Jorge Ramirez Escudero, `Multi-instrumentalist and one man orchestra’ `Spaniard with a Golden Voice’ calls himself “Hyperpotamus”. With a vocal styling that combines frequencies over multiple octaves, soulful melodies,beat-boxing and unexpected sounds like the bustle of a downtown and the cries on a street, Hyperpotamus overlaps and loops the sounds he creates solely with his mouth to churn out music beyond expected horizons simply with the touch of a loop station’s foot pedals. He uses vocal pyrotechnics as he foot pedals his loop station, records while singing and instantaneously plays it back and forth with overlaps and layers displaying formidable multi tracking. All of this with `his voice’ `several mics ’and a `couple of looping units’ leading to a festival of layered voices with a theatrical tone and the quality of an opera
On the occasion of International Museum Day at the prestigious Dar Al Thar Al Islamiyyah,Kuwait on 13th May,2016 I caught up with the unpretentious and unassumingly simple, powerhouse of talent `Hyperpotamus’ from Madrid, Spain.
M.V: Welcome to Kuwait. We at `Raag`N’Rhythm would like to know more about you, your music and your unique talents. I know you as the musician who once said` When I sing, I let the demons out’ and as someone who delivered his debut album to people’s homes on his bike as you had no distribution deal.
HYP: I began learning the Piano at the age of 5 and after being actively involved with myriad bands as a drummer and pianist since the age of 15 which included a shoe gazer post-rock group called Abner, a collaboration with an electronic musician named Strand, and an electro-rock band called Kodama, I decided to free myself from the constraints of shady record labels and heavy musical instruments. Being born in Japan and having an international banker as a father I travelled widely while I was young. This had a huge influence on me and enabled me to assimilate varying sounds and music. Back in Madrid with my family, I embarked on rediscovering myself as a `one man band’ just using my voice to produce all sounds.
M.V: Sounds interesting. You call yourself `Hyperpotamus’ (Strange and yet intriguing at the same time)
HYP: `Quips’ with a spark and a smile!!Yes, I always wished to bring in an element of unpredictability with my music and with my name. Hence wished to call myself `Hyperpotamus which would bring in listeners with `what to expect of me’? I used to be in bands where people took themselves way too seriously. I guess even my name Hyperpotamus is meant to amuse. I think an element of humour in everyday life be it art, work, or home, is important. Without humour things can be boring. So if I can provoke a smile or a laugh that makes my day.
M.V: Truly, couldn’t agree more. I too came today with my students of `Raag`N’Rhythm’ quite intrigued by your name and of course your music! What is the the mysticism behind` Hyperpotamus’?
HYP:: I am a one man Band. I use just my voice, a microphone and a loop machine to create a type of layered Acapella music that can easily be confused for the works of a group of vocalists and instrumentalists. I use vocal lines to fill in the spots where a piano melody or cymbal crash would usually be heard. `Hyperpotamus’.. (which is myself) is a jumble of vocal sounds, where the music is structured, arrangements are timed precisely, requiring a well trained ear and a strong sense of rhythm.
M.V: We just participated in your workshop at the Amricani Cultural Centre, Kuwait.I found influences of Ukrainian Choirs, Cuban Music and African Rhythms in your sounds. As you said, in spite of being a layered form of Acapella music, we could also relate to Cantata music. Your music has it all, Delta, Hip hop, Folk, Classical, even traces of chaingang chants. Tell us about your struggles ,given that you are an all in one musician- you are your own sound,- you are your own instrument, -you are your own percussion,-you carry all musical sounds in your vocal chords. You need to train hard to maintain your golden voice.
HYP: Yes, my struggle continues. Apart from the influences you noticed, I am also inspired by Michael Jackson and Belgian Artist Jacques Brel. I chose to rehearse where thousands could hear me, not in a rented practice space but at Madrid’s underground metro station where unsuspecting passengers and daily commuters would glance askance at me. With an Art as complex as mine, one could never predict the crowd reaction. While some would take pictures with me, some would laugh at my expense.
This was a huge learning as it helped me connect to people who would have never listened to sounds or music as they grappled with life’s trials. This also helped me realize, how significant it was that I needed only myself and that I depended only on myself for sounds, no band, no instrumentalists, no percussionist…but there were touching moments too. Once a drunken Polish woman insulted passersby for not respecting my art. Some would ask me to sing `Happy Birthday’ while some would express their appreciation through break dancing. (All of this at the Madrid metro…)
“Anything can happen, but that’s precisely the thrill,” “You’re exposed to such an extent that you are vulnerable. It’s a public space, and you have to deal with it.”
M.V: Truly moving, that’s the mark of a true artist. We have such stories of struggle donning the annals of Indian Classical Music. Your music has now moved up the ranks to prestigious Forums and acclaimed music festivals. Your albums `Delta’ and songs like `Seahorse for the dragon’ are doing well too. So how would you structure your concerts and pick up the performance pieces?
HYP: My concert pieces depend hugely on the crowd reaction. I would prefer to either perform well known pieces by Composers or my own lyrics or move from meaningful and orchestrated verses to the varied sound layers that I create. My song writing varies from song to song. Sometimes I write for the guitar or piano and convert into vocal lines. Random street sounds inspire me at times and I translate them into vocalization. The song `Dinamo Domino’ of my album `Largo Bailon’(which means a long dance) actually creates the image of a bustling street of a downtown city. The song begins with the soft repetition of the song title’s two words, which sounds like the chattering of people in outdoor cafes. Other vocal layers are quickly introduced and start resembling the sounds of an upbeat man humming a sunny melody while walking down the sidewalk. About midway, the song slows down and dips to two layers with a few lyrics in Spanish. The song then expands back to its original multiple layers.
Sometimes I love to add incredible spin to beloved songs such as, `The Beatles’ `Strawberry Field Forever’.
I have loved the response in the US to my performances and have toured Spain, Portugal, Holland Germany and Morocco, Egypt and now, Kuwait and have performed at music festivals from across New Zealand to Bratislava in Slovakia.
M.V: Thank you, Hyperpotamus. We enjoyed your lively stage performance, moving from mic to mic, adding the vocal layers, controlling the loop station with your feet, bouncing around to the beats and your robotic dance moves and most certainly the way you engaged my students to perform live with you on stage. I read about how at the lobby of Hotel Hilton in US passersby stopped in their tracks moved by your music close to showing how Hyperpotamus’s music would have wowed passengers at Madrid’s Metro. Today at the Amricani Cultural center of Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah we were transported to the realm of a sound vaulted theatre. As culturists ourselves, we take back home your simplicity, your unpretentiousness and your awe inspiring talent.
HYP:I thank you all for being so forth coming, thank your students, for spontaneously accepting my music challenge on stage which is certainly not easy and thank you all at the workshop for the lively interaction and challenging questions. “Needless to say, I love to learn a lot about people and their varying cultures, which helps me grow to be more explorative and adventurous...I yearn for the `Unknown’! “I would love spending fifteen hours in a plane after having stopped at a German airport for a flight connection, then pick up a rented car and hit the road to God knows where,in quest of newer sounds!!With `Hyperpotamus’it’s just me…no props………..