Bowdoin has a rising beatbox champion in its midst. For his first-ever beatbox competition, John Galusha ’20 traveled to New York City in November to perform in the 8th Annual American Beatbox Championships.

With beatbox musicians from across the country, the Bowdoin sophomore performed his music in several rounds, landing in the top twenty for one of the tournaments. “The national pool of competitors was so incredibly talented, it was amazing. And to have done as well as I did was so incredible,” he said recently. Galusha received a mini-grant from Bowdoin to attend the competition.

Beatbox is music made only with one’s voice — using one’s mouth, lips, tongue, and throat to create many kinds of tones, which can be recorded and layered. “It’s just accentuating the sounds you naturally make with your tongue in your mouth,” Galusha said.

Galusha, who plans to declare a major in music, will be working on an independent project next semester, writing, producing, and recording an album of original songs. For inspiration, he draws upon his musical background singing in choral groups and playing the trombone and tuba in marching, jazz, and concert bands.

“I love to mix as much musicality into my style as I can,” he said. “My personal style builds in elements of harmony, rhythm, and melody.”

The video below is from John Galusha’s YouTube channel: