Words: Sean Kantrowitz

Any doubt as to whether or not the turntable is a legitimate instrument is simply an antiquated notion, thanks in no small part to the work of one Eric San, aka Kid Koala. With over two decades of practical exploration under his belt, Koala is a marquee name in the ‘turntablist’ movement, utilizing his deft skills and abundant record collection to create sounds that were unthinkable at the time of the turntable’s inception.

The man himself isn’t necessarily eager to claim the crown as king of the movement, however:

“’Turntablism’ is such a weird term. A lot of people seem to have a preconceived notion about what it should sound like,” he says. “Is it really an official genre of music? For me, it describes the process of how it was made, and not what it sounds like. You don’t hear about ‘guitarism,’ or ‘flutism,’ or ‘oh, violinism is really hot this year'.”

Koala’s craft implements elements of rock, jazz, blues, and funk, weaving them together to paint a picture or tell a story; if one were to compare scratch-battle techniques to the guitar solo, the man’s got Malmsteen-esque chops tempered by a modest self-awareness that allows him to tastefully get his rocks off.

“There are moments that go beyond the aspect of practicing 12 hours a day,” he explains. “Moments that can change the way you play forever. For me, it was when I saw a video of Thelonious Monk playing piano – that just turned my whole universe inside out. Here’s a guy reinventing an instrument that’s existed for hundreds of years. That part of DJing is very inspiring to me.”

That said, Koala’s opening slot on this year’s Hard Sell Tour with vinyl heavyweights DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist was a downright religious experience. 

“Those guys are always pushing it into a new area,” he raves. “We’d always run into each other on the road and at festivals, but we never were really able to line our schedules up. For us to be able to go out and do 20-30 dates was a lot of fun. The crowds were great, and I had a great time.”

With a Mario Caldato-produced rock/turntable project called Slew in the can (think Black Sabbath meets Public Enemy) and his contributions to the sequel to backpacker cult favorite Deltron3030 complete (“we’re just waiting on Del to finish, but what I’ve heard is great”), Koala’s current headlining tour marks the end of what he calls his “back to basics” approach, a style he’s concentrated on since his 2006 release Your Mom’s Favorite DJ on Ninja Tune.

“I’m sort of in-between chapters right now,” he says. “My whole M.O. for the past year and a half has been taking it back to the core of DJing, plotting things out. ‘How can I make this sound with this many turntables?’ I had a lot of fun with it, too.

“Next tour is going to be some crazy stuff, like a seal playing a foghorn,” he laughs. “That kind of specialty show is on its way. It’s an ebb and flow thing; I really enjoy DJing, and switching it up every so often keeps me from burning out.”

kidkoala.com