Harry Yeff - Reeps 101
Harry Yeff aka Reeps One aka Reeps 100 is a professional polymath: champion beatboxer, chess master, AI experimenter, public speaker, visual artist, researcher and theorist. This MTF podcast is an introduction to those complex layers of work, the connection between the voice and artificial intelligence, what it means to have multiple compartmentalised identities, the nature of expertise and what it means to be best in the world at one thing, while also being world class at some others.
AI Transcription
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, ideas, voice, harry, artists, mtf, spaces, beatboxing, cj, tech fest, speaking, working, hip hop, point, moved, expertise, narratives, researcher, world, boxing
SPEAKERS
Harry Yeff, Andrew Dubber
Andrew Dubber
Hi, I’m Dubber. I’m the director of Music Tech Fest and this is the MTF podcast. We focused a lot on artificial intelligence and the human voice over the past year at MTF not voice AI as such, but vocal AI, music performance pushing at the edge of what the technology can do, and what the human can do in relation to that. It’s about human creativity at the centre, and the human in one of the central projects that’s been carried through 2019 at MTF is Harry Yeff, also known as champion beatboxer Reeps One his collaboration with fellow MTF international serial hackathon winner and neural networks expert CJ Carr began at an MTF event back in 2015, Harry from London, and CJ from Boston both presented simatic projects there and To cut a long story short, they teamed up work together and took their collaboration out into the world. As part of a residency at Nokia Bell Labs, they performed that Ars Electronica a couple months back, and each time they bring their AI project back to MTF. Its advanced to whole new levels, and between the two of them, they’ve showcased their ideas and develop them at MTF in Frankfurt as part of Musikmesse in Pula in residence and industry at Infobip, and an academia at Örebro University just a couple of weeks back. And that’s where I sat down with Harry and spoke to him about beatboxing the connection between the voice and artificial intelligence, what it means to have a complex identity, the nature of expertise, his collaboration with CJ, and also what it means to be about the best in the world at one thing, while also being pretty solidly world class at a handful of others, from MTF in Örebro. Sweden. This is an introduction to Harry Yeff and also Reeps One who doesn’t exist. Harry Yeff. Okay. Reeps One.
Harry Yeff
Yes. Also now, Reeps 100
Andrew Dubber
Yes. Whoa, is that inflation?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, yes, the world is changing. Yeah, Reeps 100 is all the concept work. So I do a number of different things, all centred around the voice. But the last three years things have really exploded when it comes to ideas on top of what before was mostly performance and. And that evolution, we have dubbed Reeps 100, which is working with institutions, and designing and writing and creating spectacles and shows and a lot of the things that are kind of once removed from about being about me as an artist doing the thing being on stage, but performing. And that’s actually what I’m most excited about.
Andrew Dubber
So it’s the 100 about a multitude.
Harry Yeff
It’s about an evolution. That’s the way I see it. And it’s a Yeah, it’s about I think as an artist, it’s a really, really important thing. To identify, change is a bit like a relationship. I don’t know, if you saw if you if you’re always in love with the point, you fell in love with something and you think that what defines you, you can end up a bit trapped. Whereas if you can actually like create these checkpoints, or these sort of self brands, or identifiers, wherever you want to call them, it just helps you update. You update yourself. And then that’s what these names are, and Reeps One is the performance, Reeps 100 is the evolution and Harry Yeff is me.
Andrew Dubber
When you fill in a form and they say occupation, what do you put?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, so it’s really interesting one, I write artists, when I am going through customs, I say beatboxer because they’re like, what’s that? And I go, and they’re like, wow, come in. So,
Andrew Dubber
again, how do you spell it?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, it’s a it’s Yeah, that’s correct. There you go. But, yeah, it’s being everyone talks about being multidisciplinary. Everyone talks about being multifaceted, but for your own sanity, and also for productivity. I think there are some really interesting approaches to to how you order these things and names are really great for that.
Andrew Dubber
Mm hmm. What kind of kid were you?
Harry Yeff
Oh, I had many I had many names. I am I always associate I’ve always associated so associate with an add sort of energy and process. I was always like, like, I was never did what I was told, but always sort of managed to achieve in the end. I like I hated school a lot, but I loved people. And I like when it came to like extracurricular I was always like, I just love doing things because I was like, captain of my chess team. I was house captain. I was a peer mentor. I was like head of my debate team.
