FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved

Music by Rob Faust Kid Koala and DJ Food Wednesday, May 24 McEwan Hall Ballroom "There was this cage around the DJ booth at McGill University," remembers Kid Koala, Canada’s most recognized turntablist. "They would hang off it, sometimes shaking it, ‘Play Ace Of Base, play it! Come on man!’ "(DJing) has come a long way since then, everyone has to pay bills...." While you’re as likely to hear an Ace of Base sample worked into his set as you are a sample from Ninja Tunes labelmates Herbaliser, he has worked hard to set the pace for many a turntablist to come. Growing up in Montreal listening to the likes of Grandmaster Flash prompted him to start scratching at a tender young age – converting A&W wrappers to slipmats, he began to brutalize his parents record collection in search of the right beat, the right sound. Kid Koala combines elements of everything into his style to develop a quirky signature sound that few in the genre can replicate. But it’s his sense of humour that shines through, and he brings that to the very serious world of scratch masters. "I can go through almost 200 records in an hour, I want to have fun with it," he says. "You’ll have the DJs up at the front of the stage watching and the audience behind. Sometimes the audience looks kind of confused by it, but generally they're really into it, they can have fun in it." The turntablist, while always a required member among the hip hop community, is just now rising to prominence in its own right, gaining major media coverage. Here in Canada, the media, hungry for one of our own to present to the masses, have found that with Kid Koala. "I guess (being Canadian) has helped," he says. "I mean, there are Canadian content rules and that... but elsewhere I think it isn’t really an issue. I suppose when people used to find out I was from Canada they would kinda look off into the distance, like they could feel my pain or something, but Canada is starting to wake up to this music, we’re developing our own thing." And while you’d think Canadian DJs would have the growing pains of turntablism and the stupidity of the public a little fresher in their memories, the experiences of Koala’s labelmates DJ Food aren’t much different. "Definitely," replies Kevin of DJ Food. "People over here (in London), well, unless you have a dedicated room for this you’ll always get these questions, people asking you to play something a little more handbag. It’s almost even worse now as all this house and trance has really taken over the clubs." Downtempo music, whether scratch-heavy or blunted, has been a tough sell. It doesn’t always have the pop hooks of hip hop and, unlike its 4/4 beat cousin, it seems to age better – quality downtempo, beats and pieces seem less disposable over time "When we started out with Ninja we wanted to start something like Blue Note, to develop a certain sound, to grow beyond our day and hopefully you have people listening to our albums down the road saying this is quality stuff. So in that sense we were careful to create something precious." But cultivating a stalwart label and a solid roster of artists still hasn’t necessarily guaranteed stardom for its DJs, like techno or house has. While most people could tell you who Carl Craig or Paul Oakenfold are, or what type of music they play, few could recognize the downtempo DJ as easily. "I did a gig last year with Mr. Scruff, it was for this business, they thought it would be a feather in their cap to hire these two Ninja DJs," says Kevin. "But if it wasn’t for the fact that Scruff, on his way out the door, grabbed some disco records, no one would have been into it – it would have been a complete disaster." When he tours, the same thing happens – sometimes people come prepared to listen and follow along, and sometimes they end up at a show because all these other people said they should go. "It’s like the circus coming to town – no one is really sure what to expect. Neither do we, so results may vary."

| Back To This Issue Table of Contents | Back To Main Index |