Music > Interviews
Intensi T
04/08/14
Beat boxing. It takes an age to become truly proficient in this most modern of musical vocal stylings, and there are few people in the world who really are expert. One of those is Tom Povey, aka Intensi T, who hails from our own fine city. Still only 21, he’s recently signed a deal with Universal. You can even see him on Youtube with a rapping Ed Sheeran. Tom’s returning to Norfolk in August when he plays the Sundown Festival. I caught up with him to see wagwan.
Can you give a complete beginner (me) an idea of how you start to learn how to beatbox?
Just whipster ‘boots and cats’ really fast, see how that sounds; if that doesn’t work, blow raspberries with your lips!
Who inspires you as a musician?
I get inspired by friends and seeing people I know do well; it really drives me to work harder and tick off the checklist things that I want to achieve. One guy who really paved the way for what I do is Bobby Mcferrin; the way he made ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ all from his mouth is the same way I make my music.
What motivated you to do a music degree at Westminster University? Did you feel it would help you in your career?
By the time I was 17 I’d played all the major venues in Norwich and wanted to do the same in London because I knew that really was the route to gigging the rest of the country. So I moved down and studied at Westminster, using the student accommodation as my base and just went out gigging at all the open mics and networking events and busking to make things work out.
How did you meet Ed Sheeran? Do you think you might work together on some tracks in the future?
We met at Open in Norwich back in 2009; we were both booked for a gig there and only five people turned up to see us, two of them being my brother and his girlfriend! So we pulled up some chairs and just sat in the audience chatting. After that we got booked for a load of gigs together for Arts Council England, and then things really started happening.
How did you get to perform with Nicola Roberts?
I opened up for my mates gig at a pub in London and Nicola was in the audience. She called me over and we exchanged numbers. I thought nothing would come from it but then I got a call about two weeks later asking me to come to the Paul O’Grady Show and T4 On The Beach!
How was it playing Virgin Redfest DXB in Dubai recently?
Flying out to Dubai to perform music I’d written in a bedroom was pretty surreal! They treated me like royalty out there and were really welcoming. I got fast tracked through the airport when I landed, taken to a blacked out car and straight to the tallest hotel in the world. I loved meeting fans out there that I never thought I’d be able to meet. That was cool.
Beat boxing is traditionally associated with hip hop, but the songs you write are more pop oriented. What do you like to listen to musically, and what have you been listening to recently?
I listen to honestly anything I’m in the mood to, for instance this afternoon I’ve listened to The Beastie Boys, The 1975 & Bob Marley, but this morning it was The Madness, Chris Brown and The Streets.
What’s the biggest gig you’ve done?
The biggest gig audience as my own gig was 20,000 but that was just beat boxing, not performing my songs. That gig was on my birthday as well and I had 20,000 people singing Happy Birthday to me. It’s awkward enough at the dinner table when everyone sings it to you!
What have you learnt about the music industry that has surprised you?
How awful everyone is at answering emails. When you have an email going between five people for example, and everyone needs to respond and one person just decides that they’re on holiday, that can really get frustrating.
Your new single My Drums is a really bouncy happy number. How’s it being received by radio stations, etc?
It got made Student Radio Track of the Week, which is amazing, and it’s been play-listed by a few TV stations too. The support from BBC Introducing has been nice too, as it’s my first track ever; them getting behind it really means a lot! I also got a lot of Japanese radio stations playing it, which was unexpected.
Who would you like to work with in an ideal world?
Doing a collaborations EP with Eminem, Tupac, Jay Z, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre would be epic.
Do you still get back to Norwich regularly?
Yeah at least once a month, my family is still up there and I love the beaches.
Check out Intensi T’s mad style at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC97AB4C7A43BE3EE
Intensi T will be performing at Sundown Festival on Sunday 31st August
http://www.sundownfestival.co.uk