Andrew Dubber
You like when you say you hated school, you flunking classes?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, I like I was really naughty. I would did many again many things, which we won’t go into. But I, I had that that that classic paradox is when I fell in love with something I gave it my absolute all and I was able to access an intelligence and a volition, which I was really proud of. But sometimes even if I desperately wanted to be interested in something, if I didn’t connect with a subject, I just I would fall asleep. I’d have like a physical, a physical reaction. And I think many people, when people talk about add, or I like to use the term add process, because it’s a spectrum, it’s not so clear in some people. But like the main signify, which I think is super hard for people to understand is the story I always tell. I ended up doing quite well in school, basically, because I hope she doesn’t listen to this, I don’t think I’ve recorded this story, because of my girlfriend at the time. And I was deeply in love and in a polite way. And she was she was like, top 2% in the country, like super bright girl. And basically, a mom sat me down was like, if you don’t do any of GCSEs, like, you’re probably not going to be able to stay with Steph. So I found myself I was winning chess tournament at the time, which is great. But when it came to these things that normally I just feel like I just can’t get my teeth into. I said, I remember sitting down like in, like, in, in my space at home, I was like, hey, Harry, you need to absorb this information. And I remember spending 24 hours like looking at my geography textbook. And I was I was on the edge of crying because I just could not absorb it because I wasn’t in my heart, heart of hearts interested. And what’s happening there. And this is a proven idea is people that have this type of process. There is a chain of intention. And even if your conscious mind is saying okay, Harry, Mom and Dad said this is important. xx reason this is important. There is almost like a physical pain, there’s a there’s a physical block that can happen. And you can’t control that. Like nobody wants to do things that they find boring. But people that have this type of process. There is almost like a pain that you could associate with it. When and there’s sort of a disharmony which is extremely dysfunctional. And in adult life, I’ve totally like mastered my ability to overcome that. But as a young person, you can you can get hit with a lot of I’ll just get on with it. Like I’ll stop being Stop being stubborn or like, stop. Yes, stop. Stop being an idiot. But the there are other things at bay. And that’s one reason I really love to talk about my story and how I overcame some of those internal blocks.
Andrew Dubber
There’s another thread to that story, though, which is that you’re a massive romantic, like it was so important to you to be to be who she wanted you to be no, I
Harry Yeff
desperate man i got i really like, you know, when you’re a teenager, there’s something else at that point. And I desperately wanted to, like, just nail it. And eventually it did. It did kind of work out. I did well. But yeah, that was a it’s just a perfect example for the point I’m trying to make is that when you have that type of mental process, even if every fibre in your conscious mind is desires to absorb it, there is something else going on, which can just put up a wall. And it’s like, nope, no, no hurry, I don’t care. We’re not you’re not gonna, I want to do something else. I want to do something else. And that impulsiveness can be extremely, extremely frustrating, and damaging, and, but eventually, what what, when I started moving with it, I realised I’m like, Harry, you have to excel in the things that you love. If you just don’t, if you don’t become a leader in the things that you enjoy, then you just don’t have a chance. Like you just you have to double down on stuff because you’re
Andrew Dubber
like really, really, really good at the things that you’re good at. Is that is that ever for other people, um, in the same way that that you know, staring at geography was
Harry Yeff
so what you mean is like, is that beatboxing?
Andrew Dubber
Are you doing this? Because I’m so passionate about this, I’m just gonna dive into it and screw what anybody else thinks or wouldn’t this person think of me better if? Oh,
Harry Yeff
yeah, no. So So no, it’s a fair question. In all honesty, it really. I in heart of hearts like, it was just that eureka moment when it’s like, Harry, you don’t have a choice to do it like other people. Like, of course, I love I love pleasing the people I respect around me, but it wasn’t really like that. It’s like Harry, this is the only way you say, if you’re going to do this stuff. Can I swear in this? Sure. No, you’re gonna fucking do this. And that was when I just started doubling down on my impulse. Because that because that’s the thing that people don’t talk about add process is Yes, okay, the geography textbook I struggled with. But when it came to things I loved I would I’m, I’m, I eat information. I can retain information in a way that other people could and I’m extremely proud of my intuition. So it’s something that my dad has as well where I feel like I can be given a group of sort of a collection of Sort of themes or, or different sort of aspects of information. And if it’s around something that I care about, I can internalise that super fast, and that’s, but it’s only in these these spaces. So I started doubling down on art and music, and specifically my voice and became two times a national beatbox champion. I was third in the world by the time I was 18 became a world leader in in that subculture, but then kind of transcended the culture and moved into the space of voice and making lateral connections. So it’s always been about doubling down in my specialism and the thing that I love but but always really thinking about, why will this matter to anyone else? And like, why was at the time when I first started doing it? Well, first off doing shows it was more about thinking. So when I was thinking about my sound design and my compositions, I was thinking, how could this work in a club? I wasn’t thinking I’m be boxing, I’m like, how is this going to work after like a top DJ. And that’s what made me stand out at the time for that. Now I’m thinking okay, so if I push my voice to the absolute limit, how does that contribute to phonetics or linguistics, or para language or articulatory phonetics? So it’s that same thing of deep diving into the subjective and in doing that you you mind for objective purposefulness that nobody else has.
Andrew Dubber
I’m going to come to that but you mentioned your dad and for me, that’s a trigger generally about your parents.
Harry Yeff
So um, my my, my mom is a very, and I can say this very simple working class Irish lady, youngest of nine siblings. I have a lot of a lot of cousins. And she’s always been a strong figure in my life. But she’s she gets on with her things. I look after her. My dad is my hero. Like I am him. Basically all of my energy, everything that you see, sadly, this is not my
Andrew Dubber
we recognise that.
