With his live performance videos amassing over half a billion combined plays, Tom Thum’s pedigree in the world of beatboxing is unrivaled.
After witnessing a Tom Thum show, you’d swear there’s a symphony orchestra, jazz band, techno DJ, 80’s synth-pop group, and collection of exotic world instruments all residing somewhere in his throat.
Propelled to Internet stardom with his 2013 TEDx performance at the Sydney Opera House, Tom’s 15-minute showcase quickly became the highest viewed TEDx video of all time with over 77+ million views and counting. Now recognised worldwide for his obscure talent to warp and manipulate his vocal cords, Tom Thum continues to prove no sound is safe from this musical phenomenon.
Current Work:
As an ever-evolving artist, Tom’s finger is constantly on the pulse for new creations that are more often than not, bordering on the unimaginable. It’s because of this unparalleled drive for artistic ingenuity, what most people see as impossible, Tom Thum sees as a challenge.
From creating the world’s first “human synthesized band” for Google to conducting a beatbox endoscopy live at TEDx, perhaps the best example of Tom’s natural instinct for bending limitations is his “beatbox meets orchestra” project, simply titled Thum Prints. Partnering with world-renowned composer Gordon Hamilton, Thum Prints is the world’s first 60-minute beatbox concerto, providing an audio juxtaposition to the delight of audiences across the globe.
From Mumbai to Cologne to Kuala Lumpur, the duo’s “Beat Box Concerto” continues to leave audiences in awe, with their often bizarre, but always entertaining performances. Teaming up with some of the world’s finest symphony orchestras, Thum Prints has also made it onto the stage for the world’s most celebrated Classical music festival - The BBC Proms.
Working his way across the globe, Tom Thum seems to be in constant demand. With his vocal talents being sought out by Pepsi, Roadshow Entertainment, Audi, Virgin Australian, and Sennheiser (to name a few), Tom demonstrated time and time again, that his sound is truly world-class.
Not one to ever slow his creative pace, Tom has recently been bunkered down in development on several new projects including another world first; an online beatbox masterclass series. Add to that, a children’s book in the works, as well as the first human-made beatbox drum sample library and you’ll get an idea of just how prolific he is.
So strap in wherever you are and watch Tom’s star continues to rise.
Video
Beatbox brilliance | Tom Thum | TEDxSydney
Tom Thum: Armed with just a microphone, Thum pushes the limits of the human voice to create incredible soundtracks of impossible beats and phenomenal sounds, with scratched vinyl, the Michael Jackson back-catalogue, the didgeridoo and an entire fifties jazz band amongst his vocal repertoire.RATCHET FACE- TOM THUM AND QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
In September 2016 Gordon Hamilton and Tom had the pleasure of performing their show "Thum Prints" with the exceptional Queensland Symphony Orchestra as part of the Brisbane Festival.Tom Thum vs. Digital Radio
Tom Thum - I Need a Dollar (Beatbox Cover)
The Human Sample Kit Experiment--Tom Thum at YouTube Brandcast
For myself experimentation is a huge part of my creative process and I'm always trying to think of ways I can diversify my performances to keep me on my toes. I also hate performing by myself, it makes my willy shrivel. So I thought I might start a band, but not a band in the traditional sense but something that was a little bit more in line with my noisemaking nature and have all the players playing my human sounds that I sample live in to the instruments. (what a conceited wanker.) Anyways this was the first public performance of the idea and a little sight of the tip of the iceberg in terms of the possibilities of what can be achieved using this concept and I really look forward to pushing it further. This was filmed at Youtube Brandcast 2016 and I should make special mention that they really helped me push this idea where I wanted it to go so massive thanks! Also huge thanks to my mates as well for being part of it and doing some seriously long hours in the studio with me and retaining a relative level of sanity.A Beatboxer's Vocal Cords -Tom Thum (Live From the Larynx ep1.)
In the first episode of the Live From The Larynx web series I visited renowned ENT doctor and Laryngeal surgeon Dr Matthew Broadhurst. I wanted to find out how my larynx functioned when beatboxing compared to how it functions normally with speech, and whether or not there were any abnormalities in my laryngeal anatomy. I also had very little idea of what the inside of my throat and all my noise producing mechanisms actually looked like. The results were fascinating yet horrifyingly graphic and will probably make a few people spew in their laps. I never thought that the structures that have given me the power of speech and sound for all these years would look like something resembling the Predator's vagina. Anyways this was super incredible (and challenging) for me to have this little bit of insight into the human body so I want to massively thank everybody that made this happen ESPECIALLY Dr Broadhurst and everyone at the Queensland Voice Centre.There are not enough superlatives to describe the wonder of this beatboxing virtuoso - I am still trying to figure out how he got those sounds out of his mouth. ... keep reading The Daily Telegraph (UK)
The mic master seems to have an orchestra living in his throat: trumpet blasts, guitar strums and samples from classic songs including Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' effortlessly spout from his mouth.
Tom was an incredible speaker! Articulate, thorough, passionate, inspiring, humble, hilarious, a perfect candidate for the Conscious Club stage.
Tom was a huge hit at our event! Please pass along my thanks for his participation, incredible energy and talent, and the awesome show he gave our associates.
Tom Thum was ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING! I cannot even put into words how incredible he is. He sure did stop 600 people in their after dinner chatter at our event, and had them absolutely spellbound during his performance. What a talent! As an event manager you sometimes hold your breath when you take a chance on an act - about three seconds into his performance I could safely exhale watching the wonder on peoples faces.
