Turntabilism is described by Wikipedia as, "the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and an audio mixer. The term was created in 1994 by DJ Supreme to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who actually performs, by touching and moving the records to manipulate sound. The word was never meant to be the actual title of the art form."It has since become a true form of music all its own. Conveying moods, messages and wielding the power to open the window on other ephemeral moments in time. The turntabilist works voodoo with two spinning disks and, arguably, no one makes it more of an art form all its own than Kid Koala.
Wikipedia also has a great entry on Kid Koala. All sorts of vitals like how he's a top notch illustrator as well as a freakin' turntable Ninja the likes of which have never been seen. All of the words do absolutely zero to describe his own brand of spinning, needle dragging, guerrilla vinyl art. You've simply got to see it.
After enjoying the video above, take the jump. There's more to see of the Kid actually manipulating two records into an amazing horn solo over a jazz band. Watching him in action is jawdropping; Also check out his new release, "Your Mom's Favorite DJ" on Ninja Tune records
1. Jawdropping doesn't begin to describe it. Watch the video of Koala in action again. At 2:41, he turns off the turntable he's manipulating (notice that the red reference light goes out). From that point on, it's no longer belt-driven, it's Koala driven. And half the time he's hand spinning the wax, he's got it spinning backwards. True genius.
Posted at 12:45AM on Nov 8th 2006 by Monoto