Harry Yeff
Yes, yeah. Well, so he’s my biggest fan. I’m his biggest fan. And he’s like chess playing artist, musician. He plays the piano harmonica. He writes poetry. He’s like, incredible photorealist painter, all self taught, like all without his own intuition doesn’t do anything with it. This is the difference between me and him. And it’s just because he’s like, Oh, I just wanna, I just want to like, learn how to, like, use gold leaf. And I just want to, like, learn a little bit about like, quantum physics. And it’s just again, it’s, he’s, he’s more add than me. And, but my dad has always, passion, passion and impulse have always governed him. And you know, man, he’s lived by that. He’s 81 is the other things. Oh, boy. Funny story that he would always tell me is, when he was in the army, he was being taught how to basically construct like this huge gun. And was having a bunch a bunch of other sort of other we call them soldiers, I guess. I think it was technically a soldier. And he was focusing on on what he’s because he has to because he’s kept keep getting trouble for getting distracted. And he’s looking at how this gun has been constructed. And next thing he wrote, he’s like, oh, wow, look at the colours on those clouds. I wonder if I was to mix some like orange with that. And then, and then also, like, say about vase. It’s like, go and all these just stood there. He’s like, Fuck, I have no idea what I was supposed to be doing. So we have we have a very similar process where, when it comes to other stuff that he’s not interested in, if you’re talking to him, he gets bored is to start like talking about something else. He’s impulsive. So when he saw me like, diving into what I’m doing, he’s always been very supportive. And I think that’s why a lot of my self belief, which is is a massive reason why I’m where I am, is and how centred I am, in my sort of own ideas, also extremely, like critical, like critical thinking and is a huge part of my professionalism. And he he used to debate from a really young age like me and him, but he really gave me the, the sort of the framework of self made intuition, self made interest and manifesting and learning on your own terms, which is why I think boxing was perfect because there was no rulebook, there was no textbook that it was something that once I got my teeth into, just like the way my dad taught himself to basically he does these remarkable, photorealistic oil paintings, and he’s never like read a textbook in his life. And I think I did the same thing would be boxing, but there’s not like thousands of other sort of beatboxes like there are millions of other painters, right. So so I think that’s why I’ve been able to sort of do do what I’ve done, and he’s a huge part of that. And still to this day is like a massive inspiration. Look after him and hang out with him. Yeah, he’s an absolute dude.
Andrew Dubber
Did you have a beatboxing mentor as well?
Harry Yeff
In of sorts, I was pretty disruptive to the culture because I was always like, I’m doing it my way. And I because mostly my mentors weren’t beatboxes when I was growing up, it was like electronic music producers. So it was the people around me who, like another producer like Linden Jade. I do a lot of stuff with who’s absolutely incredible. And then like a lot of the early dubstep and early grime like, yeah, a lot of the early Wiley beats were a huge influence to me. And that that those were the sounds that I was mimicking was like London electronic music. But as I got, as I started getting a bit older, and the first time I went to the World Championships, I got introduced to this huge family that is beatbox culture, and we’re all sort of this bizarre eccentric family that is expanding by the second this is getting so huge now. It’s a subculture that’s like grown and grown and grown.
Andrew Dubber
Just just sorry for my for my reference, the Venn diagram overlap between hip hop culture and beatboxing culture as one.
Harry Yeff
So it’s mostly a it’s mostly a time based thing because there is a there is a sort of New York beatbox hip hop, sort of point points where you had like, Rahzel, Doug E. Fresh, Click tha Supa Latin like, Kenny Muhammad, these were guys that came out of hip hop culture, but it’s kind of hip hop or beatboxing doesn’t have ownership over sound making sure I mean, it kind of goes there’s so many examples of different ikem sort of manifestations of it. Rahzel specifically kind of evolved out of hip hop culture and he was like working with Björk is working with Mike Patton, experimenting and really, like, sort of moved away from what you’d expect as a beatbox. Um, so it gets a bit complicated cuz it’s like subjective in subjective, but I am, I always felt that hip hop rejected beatboxing, like people were like, yo, yeah, people are saying hip hop. But a beat a beat boxer in a traditional hip hop terms is a guy that stands in the background and makes a beat for another artist, right? Where is the difference now is these people were at the front, right?
Andrew Dubber
Just do get this whole thing and hip hop, where sometimes the DJ is at the front, sometimes the rap is at the front. But the beatboxer
Harry Yeff
is, it’s it’s like, it’s when you don’t have a beat. I mean, that’s what that’s what they’re there for. They’re there to facilitate on the street. Some, some a bit of percussion doesn’t really matter what it is. Yeah, a bit of percussion doesn’t really matter what it is. And you the artist does their thing where the change now is, like, for example, I, there were others, like people like Kenny Muhammad, but basically no one still does. Our solo shows, that’s just like, not a normal thing. And like, that’s always been my stamp is like, I play to clubs, we’re used to a lot more play to clubs with thousands of people. And I’ll go on after a DJ and then a DJ will go after me. But I’ve been using my voice for an hour, right? And it’s, especially when I do like the really massive shows. Not gonna focus on this too much. But when I did the really, really big ones, they were amazing, not because they were really big. But because like, for example, I did Arcadia at Boomtown. And that’s like, 10,000 cap stage, but it’s a giant spider. And I was stood on the top, so you couldn’t see me. So this hour set that I did is, obviously there were people there to see me and there was some fans, but there was a huge number of people that come in and out. They were dancing because they like the music, right? Not because they thought it was beatboxing. And like, for me, that’s always been the benchmark. And that’s based on my interpretation of how to use the instrument and that doesn’t intrinsically have anything to do with hip hop. Sound making and, and voice experimentation predates hip hop by 10s of thousands of years. That’s pretty excessive number by this number. Yeah. But so but so so hip hop, of course, really owns a lot of amazing things regarding aspects of beatbox culture, but there are innovations left and right. It’s not everything. And I I’ve always been more sonically from a London more electronic and, and that’s bled through my beatboxing and that sound is, is what made my stamp and I can I can say proudly that I know that I change the culture with that sound.
Andrew Dubber
Do I do this because you didn’t have access to a drum machine or that kind of story or so.
Harry Yeff
So this is I always sometimes I’m cautious to kind of say too much about it because it’s like it’s such a new thing for people that don’t know about it and people think YouTube but but whenever it’s a podcast, and we’re having a conversation, the reason I started was because I played a lot of different instruments growing up, and I was basically couldn’t afford to take the instruments home because everyone else is taking some time but you had to pay like a deposit and couldn’t couldn’t pay tax. We didn’t have any money. So I was learning a piece on the drums. And continue to kind of have a kid at home or there’s like these pad things that they give away that I couldn’t have either. So I started going like duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, don’t don’t don’t get that. Done. And then I like basically, I, I was naughty. I didn’t go to like rehearsals one week, but I managed to play the piece, because I practised speaking. And I was like, Oh, I Oh, that’s quite interesting. I was like, I was like, I can just use my voice to like learn pieces. And
Andrew Dubber
there’s that sort of sideline there’s a whole Indian tradition of that as well.
Harry Yeff
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So in in traditional Indian drumming like so the voice again, sees what happened to start jumping around. But there’s a Yeah, in tradition in Indian drumming, you would for the first year, don’t touch the drum. I think it’s tile, which is duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, tactically, tactically dig, dig, dig, dig. I can’t do that. Don’t hold me to that. But it’s, it’s so fascinating because the voice is the ultimate internalisation tool. Because if you can speak it, you know it, if you can play it, you don’t always know it. And it’s a really interesting idea. Even in beatboxing if there’s a very complex pattern that you’re trying to beatbox, you, you’re trying to catch up with yourself. But the question I always say to like, when I do occasionally have students that I teach, I say like, Well, can you speak it? Can you slow it down? And can you say it, and a lot of the time they can if they can, or they learn it, and they go back to it, then they’re able to do it. So there’s something that I tapped into very, there was a lot of very interesting, I would, I will say just say coincidences, I think there was some other thing going on there. But it’s hard to identify. But there was a lot of really great quizzes that led me to kind of seeing the function in it from the beginning, but I never thought it would be like, I mean, come on down to making noises with your mouth, how could that possibly be be useful? Or like a job or, or a career or like, lead to like working with universities? That’s absurd, isn’t it? Who would
Andrew Dubber
ever do that? Right? So I want to get to the working with universities thing, because it’s a leap to go from a kid who makes noises No, yeah, totally. So to being essentially a, you know, researcher in residence at Nokia Bell Labs and and doing stuff at that level, what’s in between those two things, or not?
Harry Yeff
So, a little bit after that stage, I mentioned, I talked globally, I have a very, very rich and wonderful time of week by week, experiencing venues, different types of places, and just solely focusing on performance. And that was absolutely great. And I still love to perform now. But I reached a point when, simultaneously another coincidence, I walked off stage a venue called razzmatazz, which is incredible venue. It’s like, kind of like the fabric of Barcelona. 3000 people. I did headline set, and I just had this thing of like, ah, I’ve done that before. just felt like that things like creeping them like, like this is this is this is starting to repeat itself. I mean, different venue, like couldn’t see anyone’s face because you’re on stage repetition. So I made a very bold move, which was to Oh, also I met riser the week before. And he basically came to to meet me at the American championships, who was the person that like first album I ever bought, came see me the champs, he was like, passing the torch to a lot of really nice things. It was very pleasant, kind of blew a fuse in my head. Because when your kid when you’re 14, you have a dream, and it happens, you think it’s gonna be awesome. So I was just like, what else could I have done? Like, like it kind of messed with my head, same time I did the show. So the reason I’m telling that long story is I took a step away from performing. And the same time I did that, I met Sophie Scott, who was a neurologist. And we’ve been speaking, she came to the UK champs when I won the second time. But we ended up doing a study like so I became involved in a number of different voice studies. And I was effectively by being a lab rat, I was introduced to the academic world and I was introduced. For the first time in my life, really, I was part of what felt like some objective reasoning, like the way that researchers researchers speak about new ideas and the way that they try and sort of tackle complex problems. I just had such a profound respect for and it almost felt like the way that I’ve always rationalised my arts and, and tried to deconstruct and understand. I just at the time, it wasn’t but I felt an association with it. And so if you score at the time really valued my contributions outside of just being as sort of a sort of a lead subject. And then I started to basically speak about the work I did with them. And communication became as much as a priority to me It was about performance because
Andrew Dubber
their research was about expertise. It wasn’t that
Harry Yeff
it wasn’t specifically about the voice or be boxing, it was all about this idea of what does expertise look like on a neurological level. So, anyone that has like the crew time is flow state. So if you achieve flow, what is happening and and vocalists are great because you can put them in an fMRI very easily and and she really believed that when I was performing, I was displaying expert behaviour I was explaining displaying flow, and she basically wanted to prove that. And I guess Actually, that’s a really good point is um, so did the study. I, we defined what I did as an expert behaviour compared me to controls, I had a hyperactive localised activity the controls did not, and ensure you compare that to speech. So right now I’m speaking fluently in English. In certain parts, I’m really not planning this intention is just flowing out of my face. If I wasn’t fluent in English, there are stops. And you have to think and that’s stammering that is non flow. And so that very simple idea, and defining expertise, like in the art spaces that I’d been surrounded by people muse, and like, abstracts an idea of what is an expert, what is creativity. And all of a sudden, I had a very clear what I thought was such a beautiful description of what I’m trying to achieve when I learn a new skill, I’m trying to rehearse enough and clearly enough that the neurological processes that are in place can refine and refine and refine a process so that it is I can achieve a state of flow. So that very simple idea, Yes, very much harder thing to achieve. There was this wonderful excitement of like, wow, that gave me such an insight into my creative process. And, and I got a loan from it. And it was so practical and clear. And I just found that so beautiful. And that was my sort of, I was like, man, I want more of this. Yeah, I want to I want to learn how to communicate with academics. As an artist, I want to understand the challenges that are around being an artist working with researchers, which is mostly a language problem. A lot of the time, artists fine artists have can have a very similar goal to a bleeding edge tech researcher. The difference is, is the choice and the sort of the learned language and or structuring a structuring of ideas. So as specifically
