Shamik

Shamik hears music in his head and uses beatboxing to bring it to life. He has performed in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, India, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Peru. Shamik's vocal percussion is a language communicated with crushing basslines and crisp rhythms, like an acappella DJ set going from genre to genre.

He began singing as a child with his older brother, Vivek Shraya, and always had a knack for making sounds. This transformed into his ability to mimic voices and music. Shamik's taste in music was all over the map as he listened to rhythms and melodies to learn. He grew up listening to his father's pop, r&b, and disco records. Junior high was his time to love rock and hip hop. When he reached high school he learned of an artform called beatboxing. Over the next few years, he began studying the work of other beatboxers including The Fatboys, Biz Markie, Doug E. Fresh and Rahzel. In 2001, Shamik met fellow beatboxer Sami Elber aka Unkle $am. They shared ideas, and Shamik repeatedly practiced the basics of beatboxing. He isolated sounds like the kick, snare, and bassline to build his skills. After performing together at shows, parties, fundraisers, and on street corners, Shamik began to get noticed in his hometown of Edmonton. His discovery of trip hop, dub, and other forms of electronica triggered his goal to make noises that played tricks on his audience's minds.

In the past 3 years Shamik toured with Method Man & Redman, Q-Bert, Bassnectar, Sub Swara, Tanya Tagaq, Kentaro, and Lexie Lee. He has also performed with various bands including Thievery Corporation, Delhi 2 Dublin, Salmonella Dub, and Oka. He has showcased at festivals such as Rothbury (USA), Shambhala, Vancouver Island Musicfest (Canada), Sunburn (India), Colours of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Southbound (Australia), and Dubplate (Philippines). He is no stranger to acclaimed venues after beatboxing at Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, Koolhaus in Toronto, Metropolis in Montreal, Love in New York, Ministry of Sound in New Delhi, Blue Frog in Mumbai, Paradiso in Goa, Bed & 808 in Bangkok, Triangle in Osaka, Civic Underground in Sydney, and Roxanne Parlour in Melbourne.

Shamik's career highlights are performing alongside hip hop godfather Kool Herc, dubstep pioneer Skream, beatbox icon Killa Kela, and 12-time Grammy winning dobro player Jerry Douglas. Other highlights include live collaborations with Z-Trip, Mat The Alien, Fort Knox Five, Degree, Excision, Skratch Bastid, Kutmasta Kurt, and Beats Antique. 2010 will mark the release of Shamik’s second solo album and upcoming projects with various artists.