Beat Beats (for 2 beatbox flute)-Cheng Yu-Tai

The title is a play on words: "beat" as rhythm, and "beat" as to overcome. In this track from Flute Beats-Box, Taiwanese flutist and composer Yu-Tai Cheng turns the flute into both drummer and challenger. Kick, snare and hi-hat are voiced through the instrument with beatbox technique, laying down a groove that is relentless by design, and the flute's melodic line spends the piece trying to break free of it, slipping off the grid, cutting against the accents, and finally taking control of the pulse it was born from.

"Built on a hip-hop / rock / funk groove at 126 BPM…"

Drawing on hip-hop, rock, jazz and classical vocabulary, Beat Beats captures the central idea of the album: the flute is no longer only a melody instrument. It is the whole band, and it can beat the beat.