Kutiman
Encyclopedia
Ophir Kutiel professionally known as Kutiman, is a musician, composer, producer and animator from Israel
. He is best known for creating the online music video project ThruYOU, as well as his self-titled album and collaboration with many artists including Maroon 5
.
While working at a local convenience store in Tel Aviv
, Kutiel discovered a college radio station that was playing music much different from the Classical-Jazz he had been used to hearing. Following this, Kutiman met Sabbo, another Israeli artist and current music partner, who introduced him to Afrobeat and Funk music. This introduction included the sounds of James Brown
and Fela Kuti
, among many others. As his taste for music altered from his traditional training, in 2003 Kutiman embarked on a journey to Jamaica where he researched Reggae and had the opportunity to work with Stephen and Damien Marley.
titled "Music is Ruling My World." His eponymous debut album - which received an 8.2 rating from Pitchfork Media
and a 7 out of 10 from PopMatters
- was released in the fall of 2007. Under the Radar
picked Kutiman as one of the "Artists to Watch in 2008," along with Glasvegas
and MGMT
. He has also won the 2010 ACUM award for producing Karolina's album "What Will I Do Now?"
In the summer of 2010, Kutiman co-billed with DJ Shadow
in Tel Aviv and perform with his live band, The Kutiman Orchestra.
videos, which has received more than 10 million views in just a couple of weeks. Time Magazine
named it one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2009. Due to the success of Thru-YOU, in October 2010 Kutiman was invited by YouTube to perform at the "YouTube Play" grand opening at Guggenheim
in New York City.
Two years after the release of Thru-You, Kutiman created a new Thru-You like video titled "My Favorite Color" that caught the attention of numerous publications including Wired, Fader, and Mashable's Video of the Day.
In an Internet radio interview from June 2009, Kutiman described how the idea of ThruYOU first came to him:
across the web, racking up more than one million views in less than a week. After viewing ThruYOU, open source
advocate Lawrence Lessig
praised the project as a pioneer of a new, less regulated form of media, saying "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."
Kutiman does not often travel to promote his project. On the 19th of June 2009, he visited Wrocław, Poland, responding to an invitation made by an Internet radio station. In an interview, he described the interest of various media in the ThruYOU project, and his willingness to focus on his work:
At this point, Kutiman has been reluctant to comment on the future of the project. During an interview, he indicated that his ideas and future plans might revolve around "social things" in the future, but did not specify these plans:
His song "Babylon Band" received play on 89.3 WNUR - Chicago's Sound Experiment.
Kutiman Mixes Maroon 5
In early 2010, Maroon 5 approached Kutiman with some footage of each band member jamming by himself. Kutiman mixed the footage to create "Kutiman Mixes Maroon 5", an original audiovisual piece combining all of the separate footage into one clip.
My Favorite Band: A Tribute to "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin
Paying tribute to one of the most influential bands in music history, Kutiman created his piece titled "My Favorite Band" which became the first user generated mashup video cover of Led Zeppelin
’s “Black Dog”. Using unrelated YouTube videos posted by a variety of musicians performing “Black Dog,” he mixed the clips together making one of the most innovative covers.
Kutiman's tribute to Led Zeppelin featuring dozens of unrelated YouTube covers of this classic song was screened at Flatpack Film Festival
as part of Home Of Metal celebrations. The screening took place in Wolverhampton, not far from Led Zeppelin's old stomping ground.
These pictures are not adding “musical” elements to the composition, but rather give it the social and political context. Although some of the video sequences used were harvested from YouTube
, they originate from the “old media”, official TV stations, which is another new element in Kutiman’s work. Kutiman’s work similarly reflects the influential and pioneering work by EBN (Emergency Broadcast Network
) from the early 90s.
Though Kutiman generally refrains from making overtly political statements, there were many speculations regarding the title of this piece, and if “This is Real Democracy” was referring Mubarak, Netanyahu
, Cameron
and Sarkozy, or if it was in reference to the unleashed power of the people, marching, protesting, revolting or rioting.
Kutiman's first video was an animated music video created for his song, "Chaser" featured on his debut album. Kutiman's second animated music video was for Hadag Nahash
's "Eze Kif".
In 2010 Kutiman worked with Karolina
to create a music video for her hit song Smile 2 Me, which was shot in 150 different locations in Tel Aviv. The video has been put on display at Hammer Museum
in Los Angeles, CA as a piece of the Flux Screening Series. Kutiman also received the Acum award for Karolina’s album “What shall I Do Now?” which he produced with Sabbo.