Andrew Dubber
scientific research that you’re you’re going it’s not just about, you know, research into creativity or research into
Harry Yeff
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You’re
Andrew Dubber
very, very focused on that, you know, what is the science of this?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, absolutely. And, and, I guess, speaking less specifically about me, there’s, there is just a desperate need. Now, from my experience, for as many torches to be shining on these much larger problems we need, we need to make sure that artists who have the right type of expertise are using their power to be the empathy end of any process. Doesn’t matter how efficient a tool is a processes. Eventually, a lot of these ideas end up affecting people. So when you need these ideas to connect, artistic expertise, and artists are actually the ones that can explore new ways for these ideas to actually break habitual thinking to open people’s minds, because traditional media and articles, they’re just not enough. And everything is changing so fast. And the people at the top are as confused as the people at the bottom. So we actually need as much expertise in these rooms as possible. And artists are offering answers to connecting to people. So if I get brought in now, we’ve jumped from sort of dubstep beatboxer in 2009, to someone who, from my conditioning of constantly moving between art spaces, residencies, research spaces, commercial spaces, I’ve been through a boot camp in dynamic communication and understanding the way that ideas can be shared, and also finding the new gaps for for new types of expresses, and like I could just not be doing what I’m doing 10 years ago, right. And the reason I am is because the amount of change and if you look at any agency now they are they are outsourcing creativity, because they can no longer promise engagement. Like a lot the time when it was simpler. A an agency would put a famous person in an ad and that ad would go on the main streams of communication with the general public and the general probably go wow And then they will go by the product. But every single way that we connect with each other media and everything has fractured out by subdivisions of thousands, and that all the rules are out the window. So organic reach, like emotional connection and real engagement. It’s only the artists that are actually managing that now. So um, so yeah, so there’s just my point is, you would never think it, but the sort of the Lords of the of abstract and the ones that are actually able to generate emotional connections with things are very valuable when they also understand how to interact with different spaces, whether it’s commercial, academic, and that’s what I’m really interested in. And that that skill is nothing to do with my, where I started and my voice, but it’s kind of it’s, it’s been trained alongside and now I’m at this point where it’s actually the communication, the bridging the gaps between ideas, connecting people is now more of a priority to me, then, my, my, my voice, but I love my don’t, please don’t they, it’s it sounds so negative saying that, but it’s just
Andrew Dubber
not a difference. Positive. It’s a it’s on top of everything else before,
Harry Yeff
there was a lot of information. So yeah,
Andrew Dubber
but I’m actually really curious about what the new kind of Everest is, in that respect. I mean, getting the top of one, and you get sort of handed the torch and you go, okay, I’ve conquered that sort of one beatboxing what’s, what’s the new Everest?
Harry Yeff
So I do have one. When people talk to me about purpose, again, subjectively, I want to make beautiful things. And I want to, I want to create, and there’s many subjects that I personally want to explore. But objectively, there’s one very simple idea that’s come out of all of these sort of interactions that I’ve had, which I think stands out, and it’s kind of the perfect mix of, of everything that I’ve experienced, which is welcoming Sophie Scott, there is this very crude statistic that we use 20% of our vocal capacity outside of language. So outside of phonetics, and the the, the sort of all of the social information that’s stored in our voices outside of the actual words that we’re saying, We don’t really push to the limit. Everybody knows someone that talks like this, and the words are being said, and you understand, but something is really missing. And in all of the obsession with devices and, and lights and shiny things that we’re surrounded by, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that we are missing out on many fundamentals. So if we come back to this idea, on average, globally rough number, we use 20% of our vocal capacity. The question is what happens if you increase that? So if the people listening yourself as well, if you if you increase that number, and you add a sincerity, you add an emotional sort of intensity, you’re tonally, you are varying you are you’re expressing what you feel through your voice that has a direct impact on your loved ones, your working relationships, you connect with the world more, but you also simultaneously connect with yourself, which is the bizarre thing. Have you ever really thought about the voice in your head and what it sounds like? That is based off your speaking voice. So your mind is hinged into your voice. So to not use that is to limit your thinking. So if I can increase that number globally, I can increase the well being of the entire planet. So my job from now on is to explore voice projects. However grant whoever’s small, that eventually can have a global impact that even just for a moment, a huge number of people will think Hold on wait a minute, I’m not thinking about my voice. And that is completely free. Completely achievable. Absolutely sustainable. And and it just sums up like maybe why the hell I’ve been doing this for so long and why I’m so obsessed, obsessed with it. And, and yeah, for some reason, I can’t 100% put a finger on it. Maybe it is again, just about this kind of pure belief that I have, but I really explore everything to try and bring value to the people around me. Whether it’s my fans, or my my my loved ones thanks pulling them like I really dig real deep to try and bring value. And it’s this, this evolution of trying to do that on a global scale. Yes. It’s grandiose. Yes, it’s like, it’s it’s a huge ambition. But if the my previous, if the last few years is anything to go by, I think it’s possible. And that’s my mission. Now.
Andrew Dubber
It seems like what you do with your voice is for the world, but I’m really interested also want to bring up your visual art that you do. amazing thing. That seems like it’s for you seems like it’s really personal. It’s really distinct. There’s a real kind of aesthetic, that that is just you. How those things fit together?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, I think it’s a fair question kind of what is for me, because I’ve been thinking, I’ve been working so hard at like integrating and, and also going into spaces where Pete A lot of times people, that they’re not art spaces as well. So there’s like, I, if there was any discrepancy in my thinking, like, I will be, like, taken up on it. So that’s been that’s been extremely challenging in one way and great, but yeah, you’re right. I my visual art was kind of came before music, which is a really interesting thing. I am. My dad being a visual artist, I think it’s always kind of had something that is, is much more about. There’s a meditative quality to it. And it’s much more about channelling my channelling my add, like it, that does happen with my voice. But it’s so immediate, it’s so immediate. And unlike goes out into the world, that my drawings take me like, hours and hours and hours, and sometimes days, depending on what I’m doing. And yeah, that’s, I guess, yeah, that’s a little bit more of a mystery for me. And like, that’s something I don’t try to overly rationalise for once in my life. But I love linear work. I love a love illustration. And also, I love the idea of fusing audio and visual together. That’s like a massive part of the somatics work that I did, which is the main reason
Andrew Dubber
which is what brought you to Music Tech Fest in the first place. Yeah, exactly,
Harry Yeff
which is why we met. But I’m really trying to think of trying to find time to like, take them take a few weeks off, like next year to just draw. And I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. The only thing I would do in that space to kind of switch off from everything is draw. And that’s a again, there’s like reached 100, which is concept reached one is all the music, but that’s a hairy thing. Like that’s right. Yeah, that’s like a hairy, hairy thing. Um, so, yeah, that’s very much for me.
Andrew Dubber
I just want to get back just to sort of round off as you can to Music Tech Fest, around somatics. And CJ Carr came to Music Tech Fest around simatic. Yeah. And you’ve ended up working together? Not on some ethics.
Harry Yeff
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think MTF they, they bring curious people together. I think what’s synonymous with curiosity is ambition. And I don’t think people like I don’t settle for stuff. I mean, it’s like, I have a huge habit of as soon as I get my teeth in something, it’s like getting some momentum. I’m like, pretty notorious being like, Alright, I’m done with that. Now. Next thing. And, yeah, it’s not that I’m done with somatics on either a CJ, it’s just the fact that it that that’s what was interesting for us now, but we’re both pretty impulsive. So. So now now we’re pretty impulsive about finding something that has never happened before. And only about what that is. Do you mean like in in, like what we do in Georgia?
Andrew Dubber
What’s the joint journey that you’re on?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, I think that it’s actually maybe something that I we’ve already spoken about. But I’m not articulate it sort of publicly but I think me and CJ have a very similar shade of ambition. Where we, we basically navigate our job is to interrupt like we were to have a term which not for everyone, but it’s been given to myself and CJ number of time is intelligent interrupters. So we bring interruptive would you say
Andrew Dubber
trickster? And the same war?
Harry Yeff
No, because trickster kind of insinuates that in some way. We’re like, we’re sort of playing. I don’t know. There’s some kind of like non dishonesty to it. Okay. But our our interruption is is there for the betterment of everywhere that we go, because it’s not like we go to sort of when I say interrupt, it’s not like we’re causing trouble. It’s like, we bring a new perspective or a new collection of skill sets, which maybe is going to be different to other people in the room. But it’s at the very heart of it is something truly purposeful. So for CJ, it might be him using neural nets to generate using beta for him its sample or an M and the way that he uses it and it’s something that it’s still even though we’ve been working with it for two years. It’s still Like, not fully cooked or commercialised or, or used widely, so his ideas and the way that he uses it and the art that he applies to it, and he’s an artist that kind of finds these connections in these narratives that interrupts the culture that he’s around. And the machine learning culture, like data bots is like, it’s on people’s tongues, because he’s found the right combination of ideas, which is entertaining, true to the technology and cutting edge. And that’s a very hard thing to achieve. And if he was talking about me, I don’t know what he’s saying. That’s why I say about him. But and when I’m talking about myself, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t sort of speak in the same way. But like, I know for a fact that my, my collection of expertise doesn’t exist anywhere else. And that’s my job is to go in, be a tool user be modular, it can be writing production for one event. Another time I’m working as a researcher another time, I’m actually working to just use what’s being developed by researcher to maybe just make them rethink it, maybe it’s to get more funding. Other times, I’m just starting mosh pits. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a real, like, mixed collection of ideas. But everywhere that I go, I am there to interrupt in a way that can create new ideas and new perspective. And I think those those types of artists, the ones that are sort of jack of all trades, and master of all to some extent, like they have three or four pillars that are very well trained. And that’s becoming more and more common. And I that’s not unique to me, like my collection is is I think, is my power. But I think it’s that type of artistry, which comes from being impulsive, or being able to deal with a lot of switching between information, which in school was not a good thing is now my strength. And like, that’s actually ended up working in my favour. Someone was like, What is the one thing that like, ties it like all together, and I won’t be able to be 100 and be able to tell you, but it’s mostly communication, creative direction, and the ability to connect ideas. And yeah, there’ll be calm point where I can’t like be box anymore. And that’s what I’ve been trying to sort of set up is my ideas are as valuable. Is that
Andrew Dubber
a thing? You stop being able to?
