Kid Koala with Lealani

When it comes to working the turntables Kid Koala is a master that keeps on pushing limits. He’s also much more than that as he has aimed his creativity at comics, theater, animation and recently, a game that comes as part of his latest album, Creatures of the Later Afternoon.

On Thursday night he performed at the Blind Pig with his touring mate, Lealani. Opening the night were local, nerdcore rapper, Mark Kooper, and soul hop artist, Nazim Azzam. Kid Koala opened his entirely improvised set with turntables, moving furiously between scratching and mixing some massive beats that included Beastie Boys and several other jams. Lealani, a beat maker and singer, joined him onstage for several songs. Her energy was infectious as she sang, danced, played beats and guitar. Her songs went from punky anthems that Kid Koala played electric drums to and a couple spacy, hypnotic tracks. Their entire set was a crowd pleaser of energetic, punky, funky music.

Here’s an email exchange I had with Kid Koala just after the show:

The last time I saw you perform, 25 years ago! (The Ninjatune tour with Coldcut in Pontiac). What memories do you have of this tour?

That tour was a dream! I can’t believe I got to travel and learn from my mentors everyday! Coldcut’s “What’s That Noise” was one of the records that totally inspired me to start saving up for a turntable. I remember digging for vinyl with Coldcut, DJ Food wherever we went. I learned so much from them.

What lessons have you learned that you would tell that young DJ?

Number one! Have fun! It’s contagious in all the best ways. Number 2: practice everyday and practice slowly if you’re trying to learn a new scratch technique or combo!

How did you link up Lealani? I see she performs on Creatures... but how did you meet and decide to tour together?

I was introduced to her work through a mutual friend. She’s such a wonderful artist. I love her visual art as well as her music. I thought her voice and vibe would be a perfect fit for this song I had written called Things Are Gonna Change.

There are 20 songs on Creatures of the late Afternoon, and there is a lot of ground covered on it. If you had to pick one track for someone to listen to get them to listen to the album which would it be and why?

Creatures of the Late Afternoon is a soundtrack for my next live production (in the style of Nufonia Must Fall and The Storyville Mosquito). This will all make more sense in about 3 years when that show will be closer to premiering… but I wanted to release the music and board game first.

Each track will help to underscore or introduce various creatures in the story. So for example, Hear Now, being the first track on the album, will act as the opening credits of the show. A track like The Frequencies or Highs, Lows and Highways are made specifically for some key action sequences in the film/story. While a song like When U Say Love help introduce some of the creature characters and their situations. Finally, others like Renaissance of Reconnaissance are for specific comedic moments in the show. But again, all of this will make more sense once the show hits the stage/screen around 2026.

You have dipped into a lot of artistic mediums! Which one surprised you how much you enjoyed it? Is there one you'd never do again.

I’m currently working on my first feature length CG animated film based on my book Space Cadet that I released maybe a decade ago. I’m having a blast working with this amazing group of artists building this beautiful 3D animated world together. It’s astonishing how many decisions go into the design of the sets, CG character sculpts, rigs and animation. Every last detail, even things like the reflectiveness of a solar panel, or lens in a pair of glasses needs to be considered. It’s a deep and complex process but I’m very much enjoying seeing the characters and world from that book come to life.

I can’t say there are any artistic mediums/projects I wouldn’t do again. Every project, whether it’s drawing, writing, working on a video game, film, or theatre piece is an opportunity to learn something new and that’s what life is all about to me.

What keeps you at the turntable? (What keeps it interesting?)

The infinite sonic possibilities and the tactility of the turntable keep me coming back to it as an instrument. It’s been decades since I first started on the turntables. In some ways I’ve grown up with this instrument. It’s become a part of the way I see and hear the world.

Scratching records has always brought me a lot of joy. It helps me recenter and can greatly change my mood or energy levels. I can scratch records to unwind, or I can scratch records to get amped up! Scratching at the turntable is a place where I feel most myself. With every new project I try, I usually bring the turntables with me. They offer me a puzzle to solve both technically and creatively.

Mark Kooper