Post for: #kutiman (11 Posts)

Time Magazine named Thru You one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2009.

It's on the list alongside NASA's Ares rockets, the AIDS vaccine, and (data) teleportation.

Remember when I asked if anyone had seen the mystery vocalist from Kutiman's "I'm New"?

We found her.

Her name is Mandy. The video was always there - the credits just had the wrong ID (one letter was off!)

Here's the real one:

She's @va_songstress on Twitter. Turns out she didn't even know about Kutiman until people started flooding her YouTube comments:

OMG!!! I was ready to cry because i was honored that someone even posted my video in their work! I didnt know it was on here until you posted this comment!!! »

And:

OMG everyone knew about this video before me!!!!! i love the video Kutiman did! »

The internet came through.

Meanwhile, the coverage keeps coming:

Thru You is everywhere. A million views in less than a week.

Some backstory on Kutiman: he grew up in a small village in northern Israel with no record stores. Moved to Tel Aviv at 19, met DJ Sabbo, and discovered funk for the first time:

Fela Kuti, Parliament, The Meters, King Crimson and, of course, James Brown changed my world... If I hadn't heard these amazing artists, I think my music would simply be boring.

Wired got him on the phone:

I didn't expect it to blow up like this, even in my wildest dreams. I live in a small city in a small neighborhood in a small house in a small country. I didn't expect it to get this big this fast.

And on the process:

I downloaded a clip from a drummer, who I now realize is Bernard Purdie, who's sessioned on all kinds of records. All it needed was some bass and guitar; I loved the idea that I was playing along with him and he didn't even know it. But once I decided to download another clip and play over it, I thought, 'Why not get another video to play over it?' Since then, I haven't really slept or eaten. I lost track of night and day. I'd just pass out and wake up on the computer. I was fascinated by the idea. It was so magical.

Lawrence Lessig, who literally wrote the book on remix culture:

Watch this, and you'll understand everything and more than what I try to explain in my book.
...
If you come to the Net armed with the idea that the old system of copyright is going to work just fine here, this more than anything is going to get you to recognize: you need some new ideas.

The takes:

Update: We found her!

Kutiman's "I'm New" is my favorite track from Thru You. The vocals in the second part are haunting.

But when you click through to the source video in the credits...

The video you have requested is not available.

It points to nothing. Somewhere on YouTube there's a girl singing this song, and I can't find her.

If you know who this singer is, contact @nivs or @kutiman.

Update: Check out Researching ThruYOU for downloads and information about Kutiman's YouTube remix project

Yesterday, when I first set my eyes and ears on what Ophir Kutiel (aka Kutiman) did, my mind was immediately blown away by the freshness, the untamed talent and the attention to detail. Did it really take him only two months to produce?!

The minimalist site, thru-you.com (which is down, again), designed by Bacon Oppenheim (who also did the amazing Innovid website), gave the perfect feeling. The music and visuals sent shivers down my spine and gave me goose bumps (especially the final part of I'm New).

I found myself feeling the same astonishment when I first listened to DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's Brainfreeze, or during Coldcut's live performance in Tel Aviv. I immediately started downloading the MP3 tracks - I had to "own" a copy... Then I went over some of the original videos, which were used as samples in the tracks, and started having YouTube conversations with some of the surprised talents, who seemed extremely flattered (as they should!). Then I emailed Kutiman (and got a very warm response from his agent), and started sending everyone I know to the site... which was already down. I'm still wondering why they chose to stream the video from their servers, instead of using YouTube's most powerful feature - embed. Since I didn't want people not to be able to experience it, I set up a very minimalist "unofficial mirror" site, containing the MP3 files and the YouTube videos downwithutube put online (great thinking, and kudos for including all the links to the originals!).

Kuti, if you're listening, you are a genius, and I think you've just started a revolution (just an example: see what Kevin Rochowski wrote here. He immediately went to the iTunes store and purchased Kutiman's debut album).

I am new.