They thrash and rap; you laugh and clap. That’s the deal with Abondoman. Kirstie Witherington reports

Heard the one about the hip-hop fan and the folk musician? No? Well then you've probably never had the pleasure of seeing Abandoman perform live. Hailing from Ireland, Abandoman are freestyling frontman and self-confessed hip-hop fanatic Rob Broderick and multi-instrumentalist folk musician extraordinaire James Hancox.

Together, the pair have been wowing audiences since 2008 with their mix of quick-witted rhymes and comedic melodies that are as cleverly crafted as they are funny.

"Abandoman started in May 2008," Rob explains. "I always knew that I wanted to freestyle – I'd been doing it all my life.

"I was writing a play which I took to Brighton Fringe Festival and I met James there."

Fresh from touring with a certain Ed Sheeran, Rob and James are rapidly making a name for themselves among both comedy and music fans alike.

"Luckily for us, the show works well in both a comedy and a musical environment," Rob enthuses.

"We've found that stand-up fans have been pleasantly surprised by the musical element, while music fans have responded really well to the comedy."

Comedy website Chortle once described Abandoman as "Flight of the Conchords meets 8 Mile", which, as compliments go, isn't half bad.

"I think we give a really fun live experience" says Rob.

"We chat to the crowd and try to turn them into heroes and we also do a little 8 Mile-esque battle with a twist, so look out for that."

The duo will be dropping in to Firebug on Saturday as part of this year's comedy festival and Rob asks that each crowd member takes their most obscure belongings for the piece de resistance, What's in Your Pocket?

"We ask people to hold up the most obscure item they own and then I freestyle about it.

"The best gig we did was V Festival when two people on either side of the tent, independently of one another, held up a prosthetic leg.

"That's what we love – the more strange the object the better. You couldn't make something like that up."

Abandoman are at Firebug on February 4. Tickets are £10, available on 0116 255 1228 or at:

www.firebugbar.co.uk