Here is a musician who is great fun to watch, talented (although not above the odd duff note), and who seems to really adore what he does. He posts his jams on youtube, improvising over his sequenced riffs, enthusing sbout ne technology or even just the fun he's having playing his music: "any day you're havin' fun with music is a good day" (the backing track owes something to Daft Punk).
I like the music he plays in and of itself, but there can be no doubt that what has given him exposure is the innocent charm of his enthusiasm, and his unusual, geeky appearance. Looking at the many, many comments on his youtube pages, people feel enthused by his undisguised enjoyment, often protective of an apparent naif, and unthreatened by this gawky white guy playing music normally presented by those of ethnicities that they may feel less comfortable with.
Now of course, one would find it hard to engineer a better character with which to gain exposure in today's viral environment, based on a large degree of genuine creativity and a decent amount of technical skill. There is no shortage today of people posting lo-fi stuff on youtube in order to pretend to be less sophisticated and manipulative than they are. It is easy to find a great many talented musicians on youtube, but most do not have the marketability to capitalise on the medium.
So I did a bit of googling, looking for any traces of this having occurred, but if this is some experienced producer pulling a fast one then he has left no trace that I can find. He seems to be the real deal. Certainly, the apparent spontaneity would be hard to maintain.
But the fact is that, these days, the internet requires and rewards "close-reading" more than most sources, and it is unfortunate that scepticism is more necessary than ever. Snopes is my friend, and wikipedia my semi-trustworthy guide.