Elisii wins national beatbox competition

In only his second trip to the nationals, Giancarlo Elisii 2015 won the Canadian Beatbox Championship, held this year at Lee’s Palace in Toronto on November 4, 2017.

He beat out 16 competitors for the title, becoming the first Canadian Champion to hail from Montreal. “The Canadian scene is awesome,” he says. “Toronto is the hub, but Montreal is growing.”

 

Giancarlo got his start in beatboxing by watching YouTube videos. “I became obsessed,” he confesses. He learned the techniques of the masters, eventually moving on to perfect his own style. His first performances were at Selwyn House, at talent shows and at the school’s coffeehouse events. Taking the school’s Music Production course with Mr. Hodgins “helped me a lot,” he says.

 

He has devised a notation system for the sounds he makes, which include an array of drum, horn and synthesizer sounds and, of course, drums. He uses this technique to plan a performance.

 

At home he often practices for up to 45 minutes at a stretch, sometimes slipping into a zone where he is not conscious of what he’s doing.

 

A modest person, sometimes he is not conscious of what he has already attained. “It still hasn’t hit me,” he says. “I don’t feel like I’m the Canadian champ.”

 

Giancarlo is currently studying Social Sciences at Vanier, but he remains serious about his art. “I want to make his mark on the international scene,” he says. He has several competitions coming up this summer, including the International Championship in Germany.

 

On December 15 Giancarlo returned to Selwyn House to film an interview and performance for VICE du Jour, the online news offshoot of VICE Media. The segment will be posted on the VICE website in early 2018.