Kid Koala

Kid Koala has established himself as a respected performer, film composer, theatre producer and visual artist. His career began as a scratch DJ in 1994, rapidly growing a cult fan base due to his virtuosic skills. Ever innovating, he quickly evolved into combining turntables with analog machines and visual storytelling devices to create his signature style. Kid Koala jumps effortlessly between genres as eclectic as hip hop, ambient, alternative, contemporary classical, blues, classic rock and traditional jazz. He has released 5 solo albums on Ninja Tune, and 3 albums on Arts & Crafts Records. He has also toured with Radiohead, Arcade Fire, the Beastie Boys, Money Mark, A Tribe Called Quest, Mike Patton, Jack Johnson, DJ Shadow and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He has collaborated with Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage, The Slew and the Afiara String Quartet. He has written and produced collaborative albums with vocalists Emilìana Torrini and Trixie Whitley and scored the multi platform video game Floor Kids.

Kid Koala’s unforgettable live shows range from touring turntable carnivals like Vinyl Vaudeville, to immersive multimedia shows like Nufonia Must Fall, The Storyville Mosquito, Satellite Turntable Orchestra and his Space Cadet Headphone Concert; each of which express his unique form of storytelling with music, animation, film and interactive entertainment.

He has contributed to scores for the films The Great Gatsby, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Men Women and Children, Shaun of the Dead and Looper amongst others. He has composed music for The National Film Board of Canada, the Cartoon Network, Sesame Street and Adult Swim. He has also been commissioned to create music for runway shows for Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten. He has published the award-winning graphic novels Nufonia Must Fall and Space Cadet.

Kid Koala has toured 6 continents and lives with his wife and two daughters in Montreal, Canada.

Artist Videos

Shows

Brother Ali, Kid Koala, DJ Anger, King Benz, VJ Kinotropy
@ Victoria Curling Club
Sat. June 24th 21:00
$36.50 - $45 advance
Victoria Ska & Reggae Festival is honoured to welcome one of modern hip-hop's true titans on the mic, BROTHER ALI, back to Victoria for the first time in 6 years and for the first time on our stage. Ever since his first release on the legendary Rhymesayers label more than 20 years ago, Brother Ali has represented the most powerful aspects of hip-hop and hip-hop culture. Possessing one of the smoothest flows in rap, he delivers his deeply thoughtful, often times brilliant and sometimes hilarious, rhymes with an unmatched passion and joy. His shows are literal celebrations of life – the glory and love, the struggle and despair, all of it. A community activist and speaker, when Brother Ali is on stage with a mic in his hand, he knows how to connect with the people in front of him.

Also taking the Victoria Ska & Reggae Fest stage for the first time is Canada's most-beloved DJs and musical innovators, KID KOALA.. In the vast world of scratching, there are few scratchers who use turntables like an instrument the way Kid Koala does. His sets traverse genres and perform a delicate balance of pleasingly familiar music and thrillingly new ideas and deliveries. His precise, lightning-fast cuts combined with his endlessly creative musical mind, have made him an endearing legend, bringing fans of all musical genres together and showing them how it all fits together even if it seems like it might not. Getting things going and keep the proceedings hot between Ali and Koala is the power duo DJ ANGER + KING BENZ. Their big, energetic mix of electronic beats and hard-hitting rap hit the Curling Club in a big way during last year's festival and we knew we had to bring 'em back for another go. The night will also features from visuals from the uber-talented VJ Kinotropy, to delight your eyes as well as your ears.

Come, One and all! To one of the straight-up coolest evenings of music on the schedule this year.

Get Email Updates: