OK, so he supported the Beastie Boys on their ‘Hello Nasty’ world tour and no doubt presented something a little different to their phat-hop stromp. But listening through what is primarily the most random of scratches and samples on ‘Some of My Friends…’ such as the ska-strolling grooves of ‘Skanky Panky’, the hazy jazz-strutt of ‘Basin Street Blues’, or ‘Flu Season’ [which is just over one minute of scratching through various samples of coughs and sneezes], you are constantly waiting in hope for the album to pick up. But as the album nears it's close you are ultimately left as deflated as the weeping trombone in ‘Annie’s Parlour’.
Much like fellow Ninja artist Mr Scruff Kid Koala illustrates his records with his own cartoons and this record is no different to his previous releases in that a comic book is included to accompany the music. Except, just like his music, there appears to be no point or cohesive structure to it whatsoever.
His live shows are set to include “music, animation and comedy into one cabaret performance”, but then I guess with music this uninteresting he’ll need to pull all the tricks he can to make it entertaining live. Very disappointing.
kid koala
so boring
DUR
Kid Koala is one of the best at what he does... through all the wobbly instruments, chunky beats and cut up vocals there is a real undercurrent to this album... a fun one, and without being cheesy manages to retain a lot of genuine emotion and sympathy to its audience, something which a lot of turntablists cannot do!
this is some great new music, diverse and varied... i'm not saying its the greatest achievement ever... Kid Koala is still building himself up to that, but its one great step...
if you are unable to appreciate different kinds of music, Mat, what made you think you are qualified to review this album? you obviously only have ignorance to show when it comes to this genre!
OH and its his second album proper, not third... "Nufonia Must Fall" was a 300 page book with an accompanying soundtrack... thus doesn't really count
Re: DUR
That's fucking gay.
Re: DUR
thank GOD Mike was here to show me the way... your intelligence is quite obviously legendary and I salute your unbridled grasp of the English language
Re: Kid Koala - Some Of My Best Friends Are Djs
Since releasing the definitive turntable-as-instrument record, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Kid Koala had been crazy busy. He toured with the likes of Ben Harper, the Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Bullfrog, and set out headlining many of his own gigs. Then, in addition to his stints recording with Dan the Automator as Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz, he also released a 300-page comic book. But the the Kid is back with a proper follow-up — and not only does Some of My Best Friends Are DJs pick up where he left off — the palette is pushed further and further via his uncanny sense of melody and arrangement. While plenty of champion DJs have released scratch records, the result can be a confusing mess of scratch madness over battle breakbeats where style rules over substance. Kid Koala can cut with the best of them, but his interest lies in pulling together scratched sounds and layering them into serious songs. Look no further than the album opener, "Basin Street Blues," which kicks off with a scratched-in bass line that progresses on to a drunken New Orleans blues romp that Satchmo would have loved. Kid Koala has the same ear for music that many great composers have — and where his motive might lie more in mimicry, he certainly raises the stakes with ingenuity. Take what is probably the best track on the album, "Skanky Panky." Horn solos are masterfully brought right in time to up-cutting rhythm scratches that create a layered jam that pushes the ska form probably farther than practitioners of that actual genre. With all that said, the album doesn't get too hung up on the song format. Kid Koala still has plenty of fun dropping wacky samples about robots learning to dance or the wonder of stereophonic recordings — all of which help provide the context that Kid Koala is going after (which is also reinforced by the comic book that comes with the album). More subtle than Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Some of My Best Friends Are DJs shows a serious artist crafting his medium. — Jack LV Isles
Re: Kid Koala - Some Of My Best Friends Are Djs