Kid Koala brings his 12bit Blues Show to the UK in 2012

Kid Koala

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You've got to love a grown man who has been known to dress up and perform as an animal. This is no bestial confession, this is about one Eric San, otherwise known as and dressed as Kid Koala. Rather than be a typical turntablist taking himself rather too seriously, the Kid sits within DJ Yoda and Mr Scruff territory by putting the fun into funk and taking the arse out of soul.

He's also a master of the wheels of steel (graphite, plastic or whatever) - and this is where his new project has taken him. Back to basics. Back to realizing a childhood dream of owning a pair of SP 1200s and making an album using them. '12 bit Blues' takes the essence of hip-hop and mixes it with the organic blues tradition of stripped-back sounds and little in the way of technological interference. It's all a far cry from his polished output with his solo albums such as 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome' and 'Your Mom's Favorite DJ', his work with Gorillaz, the occasional film-soundtrack and drafting graphic novels, or at least it would be if he'd stuck to the plot for his upcoming tour.

Aside from the new album being packaged with a cardboard build-your-own-turntable (it gets a release in September 2012), Koala has gone several better for the accompanying '12 bit Blues' show. You will be wowed by his robotic puppets, you will be enthralled by the sultry dancing girls, you'll be perplexed by the on-stage construction of a giant cardboard turntable and you may even start burbling incoherently with joy at the prospect of some parlour games and 12 bit bingo. In amongst the chaos will be Kid Koala giving five turntables a right scratchable shoeing.

You can witness the Vinyl Vaudeville spectacle at three venues in October, starting with Islington on the 11th and followed by Bristol and finally the Warehouse Project's APE Birthday bash on the 13th (alongside Mark Ronson, Shy FX, Toddla T etc). We have tickets for all shows, priced at £15 for London, £10 for Bristol and £22.50 for Manchester.

Paul Pledger