Weekend Fun: “Amateur” By Lasse Gjertsen
“Amateur” by Lasse Gjertsen has caused quite the sensation on YouTube. The music video is dubbed “Amateur” because Lasse cannot play a single musicial instrument. Instead, he video tapes himself creating single hits on a drum kit and a piano, and then edits them together to first create a beat, and then a simple song. It’s pretty much what a sample-based musician does by cutting up bits of audio and then sequencing them together, but Gjertsen did it in his basement by video taping himself, digitizing it, and then splicing it together.
One of the aspects of 22 year-old Gjertsen’s work that’s enamored him to a large fan base is his kooky vibe. His video is currently ranked 68th of all time on YouTube, and his nutty demeanor is a big part of it. Especially since his music video editing “technique” is nothing new. Many artists have done the same thing, and a few including Emergency Broadcast System created their music entirely from video clips.
Since Gjertsen is from Larvik, Norway, a town of only about 40,000 people, he must be quite the home town hero. Hopefully he’ll parlay his new found stardom into making some more of these visual biscuits…