Harry Yeff
No, I don’t think it is. But it’s more like I’ve like, like, if I’m feeling like bored of it when I’m like 27. I mean, there’s a chance it’s gonna happen again, at some point. So right, I’m trying to like sort of manifest, because what keeps happening like at some talks, like recently, people have been like, they’re like, dude, like, you’ll be boring. Just get in the way of your great ideas is like, you don’t actually need to, like, even talk about it. And I’m like, Well, I behave like that. But I still kind of have like, an attachment to the wow factor Well, it’s part of your identity, too. Yeah. No, I don’t think I should like, because I’m still a student. I mean, I’m learning how to like balance all these like spaces. But yeah, it’s, it’s me. I mean, that’s like I never wanted like not like, I don’t need to not be myself. I mean, I don’t doesn’t matter what space I go into. Or like, like, what what sort of money or opportunity gets thrown on the table. I shouldn’t have to like become something else.
Andrew Dubber
But you do have these compartmentalised identities that you’ve got, yeah, you’ve got one, you got 100 Yeah, and you put those things into, okay, now I’m being that’s now being there. Yeah, but
Harry Yeff
I feel like I have ownership over all of them. And they and, and it’s like, the way I see it is, there’s so many narratives that make people feel like there’s like, they have one mode, or they have a one sort of collection of skill sets, which is is is consistent, and you have to be consistent with it. Otherwise, you can’t achieve like acaid. academia is structured like that, which is that like, this idea that you’re just strength can also become your prison. And plasticity reduces the this, like, the longer you keep doing something. But it doesn’t have to always like be that way, the way that I make sense of the multiple outputs that I have. Because I I know for a fact if they if you drop me at, let’s say a street art festival, I could paint a wall that would, I’m not going to say there’s better street eyes than me, but I know for a fact and
Andrew Dubber
be out of place. It
Harry Yeff
wouldn’t be a place. Yeah, if you put me as a speaker, it wouldn’t be out of place. If I was beatboxing. If I had to compose a piece of music, it wouldn’t be out of place. And like, I’m not saying I’m amazing, a lot of things. I’m just saying that when as if you’re coming at it from say, say your son had a lot of different outputs, which I think he does, like, it’s like, what are the rationales you can do to make sure that you’re managing those things. And it’s not about trying to bend yourself into like, Okay, this is why I am and this is my decision. Sometimes maybe it’s about like tidying the room of it. And just like having a, these, these packets that have different roles because completely fairly, these things come up. And people ask about our and then like where it came from and like beatboxing within this Harvard. And I genuinely believe that all these things don’t kind of always fit together and in like a short period of time. But it’s a, it’s like how can you not change who you are, but order the narratives of yourself to be the most effective that you can be? So you’re basically
Andrew Dubber
for the sake of simple and clear communication. Hmm, yeah.
Harry Yeff
Yeah, believe it or not. Yeah. So so. So I have more modes, and I try to avoid the impulse, which I used to have, which is to basically include everything. But, but sometimes if someone’s saying like, So who are you? Yeah, that is who I am. I’m all these things. But all of what I am tends to be too much people. Can I
Andrew Dubber
ask the really dumb question, what is the word Reeps mean? Or where does it come from?
Harry Yeff
There’s a root, I can make up a really clever story. Really excited when there’s not one. But just one of my best friends growing up named all of his mates. And he pointed everyone and he said, he pointed at me, he said, Reeps. And the one is because if there’s any other Reeps, they’re Reeps two, becuase I’m Reeps One. Okay. That’s literally it. And I tried to change it so many times. But it, it, it could have. The The main thing is, is I like the fact it was a gift. It’s not again, I don’t like giving myself labels. I like using other things that people have said about me, because that’s a much better metric than sort of I am Mr. Freeze or like,
Andrew Dubber
Yeah, but yeah, but if that’s what you, if it’s what people call you, then it’s your name?
