UK Beatbox Champion teams up with Warrington Arts Fest to inspire a new generation of performers

A UK Beatbox Champion has joined forces with Warrington Arts Festival to share his multi award-winning skills in his hometown.

Luis Mosquera – better known by his stage name Bass Ventura – will be heading up a youth-focused music programme as part of the festival at Old Market Place on Saturday, 20 July.

The former Croft Primary and Culcheth High student is currently sharing his vocal percussion techniques with young people who will then join him on stage at the performance.

“Beatboxing is a fantastic way for people to express themselves and it’s a real confidence booster,” he said.

“The young people I work with don’t believe what they’re hearing at first. It kind of blows their mind because it’s so punchy, powerful and raw.

“But I tend to take it slow and break it down, get them to try various things and they find it is something they can learn and gives them this new sense of expression. You see this shift in them.

“It’s kind of like magic. At first they don’t know how it happens – but there is a trick to it.”

Luis started playing drums when he was about six but had to stop when he was 12 due to accident where he lost part of his finger.

It required surgery and time to heal, and it was during this period that he discovered beatboxing, a musical technique in which the sounds and rhythms of drums are mimicked using nothing more than an artist’s voice.

Luis added: “I was learning all these patterns in my head with this idea that when I returned to drumming I’d be better than I ever was. I started making all these sounds out loud and I didn’t realise it was beatboxing at first.

“I ended up throwing these street parties and that was my place to DJ, rap, beatbox and just get that first taste of entertaining crowds. But for the most part I was learning in my bedroom. I found all these videos of beatboxing on YouTube and that inspired me to keep exploring it.”

The self-taught performer’s first big opportunity came when he took a ‘leap of faith’ and used his savings to attend the first World Beatbox Camp in Krakow.

Luis, a former Priestley College student, said: “I just went there to learn and meet some people from the industry. But because I’d been in this cocoon for so long I’d created this style that no one else had.

“So it was weird. I went from this point of people not really understanding what I do to being treated like a star. After a while it all just clicked into place. I started getting shows all the time, I was winning competitions and I played Glastonbury when I was 21 which was just crazy.

“It’s blown up since then really. I’ve toured all over the world. I’ve been to 76 countries in four years. I’ve also done all kinds of work through beatboxing whether that be voice acting, radio, TV, social media content, competitions, live shows and I’ve also got a jewellery business on the side.”

Luis topped it all off when he was named UK Beatbox Champion 2024 at the UK Beatbox Championships in Bristol in February.

The 26-year-old competed against 100 beatboxers from all over the country to become the first winner in the event’s history to hold the crown in the north west of England.

With his profile rising, Luis is keen to give something back to his community and that is how the opportunity with Warrington Arts Festival developed.

He added: “Just being around your peers and jamming and having other beatboxers around you is the biggest catalyst for improving your skills.

“That’s why I enjoy teaching. There is no better instrument than your own voice. It’s accessible, it doesn’t cost anything to have. Most instruments can only be used for a certain kind of sound, whereas with your voice you can manipulate it in a million different ways.”

The beatboxing workshops with Bass Ventura and Renegrade are currently underway and are open to seven to 18 year olds. For more information email Sophie New at snew@culturewarrington.org

Warrington Arts Festival takes place between 19 and 27 July. For the full programme visit warringtonartsfestival.org