My name is Tom,
and I've come here today to come clean
about what I do for money.
Basically, I use my mouth in strange ways
in exchange for cash.
(Laughter)
I usually do this kind of thing
in seedy downtown bars
and on street corners,
so this mightn't be
the most appropriate setting,
but I'd like to give you guys
a bit of a demonstration
about what I do.
(Beatboxing)
And now, for my next number,
I'd like to return to the classics.
(Applause)
We're going to take it back,
way back,
back into time.
(Beatboxing: "Billie Jean")
♫ Billie Jean is not my lover ♫
♫ She's just a girl who claims
that I am the one ♫
♫ But the kid is not my son ♫
(Applause) All right.
Wassup.
Thank you very much, TEDx.
If you guys haven't
figured it out already,
my name's Tom Thum, and I'm a beatboxer,
which means all the sounds
that you just heard
were made entirely using just my voice,
and the only thing was my voice.
And I can assure you
there are absolutely no effects
on this microphone whatsoever.
And I'm very, very stoked —
(Applause)
You guys are just applauding
for everything. It's great.
Look at this, Mom! I made it!
I'm very, very stoked to be here today,
representing my kinfolk
and all those that haven't
managed to make a career
out of an innate ability
for inhuman noisemaking.
Because it is a bit of a niche market,
and there's not much work going on,
especially where I'm from.
You know, I'm from Brisbane,
which is a great city to live in.
Yeah! All right! Most of Brisbane's here.
That's good.
(Laughter)
You know, I'm from Brizzy,
which is a great city to live in,
but let's be honest --
it's not exactly the cultural
hub of the Southern Hemisphere.
So I do a lot of my work outside Brisbane
and outside Australia,
and so the pursuit of this
crazy passion of mine
has enabled me to see
so many amazing places in the world.
So I'd like to share with you,
if I may, my experiences.
So ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to take you on a journey
throughout the continents
and throughout sound itself.
We start our journey
in the central deserts.
(Didgeridoo)
(Airplane)
India.
(Beatboxing)
(Sitar)
China.
(Guzheng)
(Beatboxing)
Germany.
(Beatboxing)
Party, party, yeah.
(Laughter)
And before we reach our final destination,
ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to share
with you some technology
that I brought all the way
from the thriving metropolis of Brisbane.
These things in front of me
here are called Kaoss Pads,
and they allow me to do a whole
lot of different things
with my voice.
For example, the one on the left here
allows me to add
a little bit of reverb to my sound,
which gives me that --
(Trumpet) --
flavor.
(Laughter)
And the other ones here,
I can use them in unison
to mimic the effect of a drum machine
or something like that.
I can sample in my own sounds
and I can play it back
just by hitting the pads here.
(Noises)
TEDx.
(Music)
(Applause)
I got way too much time on my hands.
And last but not least,
the one on my right here allows me to
loop loop loop loop loop loop loop loop
my voice.
So with all that in mind,
ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to take you on a journey
to a completely separate part of Earth
as I transform the Sydney Opera House
into a smoky downtown jazz bar.
All right boys, take it away.
(Music)
Ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to introduce you
to a very special friend of mine,
one of the greatest
double bassists I know.
Mr. Smokey Jefferson, let's take
it for a walk. Come on, baby.
(Music)
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to introduce you
to the star of the show,
one of the greatest jazz
legends of our time.
Music lovers and jazz lovers alike,
please give a warm hand of applause
for the one and only Mr. Peeping Tom.
Take it away.
(Music)
(Applause)
Thank you. Thank you very much.
(Applause)