ''Beatbox Blues'', inpired by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

and

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

. They toured in festivals around the world and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said that they were ''"''“A well balanced mix of smiles, verbal sparring and an impressive performance convey deep emotions. Dazzling!”''". In 2015, they signed with Dify Records for the album ''Noir'', recorded in south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with new instruments : violons, bass.

Other projects

Andy Balcon, influenced by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

got a solo career. He released his first blues album ''Andy Balcon Band'' on 2012. On 2019, ''Kiss Goodnight'' was a pop electronic EP and his voice was compared to

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

. He sang again in London's streets and released on 2020 the EP ''Who am I?'' more bluesy. On 2022, he founded with Damien Félix (Catfish and Bigger) the band Dead Chic and released the heavy rock and soul EP ''Bastion Session''.''Exclu : Dead Chic – Too Far Gone''
rollingstone.fr, 25 May 2022, retrieved 18 July 2022

Discography

Andy Balcon

* ''Andy Balcon Band'' (2012) * ''Kiss Goodnight'' (EP) (2019) * ''Who am I?'' (EP) (2020)

Heymoonshaker

* ''Beatbox Blues'' (2012) * ''Shakerism'' (2013) (EP) * ''Noir'' (2015) * ''Live in France'' (2017)

Dead Chic

* ''Bastion Session'' (EP) (2022)

Collaborations

* ''Stand up'' with Tilka (2017) * ''Oh, Me'' with Catfish (2020)

References

External links

Heymoonshaker's Official website

Dead Chic's Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcon, Andy 1988 births Living people 21st-century English composers 21st-century English singers British male guitarists Musicians from Leeds