- Kid Koala
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Kid Koala 
Kid Koala performing in 2010Background information Birth name Eric San Born 1974 Origin Vancouver
MontrealGenres turntablism Occupations DJ Instruments turntables Labels Ninja Tune Associated acts Deltron 3030
Bullfrog
Lovage
The SlewWebsite kidkoala.com Eric San (born 1974),[1] who records under the name Kid Koala, is a Canadian DJ, turntablist, musician and an author of graphic novels. He is signed to the British record label Ninja Tune, is a member of alternative hip hop supergroup Deltron 3030, and The Slew with Dynamite D and former members of the Australian rock band Wolfmother, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. He has also made appearances with many other artists from Amon Tobin to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and has made contributions to Lovage,[2] Peeping Tom,[3] Gorillaz[4] and numerous other projects.
Contents
Biography
San attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but graduated from Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School, in Rockville, Maryland, U.S., and went on to study elementary education at McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec.[5] He would eventually distribute copies of his demo tape Scratchcratchratchatch to students living in residence at McGill. He is well known for his enigmatic style of turntablism, which uses an unusual collection of samples. He has been known to use samples of music from Charlie Brown television specials, old comedy sketch routines (including those that mock turntablism), people sneezing, and people reading a menu in Cantonese. He is well known for his cheerful demeanor at concerts and having a good sense of humour.
San is also an illustrator and an artist, having designed all of his own album covers. A comic book he drew is included as the liner notes to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Following the release of the album, Kid Koala toured extensively, during which time he opened for some of his favorite artists, including Radiohead and Björk.[6][7]
He has also released a full length graphic novel, Nufonia Must Fall, which includes a soundtrack CD he composed. Some of my Best Friends are DJs includes a chess set as part of the packaging.
This album was supported by a cabaret-style tour throughout North America, Europe and Australia known as The Short Attention Span Theatre, which featured an unpredictable opening act—3 Djs (Kid Koala, P-Love, and DJ Jester the Filipino Fist) on 8 turntables set up like a band, and a bingo game at intermission among other tremendously quirky surprises. Following this tour Kid Koala has performed DJ sets all over Asia, as well as in Iceland, Eastern Europe, Russia, and South America whilst working on a new book (apparently about a mosquito trying to play a clarinet) and a unique puppet show set to take place in 2008.
San popularized a method of playing the turntable like a melodic instrument, where a long, single note is dragged under the needle at different speeds, creating different pitches. Since this method of adjusting pitch is imprecise, the resulting notes waver and bend. Thus, in the song "Drunk Trumpet," San uses this method with a trumpet note to simulate a drunken trumpet player, interspersing drunken vocals to complete the effect.
San released the Kid Koala album, entitled Your Mom's Favorite DJ (ZENCD127), on 25 September 2006.
As of October 2006 San was married and had recently embarked on a 90-city tour.
In 2008 he toured as the opening performer for DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist's "The Hard Sell" tour where he ended his set with a now legendary mix of "Moon River" where he essentially creates and edits in an extended violin solo by playing various long violin notes from the song's instrumental section at different pitches on four turntables, all live.
During San Diego Comic-Con 2010, Kid Koala performed before a special free showing of the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.
During San Diego Comic-Con 2011, Kid Koala performed before a special premiere of the television series NTSF:SD:SUV.
