Thru-you.com
Composing music with youTube videos (the very interesting world of video collage, montage, music mashup composition)
In 2009 musician and artist Ophir Kutie (aka Kutiman) created a number of music compositions by mixing video clips that he found on youTube. In essence, he used youTube as his sound-bite sample library. His song foundry was fueled by random 'found art' video footage.
Most of the clips are of people playing solo, singing solo, or just messing around with sounds and synthesizers, without any preconceived notion or intent for collaboration. Then Kutiman steped in, providing unsolicited collaboration by remixing various video clips, looping and layering them into remarkably beautiful audio/visual collages. In the end, each of his videos is a new song and composition in its own right.
I have a few more words of introduction, but if you wish to switch to viewing mode, click here.
Kutiman vs. copyright issues
Since Kutiman used other peoples' compositions, performances, and videos in creating his video mixes, it's no surprise that copyright issues and ownership objections have occasionally arisen. Sadly, some of his work was removed from youTube at the request of one the artists involved. Fortunately, at the time of this writing, I believe it is all currently restored, presumably due to a change of heart and a retraction of the objection.
At any time anyone involved can claim copyright violation, thus youTube and/or Kutiman may be obliged to remove Kutiman's videos from public viewing until a resolve is reached. That's why some of the following links may lead to nowhere, or merely to a 'removed' notice. Sorry if you run into any such deadends in following the links I've provided.
The thru-you.com video projects
Kutiman explains his artistic intent, his creative process, and his respect for those whose videos he used in his 'About' video:
Here’s what the composer has to say:
Kutiman takes little credit for the results. He modestly states that sometimes video clips magically aligned themselves, without forethought, effort or planning. Indeed, there must have been some lucky splices and overdubs in Kutiman's creative process, but these beautiful compilations obviously required thousands of artistic decisions and countless hours of slicing, editing and aligning. The results are enjoyable and reflect Kutiman's range of musical awareness, and they showcase some talents that may have otherwise remainly largely undiscovered.
Watch the Kutiman videos
Several finished projects appear on Kutiman’s own site, but please try my guided tour below before going to www.thru-you.com. (You can also see some of Kutiman's work on youTube.)
A guided tour of Kutiman's youTube art
In his first youTube mix — The Mother of all Funk Chords — Kutiman aligns clips of dialog and music, making it sound like a live rehearsal. Then, after the big 9 chord, the piece really takes off.
This little romp is probably the most simplistic of Kutiman's projects. It's quite straight forward, even somewhat predictable, so it's a perfect introduction ... because it clearly illustrates the compositional principle behind his projects. (Check it out. If you get bored, don't bail out completely. Be sure to watch the next project : Just a Lady.)
The Mother of all Funk Chords
<http://www.thru-you.com/#/videos/1/>
My favorite works
If you're still with me, here are some of my favorite Kutiman compositions. Click on any of the links to watch and listen, and be sure to check out some of the raw footage that he assembled:
<http://www.thru-you.com/#/videos/7/
If you've already viewed Just a Lady take a moment you view the main theme, as it originally appeared on youTube a solo vocal, and then view Kutiman's mix again:
Listen to Just a Lady — original solo vocal
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAPkRqpZfjE>Now listen to Kutiman's mix again of Just a Lady
There's no denying, Kutiman's interpretation of this young singer/songwriter's composition may not match her original vision, undeniably it showed me that her voice and composition have far more depth than I would have realized. The astonishing thing about Just a Lady is that Kutiman figured out a meter that matches the tempo and structure of her original vocal—the slow 12/8 he picked is perfect. I would have been hardpressed to discover a matching foundation meter. Everything about his timing is spot on! And somehow his finished project highlights some very lovely nuances and inflections in her delivery, details that I easily overlooked in the original
Wait for Me
<http://www.thru-you.com/#/videos/6/>
Talk box original video from TalkBoxerDX
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkv4yWBRODo>http://www.thru-you.com/#/videos/3/
(On youtube at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBfj6khrG4>)
Here are some of the source videos:
Second vocalist — O8kufPBJxOM
(Can’t find you’tube link / The link was made private?)Rap (MP) Juice Lee Freestyle:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poaHk7J4wZI>Singer 1:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fln3JIBikA>
Veiwing credits and links to original footage
As mentioned, the finished projects are more interesting if you view some of the original footage, so do watch some of the raw material that Kutimand culled together for us.
To see the original video clip, click on the credit link. You can roll credits by clicking the red ‘CREDITS’ button during playback. This option is available only when watching his projects on www.thru-you.com
thru-you.com intentionally looks like youTube, so yu might check the address bar of your browser to make sure you're in the right location.
By watching a few of the original videos you'll quickly understand how much creativity went into these projects.
The video remix genre
New as the concept may seem, Kutiman has not created an new art form. As early as the 1970s others composed music via video remix and video collage, such as the Emergency Broadcast Network (EBN) from the 1990s:
Nevertheless, Kutiman's projects are noteworthy due to their high level of artistry, and their overall sense of warmth.
The success of such undertakings hinges squarely on meticulous timing ... and Kutiman’s sense of timing is impeccable. Without precision timing, his innovative interpretations and concepts would prove clever at best ... perhaps only annoying.
I expect Kutiman will inspire interest in this reemerging art form ... and the time is ripe. Over the past few decades only the fortunate or elite had access to the necessary video editing tools; today however we find them advance tools on the average personal computer.
Kutiman's contribution
Although Kutiman handily covers a wide range of musical styles, there's nothing musicallly ground breaking about the finished compositions. Nevertheless they are engaging, fun, and full of heart ... and that's plenty for me!
Above all, Kutiman's creations reflect that many of us have artistic interests, and though our talents may be new, undiscovered, or undeveloped, our small accomplishments can be an intregal part of a larger effort. In other words, appreciation, collaboration and recognition are sometimes closer than they appear, much closer than we realize ... and amazing things can happen when we allow ourselves be seen as artists and musicians ... even in a small homemade video clip.
Most inspiring is Kutiman's ability to peer deeply into another person's art, that his power of perception allows him to elegantly frame it so perhaps it becomes more accessable, and something well appreciated even by those of us who might have otherwise failed to note the beauty therein.
We benefit from his ability to spot a diamond in the rough and reveal facets that may have gone unnoticed without his added craftsmanship.
I hope you enjoy Kutiman's projects as much as I have!
John Blasquez