"Light Up" - Kutiman's video for Boom Pam
, local surf rock heroes, was voted one of the 10 best video by City Mouse, one of the leading websites in Israel.
Kutiman directed the clip utilizing video projections manipulated with various materials. The song embodies a semi-Moroccan-rhythm, 70’s metal, psych fuzz, tuba driven song with deep, amusing lyrics.
This video was voted one of the best videos of 2010 by "City Mouse" (Achbar Ha'ir), Israel's leading Events website.
Sabbo and Kuti
“Better Days” is a dynamic reggae album the two created while traveling in Jamaica in 2004. Featuring artists such as Turbulence. Norris Man, and Milton Blake, "Better Days" was released in May 2011. Sabbo is a member of the critically acclaimed DJ/production crew “Soulico” which released their first album “Exotic on the Speaker”
on JDub records
in 2009. The two took some time to produce this album as a side project to each of their independent careers. Sabbo and Kutiman also occasionally take some time to produce other local Israeli artists.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He is best known for creating the online music video project ThruYOU, as well as his self-titled album and collaboration with many artists including Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
.
Background
Ophir Kutiel was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Zichron Yaacov. He studied piano since the age of six, then learned to play drums and guitar at age 14. When Kutiel was 18, he moved to Tel Aviv to study Jazz at Rimon Music College.While working at a local convenience store in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Kutiel discovered a college radio station that was playing music much different from the Classical-Jazz he had been used to hearing. Following this, Kutiman met Sabbo, another Israeli artist and current music partner, who introduced him to Afrobeat and Funk music. This introduction included the sounds of James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
and Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
, among many others. As his taste for music altered from his traditional training, in 2003 Kutiman embarked on a journey to Jamaica where he researched Reggae and had the opportunity to work with Stephen and Damien Marley.
Music career
Kutiman was signed to Melting Pot Music, based in Cologne in 2006. Soon after, his first single "No Groove Where I Come From" was released, followed by the release of the hit song with Karolina of Habanot NechamaHabanot Nechama
Habanot Nechama is an Israeli folk band. The group is composed of three female vocalists: Karolina, Dana Adini, and Yael Deckelbaum.They are best known for their self-titled, debut album which went platinum in Israel, and their hit song So Far.-History:Habanot Nechama was formed in 2004 in Tel...
titled "Music is Ruling My World." His eponymous debut album - which received an 8.2 rating from Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
and a 7 out of 10 from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
- was released in the fall of 2007. Under the Radar
Under the Radar (magazine)
Under the Radar is an American magazine that bills itself as "The solution to music pollution" and features interviews with accompanying photo-shoots. Each issue includes opinion and commentary of the Indie music scene as well as reviews on books, DVDs and albums.Items are reviewed based on a...
picked Kutiman as one of the "Artists to Watch in 2008," along with Glasvegas
Glasvegas
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan , Rab Allan , Paul Donoghue and Jonna Löfgren . The band received critical acclaim for their debut album Glasvegas which was released in September 2008, reaching No...
and MGMT
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
. He has also won the 2010 ACUM award for producing Karolina's album "What Will I Do Now?"
In the summer of 2010, Kutiman co-billed with DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
in Tel Aviv and perform with his live band, The Kutiman Orchestra.
ThruYOU
In 2009 Kutiman released "ThruYOU," an online music video project mixed from samples of YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos, which has received more than 10 million views in just a couple of weeks. Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named it one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2009. Due to the success of Thru-YOU, in October 2010 Kutiman was invited by YouTube to perform at the "YouTube Play" grand opening at Guggenheim
Guggenheim
Guggenheim may refer to:* Benjamin Guggenheim* Charles Guggenheim* Davis Guggenheim* Guggenheim Building* Guggenheim family* Guggenheim Fellowship* Guggenheim Museum * Harry Frank Guggenheim* John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation...
in New York City.
Two years after the release of Thru-You, Kutiman created a new Thru-You like video titled "My Favorite Color" that caught the attention of numerous publications including Wired, Fader, and Mashable's Video of the Day.
