FBi Radio put quite a left of centre show on this past Friday. They put together 3 very distinct, individual & intriguing acts for their night at the Keystone Festival Bar as part of the Sydney Festival. From the brilliance of beat boxer Taylor McFerrin to the out of this world hip hop of Shabazz Palaces & finishing with the novelty & pure joy that is Shangaan Electro.

When Taylor McFerrin took to the stage the venue was speckled with people, but that quickly changed as McFerrin drew the crowd in with his opening beat boxing number, which started off as a basic beat boxing affair before progressing into something far more complex. From the next track on, we began to better understand the buzz around McFerrin.

This man was something of a musical genius. He stated to us that he would be ‘creating some beats’ for us tonight, which was quite the understatement. McFerrin proceeded to paint musical landscapes that were rich, deep, multifaceted & layered. How did he do this? Through the use of his box, or table of tricks, so to speak. A Fender Rhodes, a Mac laptop, an mpc/drum & sample machine & a mic where all the tools he needed to create magic right before the eyes of a few hundred strangers. No pressure Taylor, don’t mind us. And he didn’t mind us one bit, in fact he kept us there with him through every step of each track. From starting out with the foundation which depending on the track might be beat boxing to adding in keys, and looping these parts over, to then adding rhymes over it all, and adding little touches of musical seasoning here and there, he developed tracks that would transition from ambient hip hop to upbeat house effortlessly.

Shabazz Palaces, the musical project of former Digable Planets member Ishmael Butler (Butterfly) and Tendai Maraire were the main act for the night, and the crowd was suitably hyped after McFerrin’s set for hip hop that would take us to another level. The music was dark & brooding but not in an obvious way, the rhymes tight and the energy high. The sound in the venue was muffled and distorted, but apparently this was all part of the vision that the duo wanted to create, they had a definite idea of the kind of experience they wanted the crowd to take in & they executed it well. With Butler manning his helm - with his DJ set up, and Maraire on his percussion/drum set they were an interesting take on a hip hop 'act', not traditional in any way, but that is what makes this duo interesting and ground breaking.

Closing out the night was the Soweto, South Africa based group Shangaan Electro. Dressed as clowns and wearing bright orange clothing & rainbow Afro wigs, with the 2 male performers wearing stuffing in their bellies & booties, I was a bit unsure whether to take this performance seriously or just enjoy it for what it was – a celebration of fun. The group - 4 dancers/singers & a DJ, came out on stage all over the top hip shaking, frenzied movements & dancing with big smiles. They made quite a first impression, we were equally puzzled, humoured & in awe. The performers effortless movements & footwork, along with the hyper fast percussive electro rhythms (up to 180bpm), was no doubt impressive, although at times the dancing seemed hastily choreographed. But as the show progressed it became clear that the point was to not take ones self so seriously & to just dance, sing & enjoy being in this jubilant moment.

Respect has got to go to FBi Radio for putting on a night of eclectic artists, that we don't often get the opportunity to experience at all, let alone on one night, here in Australia. At first I struggled to grasp the theme they were going for with this evening, but in hindsight it is clear that the evening was about pushing boundaries, genres & challenging our perceptions of music. The definite stand out being Taylor McFerrin, who demonstrated that ‘making beats’, can not only be entertaining but also be endlessly fascinating & inspiring at the same time.