Eric Sann, a.k.a. Kid Koala, is known for reinventing the wheel. He has managed to embrace things that have been done many times over and give them a life and a personality all their own. And he seems to make it look effortless. His inspiration comes from other artists, DJs and of course, the wonderful city of Montreal.
After a wave of touring that would make even a pre-med student exhausted, he found the time on his break home to delight the crowds at Concordia. Sann is only home for a rest and then it’s back on the road with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. The Concordian nabbed him before his set at The Hive to talk about what’s next for him this year.
“I’m just coming to hype everybody up a bit. I will be doing some silly things on tour. They want me to keep it pretty fun and silly. I will be pulling a lot of tricks up there.”
It seems like tricks are high up on Sann’s priority list – at the Hive alone he put on one impressive performance, with four turntables, leaving the crowd aching for more.
Though Kid Koala is known for his live shows and turntablism, he has other projects on the horizon. Sann is planning to spend more time on an animation project that he has been working on, titled The Mosquito. The project is a graphic novel concept that features a mosquito learning to play the clarinet. “I did some animation in high school but I will be the first to admit that doing full on animation requires this really enlightened amount of patience. I’m not sure if I have that.”
Something Sann surely has is enthusiasm. He is all wide eyes and smiles when he talks about his upcoming tour. Puppets, an orchestra and of course, some turntables will all decorate a busy stage. At least that’s the plan.
When asked what else may be in the plans after his North American/European tour, he didn’t miss a beat in response. “Laundry!”
Kid Koala plays the Metropolis with DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
