RIOW89 - No Truth but Batman & Robin

I am so happy! After my last entry, I actually got an e-mail from KDS6700 thanking me for my feature on his video. I know I shouldn't be bragging but it's just so nice to get a little back every once in a while. I have decided to expand my personal links section to include my Flickr, Hi-5, and Mixi (Japanese blogging/social networking site) pages. Please feel free to drop me a line at any of the above - not that I really update them much. Today's video will continue last entries successful theme: a Mash-Up video and an artist with a name containing cryptic letters and numbers.

The term music video has never been more appropriate to describe the work of Riow89, aka Ryohei. Please bare in mind that this guy is only 17 years old and is already doing things that many VJ veterans aspire to do. Between his YouTube page and his diary on Hatena, Riow89 has personally become an indispensable resource on all things Mash-Up. His interests in Mash-Up goes beyond that of the audio sample, judging from the entries in his diary, the end game is to sample audio directly from bits of corresponding video. Much like the work Coldcut has been actively trying to perfect in his live shows for the last 10 years or so.

Often, the sources Riow89 samples come in the form of odd juxtapositions of two (or more) popular music tracks ala Too Many DJ's. Take his mix of No Scrubs by TLC backed by a latin-inspired Basement Jaxx track as an example. I too, have dabbled in this, mixing Christina Agulera with a Beck track - a worthwhile afternoon project but nothing I'd consider particularly ground-breaking. The results of this brand of mashing can often lead to interesting results but what really makes Riow89 blog-worthy is the work he does with less obvious sources. Today's track is from that campy 60's Batman television series we all remember growing up. For Riow89, being a 17 year-old from Yamagata, Japan, to be sampling 40-year-old program really shows he is willing to look past the American top 40 shlock and try something a little more "classy".

And I like Batman, this is a fun little track. If Ryohei keeps pushing his boundaries, come graduation, he will already have his foot in the door as a big-time VJ.