It's often referred to as "the fifth element of hip-hop", turns up in jazz and featured in Hollywood mega-hits like Pitch Perfect.

Beatboxing is also, it turns out, something anyone can do according to a quartet who have taught over a million people the art.

Jack, Patrick, Dean and Rupert - or Bass6, Ball-Zee, Hobbit and MC Zani - also known as The Beatbox Collective are masters of the form.

The group were crowned World Beatbox Champions in 2015, and have performed at Glastonbury, Boomtown, Bestival, Lovebox and Secret Garden Party.

They're bringing their live show to the Edinburgh Fringe from July 31 to August 11 promising mind-blowing sounds, beats, sketches and vocal agility - as well as proof that the medium is for everyone.

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Which begs the question: how does one get into beatboxing?

"A lot of free time on your hands…" Oldridge tells The Herald.

"The first beatboxing I ever did was the Thunderbirds theme tune which I didn’t even realise was beatboxing.

“There was this one person at school who would always do silly sound effects or do impressions of the teachers and that would be your sparring partner.

“We (The Beatbox Collective) all met through beatbox jams.

“When I say jams, I mean 10-15 beatboxers met up in a park about 20 years ago for an event we called ‘King of the Jam’. The rules were: no electricity, no evil.

“People would come down with didgeridoos, harps, ocarinas and pan pipes and everyone would do their best beatboxing, and the winner got a pot of jam."

Recently a clip of pop superstar Justin Timberlake beatboxing went viral, and not for the right reasons, with the N-SYNC man himself saying it was "slightly regrettable".

Timberlake had, however, incorporated the art into hits like 'Rock Ya Body' and is far from the only performer to do so.

The Beatbox CollectiveThe Beatbox Collective (Image: Blendid)

Oldrige insists: "I think Justin Timberlake was a great beatboxer.

"You go back and Michael Jackson was an incredible beatboxer. All his ideas came from his voice and imagination, sitting around with his brothers and sisters with one or two of them playing the teaspoons and him going ‘mm-tch-mm-bpp I’m BAD’. There are old tapes of it.

“In my opinion there is no bad beatboxing, it’s a vocal reference to something.

"Anyone can do it. It’s as simple as call and response and there is no wrong in beatboxing: our philosophy is that every sound is a good sound."

That 'anyone can do it' philosophy is something The Beatbox Collective have put into action, teaching more than a million people over the years.

Oldridge says: "We do a lot of musical therapy and recovery work, MC Zani works for the NHS on a major project called vocal beats, it really helps with things like cystic fibrosis for breathing and it’s a wonderful mental health activity as well.

“It’s a very powerful vehicle to be able to teach, all you need is your voice and your imagination.

“Anyone can do it, we can teach you in 30 seconds – I could teach you over the phone now.

"It’s a really wonderful thing to be able to do, we go to primary schools and secondary schools, prisons – wherever really.

“It’s really wonderful to get people working with each other and trying something new.

"We’re trying to beat that stigma of beatboxing. I mean, I’m called Rupert… so if you’re thinking we’re straight from the ghetto you’ll be very wrong."

The group return to the Fringe this summer after earning rave reviews for their show 'What's Your Sound?' and are confident they've got something for all ages and backgrounds.

Oldridge says: "If someone’s like, ‘why would you pay to go and watch beatboxing for an hour?’ it’s not just an hour of ‘boom-boom-ka’, we go through the full range from silly sounds to sketches.

“It’s the sort of thing we did as kids and it’ll hopefully translate whether you’re five-years-old or 85-years-old.

“We had the most wonderful review from a lady at the Fringe one year who I think was 85 and she said it was the best show she’d seen in 25 years. When you reach someone like that, that’s what it’s all about.

“We guarantee everyone has the time of their lives, but those one or two reactions are really powerful.

"We show people a bit of ‘wow’ then gently break it down, sound-by-sound so they know it’s all 100% from the human voice.

“We take you on a journey, and I don’t think anyone’s ever walked out.

"We do a little sketch called ‘A Life in the Day of a Beatboxer’ which hopefully translates to any job or business.

"When we first did that sketch, we filmed it on a phone in the studio and it was very loose but there were bits that worked.

“I showed my housemate and I think he was tired, which is fair enough, but he went, ‘… I don’t really get it’.

“We all thought it was really funny in rehearsal but all feedback is good feedback, knocks the ego down a bit…

“But we practiced it and rehearsed it and some of the best feedback we’ve had are some of the sketches – everyone has a dance along and a singalong. I love doing the beatboxing but it’s definitely great doing some of the funny elements.

“We don’t really say it’s a funny show but that’s sort of the reward you get if you come down.”

The Beatbox Collective will be performing at Assembly George Square Studios from July 31 to August 11. Tickets are available here.