In an Internet radio interview from June 2009, Kutiman described how the idea of ThruYOU first came to him:
Working on ThruYOU project took two months, and Kutiman described it as quite intense:
At first I took some drummers - before I had the idea about ThruYOU I took some drummers from YouTube and I played on top of them - just for fun, you know. And then one day, just before I plugged my guitar to play on top of the drummer from YouTube, I thought to myself, you know - maybe I can find a bass and guitar and other players on YouTube to play with this drummer...
After disclosing his work to just twenty friends, Kutiman's project spread virally
It took me two months, but it was really intense. I barely ate, I just worked on a computer and went to sleep...day and night, and night and day...didn't see any friends, no family...not even the sun.
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
across the web, racking up more than one million views in less than a week. After viewing ThruYOU, open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
advocate Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
praised the project as a pioneer of a new, less regulated form of media, saying "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."
Kutiman does not often travel to promote his project. On the 19th of June 2009, he visited Wrocław, Poland, responding to an invitation made by an Internet radio station. In an interview, he described the interest of various media in the ThruYOU project, and his willingness to focus on his work:
I got a lot of offers, you know, for gigs and for DJing and for just interviews, but I really do my best, you know. I don't really like it, honestly - but you're so nice and kind, so I'm having a great time.
At this point, Kutiman has been reluctant to comment on the future of the project. During an interview, he indicated that his ideas and future plans might revolve around "social things" in the future, but did not specify these plans:
All the feedback from other people really inspired me to keep on doing things, you know, like with a lot of people, and kind of social things. I have a lot of ideas, but I haven't started making anything just yet.
His song "Babylon Band" received play on 89.3 WNUR - Chicago's Sound Experiment.
Kutiman Mixes Maroon 5Maroon 5Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
In early 2010, Maroon 5 approached Kutiman with some footage of each band member jamming by himself. Kutiman mixed the footage to create "Kutiman Mixes Maroon 5", an original audiovisual piece combining all of the separate footage into one clip.My Favorite Color
The project "My Favorite Color" blends together a deeper, Jazz oriented sound that has gained numerous views and received praise from outlets such as Wired, CBS News and TechCrunch. The video maintains the Thru-You style of taking footage from various YouTube videos and mixing them together into one compilation, but this time the sound is more complex and dreamlike. "My favorite Color" has a very eclectic feel, featuring many different clips, among those an organ playing mother, a young female vocalist singing in her London bedroom and an Omaha-based saxophonist doing a free improvisation. Kutiman unites the wide range of talent in all of the videos forming one big online music collective.Thru Jerusalem
In June 2011, Kutiman was chosen as the "Artist of the Season" for "The Jerusalem Season of Culture" and he created the video “Thru Jerusalem". This piece differs from his past mixes because in this piece he himself approached and shot the musicians and as opposed to finding them on YouTube. However, though Kutiman filmed the musicians himself, he didn't give them any guidance as they played, and mixed the footage to create this piece.My Favorite Band: A Tribute to "Black Dog" by Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
Paying tribute to one of the most influential bands in music history, Kutiman created his piece titled "My Favorite Band" which became the first user generated mashup video cover of Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
’s “Black Dog”. Using unrelated YouTube videos posted by a variety of musicians performing “Black Dog,” he mixed the clips together making one of the most innovative covers.
Kutiman's tribute to Led Zeppelin featuring dozens of unrelated YouTube covers of this classic song was screened at Flatpack Film Festival
Flatpack Film Festival
Flatpack Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Birmingham, England. During the festival a variety of different films and media forms are shown, including animation, documentaries, short films, music videos and experimental cinema, amongst others...
as part of Home Of Metal celebrations. The screening took place in Wolverhampton, not far from Led Zeppelin's old stomping ground.
This Is Real Democracy
In 2011 Kutiman released his video “This Is Real Democracy”. In this thought provoking video, the political focus is exercised to raise awareness using footage of people demonstrating in the streets, and world leaders (past and present), in Kutiman’s attempt to address and respond to the events that were broadcasted over other social media feeds.These pictures are not adding “musical” elements to the composition, but rather give it the social and political context. Although some of the video sequences used were harvested from YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, they originate from the “old media”, official TV stations, which is another new element in Kutiman’s work. Kutiman’s work similarly reflects the influential and pioneering work by EBN (Emergency Broadcast Network
Emergency Broadcast Network
Emergency Broadcast Network is the name of a multimedia performance group formed in 1991 that took its name from the Emergency Broadcast System. The founders were Rhode Island School of Design graduates Joshua Pearson, Gardner Post and Brian Kane . Kane left EBN in 1992...