Discography
Solo Projects
Albums
- 1996: Scratchcratchratchatch - mixtape demo album, limited to 500 copies and initially released on cassette only (CS001)
- 2000: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Ninja Tune ZENCD34) UK#182
- 2003: Some of my Best Friends are DJs (Ninja Tune ZENCD82) UK#196
- 2006: Your Mom's Favorite DJ (Ninja Tune ZENCD127)
EPs and Singles
- 1996: Scratchappyland - selections from the "Scratchcratchratchatch" - 10" released by Ninja Tune (ZEN10KK)
- 2000: Emperor’s Main Course In Cantonese (Ninja Tune ZEN1093)
- 2003: Basin Street Blues (Ninja Tune ZEN7142)
DVDs
- 2005: Live from the Short Attention Span Audio Theater Tour!! - 5 track live EP with accompanying DVD containing the video of the live performance plus 4 Music videos (ZENCD101, Ninja Tune)
Books
- 2003: Nufonia Must Fall - Graphic novel with accompanying 17 minute audio CD (ECW Press)
- 2011: Space Cadet - Graphic novel with accompanying soundtrack CD (Uni Books)
Mixtape
- 2010: Solid Steel: Music To Draw To... (Ninja Tune)
Remixes
- 1997: Coldcut - More Beats And Pieces (Obsessive Behaviour Version)
- 1998: DJ Vadim - Vad Forgive Me (Bullfrog Kid Koala Mix)
- 2001: Kalyanji-Anandji - Third World Lover (Kid Koala and Dynamite D remix)
- 2002: Fog - Check Fraud (Kid Koala's Space Cadet E002 Mix)
- 2004: Lederhosen Lucil - Semi-Sweet
- 2004: Noveltones - The Gonk
- 2005: The Free Design - An Elegy (Kid Koala and Dynamite D remix)
- 2005: Yusef Lateef - Bamboo Flute Blues (Kid Koala Remix)
- 2007: Pierre Lapointe - 25-1-14-14
- 2008: Jack Johnson - Angel
- 2009: Bell Orchestre - Icicles / Bicycles (Kid Koala Remix)
- 2011: Amon Tobin - Ruthless (Kid Koala Remix)
Appearances
- 2001: Gorillaz - Gorillaz (album) (Parlophone)
- 2004: Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People (Elektra)
- 2006: Peeping Tom (band) - s/t (Ipecac Recordings)
- 2007: Josh Hayden - Devoted (Diamond Soul Recordings)
Group Projects
- 1998: Bullfrog - Bullfrog Theme (Independent)
- 2000: Bullfrog - EP1 (Independent)
- 2000: Bullfrog - EP2 (Independent)
- 2000: Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (75 Ark)
- 2000: Deltron 3030 - Virus (75 Ark)
- 2001: Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030: The Instrumentals (75 Ark)
- 2001: Deltron 3030 - Positive Contact (75 Ark)
- 2001: Lovage - Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By (75 Ark)
- 2001: Lovage - Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By: The Instrumentals (75 Ark)
- 2001: Bullfrog - s/t (Ropeadope Records)
- 2004: Bullfrog / Robertson - Deeper Shade of Green (Independent)
- 2007: Martin Tétreault & Kid Koala - s/t (Phon-O-Victo)
- 2009: The Slew - 100% (Puget Sounds)
Film
Composer
- 2005: Strum (short) - Original music [8]
- 2005: A Girl's Guide to Modern Dating (short) - Original music [9]
- 2006: Jaime Lo, Small and Shy (short) - Original music [10]
Contributor
- 2010: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (feature) - Contributor to the original score [11]
See also
References
- ^ "Canadian Cyberquotes", The Ottawa Citizen, July 20, 2007, Page F9
- ^ "Discogs". Nathaniel Merriweather Presents Lovage - Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. http://www.discogs.com/release/47883. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "Discogs". Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom. http://www.discogs.com/release/698495. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "Gorillaz Unofficial". The 'real' people behind the Gorillaz project. http://www.gorillaz-unofficial.com/biography/kidkoala.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ Bryant, Luke. "The new faces of music: Kid Koala's got all the technical moves but more important, he's making new music" The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia), March 20, 2004, Pg. D3
- ^ "Ninjatune Artists - Kid Koala" www.ninjatune.com, accessed December 20, 2007 [1]
- ^ "BBC - collective - kid koala interview" www.bbc.co.uk, accessed December 20, 2007 [2]
- ^ IMDB
- ^ IMDB
- ^ IMDB
- ^ "Nigel Godrich-produced Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World detailed", Consequence of Sound, July 22, 2010 [3]
External links
- Official Site (kidkoala.com)
- Official Site (nufonia.com)
- Official Twitter Account
- Official Youtube Account
- Official Facebook Account
Categories:- 1974 births
- Canadian electronic musicians
- Canadian people of Chinese descent
- Living people
- People from Vancouver
- Ninja Tune artists
- Musicians from British Columbia
- Canadian musicians of Asian descent
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