YouTube mash-up artist, musician, and producer Kutiman’s Thru-You series was immensely popular—the first video in the series has over a million hits and is still being viewed two years after it was made. The series focused on found footage of musicians from YouTube, some of them revered professionals like Bernard Purdie, while others were amateurs performing in their homes. Kutiman took these and, taking inspiration from sampling culture, deftly wove the disparate performances together, linking them through loops and rhythms with skillful production. But after the viral success of the Thru-You series, collectively receiving more than 10 millions hits, he’s been touring and playing live with DJ Shadow, which seemed to signal a hiatus when it came to making more mash-up videos in the same vein as the Thru-You series.Now, two years after that initial success he’s released “My Favorite Color,” marking a return to that sample-sourced remix style. It’s another great collection of YouTube performances, 23 different ones, which pits soulful vocals with a variety of instruments—piano, French horn, Native American flute, and a Korg MS-20 synth, just to name a few—which means another round of musicians unwittingly gain some exposure. You can find links to all the different source videos and remixes on his YouTube channel.
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