By Rebecca Harrell
Music Journalist

Artists from anywhere and everywhere in the world travel to the COLORS Studio based in Berlin, Germany, to stand in a monochromatic box and record a single live performance showcasing their musical abilities to be streamed through YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.

With 3.86 million subscribers and even more millions of views on their YouTube channel, COLORS present and array of artists from the well-known Billie Eilish and Common to foreign artists like bbymutha and Ari Lennox whom you may have never heard of. 

COLORS describe themselves as “an aesthetic music platform showcasing exceptional talent from all around the globe…offering a minimalistic stage to shine a spotlight on the artists and give them an opportunity to present their music without distraction.”

Aside from the camp-y looks every artist presents against the vividly bare backdrop, the sound quality of the recordings is unmatched and allows no other distractions from their voice. COLORS advocates the music they promote is “all colors, no genres,” as every artist brings their truly unique music style difficult to categorize.

Although separated by their individuality, the underlying commonality COLORS promotes is always diversity. Artists of color are a regular, if not almost always, feature on the show bringing their talents of various sounds like hip-hop, funk and indie-alternative. The beauty of their talent is even though some perform in languages other than English, it only enhances the power of their music and passion.

What I also love about COLORS is their features of repeat musicians, so if you’ve been a fan for a minute, the reappearance of artists from your favorite performances will spark a different type of connection to the artist as well as the studio.

One of the earliest videos I saw, published Sept. 4, 2017, was EarthGang performing “Up.” I was instantly intrigued by their incredible fashion, lively energy in the studio, and of course musicality and style. They recently brought that same energy back Nov. 7 with “This Side” and did not disappoint.

French singer Angèle, whom I instantly fell in love with, was also a returner first performing “Ta Reine” a year ago and coming back with “Perdus” in October. Her soft-spoken, European voice over hard hitting, mysterious beats hooked me from the beginning, and it was definitely a happy surprise to see her reappearance on COLORS.

If you haven’t already, open up your internet browser and search for COLORS on YouTube. Choose any video playlist they have made, and let the videos roll while doing homework, cleaning your room or enjoy traveling down the rabbit hole of captivating colors and colorful artists.

Featured image by Rebecca Harrell.