, better known as Gene Shinozaki and formerly GVSBeatbox, is a Japanese-American beatboxer, singer-songwriter, street performer, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer. He is currently a member of the beatbox crew The Beatbox House and half of the world-champion tag team SPIDERHORSE.
Career Shinozaki was originally from California but soon moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music before dropping out due to disinterest in the program. While touring with his band "DC Wonder" he decided to pursue a career in beatboxing after watching an interview with Reeps One. Over two years he started street performing, began gigging and eventually was featured on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance in the beatbox/dance duo "Movement Box". Shinozaki started beatbox battling in 2013. In 2015 he won the Grand Beatbox Battle in Switzerland He then became sound engineer for Beatbox television and joined the group Beatbox House. In 2017 Shinozaki released his debut album, "Sound and Human". Shinozaki has been ranked among the top 8 beatboxers in the world.
Musical style Shinozaki is well known for his signature brand of beatboxing which involves performing the role of an entire rock band using vocal percussion, singing, and lip oscillation techniques. He is one of the first beatboxers to pioneer musicality (over technicality) in the world of beatboxing, focusing on emotional melodies and singing in addition to solid technique. He cites Bobby McFerrin as a direct and primary influence on his sound. He also often performs as a singer songwriter, and electronic music producer.
Performance in competitions +As participate on beatbox eventsYearsCompetitionsHeldResultNotes2015Grand Beatbox BattleBasel, SwitzerlandSoloAmerican Beatbox ChampionshipsNew York, USATag Team (with Chris Celiz as SPIDERHORSE)2016Grand Beatbox BattleBasel, SwitzerlandSoloAmerican Beatbox ChampionshipsBrooklyn, New YorkLoopstationTag Team
(with Chris Celiz as SPIDERHORSE)2017Grand Beatbox BattleBasel, Switzerland2018Beatbox Battle World ChampionshipBerlin, GermanyCrew (part of The Beatbox House)Top 16Men solo2021Grand Beatbox BattleWarsaw, PolandSolo2023Vokal TotalGraz, AustriaTag Team (with Chris Celiz as SPIDERHORSE)
Discography
Albums
TitleDetailsSound and Human Released: July 29, 2017 Label: Record DK Formats: digital downloadTranscend Released: February 18, 2019 Label: Swissbeatbox Formats: digital download
Mixtape TitleDetailsUntitled EP Released: April 20, 2012 Label: Independent Formats: SoundCloud
Singles
As lead artist TitleYearAlbum"Trapanese"2017Sound and Human"Alone In The Dark""Just Friend (Sunny)" (Trap remix)2018"Jigsaw"2019Transcend"Home""See You There""Never Give Up""Pussy Cat"2020"Believe""Metamorphosis"2021"Inside"2023"Fading"2023"Soramimi"2023
As promotional singles TitleYearAlbum"Inner Cosmic Spiral" (Mike Larry Draw & Lex Sadler feat. Gene Shinozaki)2017"End Game" (with Emanuela Bellezza)"JUMPIN" (with Hiss, Codfish & Amit Bhowmick)2018"BINGO" (with Colaps, Alexinho, Zekka, River', FootboxG & Puls8)2020"Broken Clocks" (Kriij feat. Jordan Peters, J3PO & Gene Shinozaki)2021"Hero" (with Swissbeatbox)2022
Filmography
Television shows YearProgramNetworkRolesNotes2013So You Think You Can DanceFOXPerformingSeason 10, episode 18 (finale) (with Movement Box)
References