Harry Yeff
Yeah. Yeah, totally. And when people say like, What’s your name? I wish I call him like, Harry. Like, I used to say, I used to say, people, like people like, what should I call you? available? Mom, my mom calls me Harry. But now my mom calls me Reeps. So it’s that that kind of went out the window. But yeah, the final thing is, also being in the public eye is extremely, can confusing, because everyone has many different opinions. Like you get messages. I’m trying to define what I’m doing, when you’re getting hundreds of messages from people being like, I’ve seen that you’re trying to do this, and you’re trying to do that. And this is what you should do. If you did this, like maybe people would like understand or we should go back to battling because our last like, that’s the kind of
Andrew Dubber
give you advice. Yeah. Well, many,
Harry Yeff
like I think, I think because of my, because of my I’d like to believe that I’m an open book, in some ways, I’m very closed in in other ways, but I like my, the people I engage with every shows or on social media, like I really tried to look out for people. So if I get a message from someone saying, I’m having a bad time, like I will try and like make them, like feel better. And I will try to understand, and I used to do it a lot more. But what you start realising is the more you do that people start becoming really invested in you and they’ve never met you. And and that got that actually got really intense for a while and like I had to sort of take a step back. And that’s where this like Reeps One does not exist thing comes from. Yeah, because
Andrew Dubber
the Reeps One does not exist thing was the point at which I thought, I don’t know what he’s doing. But I do know, he’s a chess master. There’s a strategy going on here. And I don’t know what it is. And he’s several moves ahead of me or Yeah,
Harry Yeff
yeah, totally. It’s, um, because basically, it just answered all of the questions that people have. They’re like people like, so like, why are you doing this, then I’ll just be like, which one does not exist? I’m just like, it’s, it’s not real. Like, it’s not a real thing. But obviously, Israel because I’m here, and it’s one of those people just started debating and talking about and trying to work out what it means. And and when people started arguing over things, someone will comment like, guys just chill out which one does not exist. So it became this idea that like, there’s Harry, there’s Reeps, and Reeps and all these other things are like constructs. And it’s, it just became a really fun thing to play with. And, and what was so What’s so strange about it is in saying that I do not exist. And for those people out there who are intrigued by my work, or by me, then discussing what that means. I actually become more present in their minds. And it’s actually become a meme. So like,
Andrew Dubber
Is it ever about being in character?
Harry Yeff
Yeah, it kind of what it does is it just defines that Reeps is a character Reeps is a embodies this hyper version of myself, which I do become sometimes Yeah. But again, this, this compartmentalization thing has been really healthy and
Andrew Dubber
fit into your kind of narratives there. Because if you’ve got characters that you’re playing in a role that you inhabit,
Harry Yeff
it’s less about a role. It’s about trying to make people understand what you are in ways that may be it’s simpler for them. And like that’s, yeah, that’s everything I do is, is inherently sort of not the traditional domain. So, so these these narratives, it’s not like when I say I’m a character, it’s like I’m being not me, like, obviously Reeps One. And when I’m on stage, that, of course is a part of me. But that’s not the same me when I’m off stage. And that’s the that’s based on what it pulls out of me that when I when for some reason, when I’m in front of people, I have a completely different disposition and energy turned up. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And so to organise in that way, just has been really, really useful. It’s also been really useful for other artists, friends that I’m around. And like, like, yeah, MTF does not exist. I mean, it’s a concept is this in every single person that knows MTF has a different opinion of what it is. So like, is this even real? So it’s just an it’s a reminder to like, not sort of let your hyper self completely consume you or think that that is always you, I think all of us are, exist in many states. And we are way more complex than we give ourselves credit for. And all I’m trying to do is basically order that and have a way of, of cutting up these things. And like, everyone around me, like my manager, like it’s, um, there are aspects to what I do, which is not universally understood, but on my terms, I’m, I’m being myself, VR sharing these different aspects because I have different aspects to my personality. And yes, there is one body that is me. And I am at the end of the day, Harry Yeff. And I, and I do all these things. But it’s really fun to to clarify that in this space. This is these are my valid These are my contributions in this space. These are my contributions. And every so often they bleed into each other and crossover and, and they talk about a million things in a podcast. So
Andrew Dubber
who am I speaking to now? Oh,
Harry Yeff
yeah, right now. Reeps One does not exist. That’s what yeah, that’s
Andrew Dubber
the way when you’re 81 you’re where your dad is. Well, what are you gonna be looking back on and what are you gonna be doing? Oh my god,
Harry Yeff
I’m probably gonna be probably gonna be doing what my dad’s doing which is just like painting everyday playing chess and yeah, chillin by hopefully. But I’m with some stories to tell. Yeah, no, no, absolutely. But I guess when I’m when I’m looking back home. I remember the day that I was MTF doing a podcast and just, yeah, remembering all the crazy people that I met. And yeah, the fact and I had a lovely time.
Andrew Dubber
I’m really glad. Thanks so much for being on the show. Harry Yeff, Reeps One, and Reeps 100 in conversation at MTF Örebro a couple of weeks back, and that’s the MTF podcast. If you enjoyed that, well, maybe you should click that subscribe button. It’s totally free and means that you won’t miss any more of these. Feel free to share, like rate and review and if you have a spot of time, over the weekend at the gym, walking the dogs or whatever. Also, feel free to dig back and have a listen to some older episodes. We’ve got Björn from ABBA in there some AI experts, music producers, copyright activists, inventors, CEOs of music tech companies, space explorers, Oscar winners, electronic pioneers, and lots more. There’s bound to be something of interest, and I’ll catch you back here soon. Have a great week. Cheers.
