A new Kid Koala album is always cause for celebration, and never proves anything less than entertaining, yet there is something more profound than normal in his work with 12 Bit Blues. For it he deviates from his style of scratching, taking old blues records and using them as the basis for this material. It works really well, for the impish DJ’s humour comes through now and again, but he treats each sample with unusual reverence, so that the works become really affecting. By doing this he completely catches the spirit of the blues, and catches some unexpected power in the way he processes the choral sample for ‘1 Bit Blues’. The slower samples, where the voices are lower, are more rounded but offer a strange sort of comfort when added to the relatively relaxed beats, which are beautifully and inventively crafted, while the quicker numbers have that familiar quirk that Koala does so well. Typically for a Kid Koala release, the artwork is worth the price alone, with a ‘Ninja Tune audio science kit’ that promises to be ‘the perfect gift for the audio fan in your life’. If you’re a fan of the cuddly Canadian you know what to do.
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