) from the early 90s.
Though Kutiman generally refrains from making overtly political statements, there were many speculations regarding the title of this piece, and if “This is Real Democracy” was referring Mubarak, Netanyahu
Netanyahu
Netanyahu is a surname, and may refer to the following members of the Netanyahu family in Israel.First generation:* Benzion Netanyahu , scholar of Jewish history, Zionist activist, professor emeritus of Cornell University, author of The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain and...
, Cameron
and Sarkozy, or if it was in reference to the unleashed power of the people, marching, protesting, revolting or rioting.
Music Videos
In addition to Kutiman's audiovisual collages, in which he composed the music, Kutiman also directed music videos.Kutiman's first video was an animated music video created for his song, "Chaser" featured on his debut album. Kutiman's second animated music video was for Hadag Nahash
Hadag Nahash
Hadag Nahash is an Israeli hip hop/funk band, founded in 1996 in Jerusalem. The band is known for its leftist political statements in many of its songs.- Name and symbols :...
's "Eze Kif".
In 2010 Kutiman worked with Karolina
Karolina (singer)
Keren Karolina Avratz, professionally known as Karolina is an award-winning singer/songwriter from Eilat, Israel. Aside from being a singer, she is also a composer, writer, producer, and dj. Not to mention she is a leader in the recently born groove scene in Israel, which she has influenced through...
to create a music video for her hit song Smile 2 Me, which was shot in 150 different locations in Tel Aviv. The video has been put on display at Hammer Museum
Hammer Museum
The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center, or the Hammer Museum as it is more commonly known, is an art museum in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California...
in Los Angeles, CA as a piece of the Flux Screening Series. Kutiman also received the Acum award for Karolina’s album “What shall I Do Now?” which he produced with Sabbo.
"Light Up" - Kutiman's video for Boom Pam
Boom Pam
Boom Pam are an Mediterranean surf rock band from Tel Aviv.Tel Aviv based band Boom Pam was formed in 2003, plays a mixture of Mediterranean, rock and surf music in a format of a unique power trio consisted of Electric Guitar, Tuba and Drums...
, local surf rock heroes, was voted one of the 10 best video by City Mouse, one of the leading websites in Israel.
Kutiman directed the clip utilizing video projections manipulated with various materials. The song embodies a semi-Moroccan-rhythm, 70’s metal, psych fuzz, tuba driven song with deep, amusing lyrics.
This video was voted one of the best videos of 2010 by "City Mouse" (Achbar Ha'ir), Israel's leading Events website.
Sabbo and KutiSabbo and KutiSabbo & Kuti are a production duo working together on side projects from their independently successful careers. Working together to mix various styles of music from hip-hop to funk to reggae, Sabbo & Kuti have established explored mixing and mastering in various projects.The pair recently won the...
: Better Days
“Better Days” is a dynamic reggae album the two created while traveling in Jamaica in 2004. Featuring artists such as Turbulence. Norris Man, and Milton Blake, "Better Days" was released in May 2011. Sabbo is a member of the critically acclaimed DJ/production crew “Soulico” which released their first album “Exotic on the Speaker”on JDub records
JDub Records
JDub Records is a non-profit record and event production company striving to build community through new and innovative Jewish music and cross cultural musical dialogue.-History:...
in 2009. The two took some time to produce this album as a side project to each of their independent careers. Sabbo and Kutiman also occasionally take some time to produce other local Israeli artists.
Discography
- No Groove Where I Come From 7" (Afro Kats) October 2006
- No Groove Where I Come From! 12" (MPM) November 2006
- No Reason For You 12" (MPM) March 2007
- Music Is Ruling My World (w/ remix by DJ Day) 12" (MPM) June 2007
- Kutiman CD/LP (MPM) November 2007
External links
- ThruYOU website
- Documentary face-to-face Interview with Kutiman
- Wax Poetics article on Kutiman by David Ma
- Researching thruYOU, annotated mirror
- Copyright v Artistic Voice and the Great Kutiman - MP3 NewswireMP3 NewswireFounded in 1998, the same year as MP3.com, MP3 Newswire is the oldest active news site devoted to digital media technology. Notable for its series of essays that chronicled the rise of digital music and the Internet’s acrimonious relationship with the record industry, MP3 Newswire initially was...
article on the reaction to Kutiman ThruYou videos