Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [ENHANCED]

Kid Koala

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 8, 2007)
• Original Release Date: February 22, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Ninja Tune
• ASIN: B00003OOZO
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,437 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Dance & Electronic > Turntablists

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is possibly one of the most self-referential turntablist releases of all time; one kaleidoscopic track segues into another, punctuated with sampled spoken phrases such as "those crazy sound-effects records you like to show off," "stacks of wax," and "they don't even have any instruments, just two record players." But Kid Koala doesn't just drop in a spoken tidbit like "we're nothing but the nerds they say we are" for a quick laugh. Rather, he lingers lovingly over it, back-spinning with such minute precision that he isolates and reorders every phoneme in a technical tour de force that transcends its own virtuosity when it transmutes seamlessly into an equally chopped-up bebop drum solo. This short (38 minutes) but dense release pulls together an astonishing variety of source material and is consistently engaging and technically impressive, although many tracks revolve around comedic elements (like slightly surreal extracts from an interview with a broadcast sound-effects expert and dating how-tos) that may not stand up to repeated listening. In the same way that Eddie Van Halen is not a better guitarist than Jeff Beck simply because he plays faster, Kid Koala and his contemporaries might not strike everyone as an improvement on the innovations of Grandmaster Flash. --Bob Bannister

Product Description

Debut release from Montreal turntable sensation who's played with Money Mark, Handsome Boy Modelling School, Mixmaster Mike, Cut Chemist and others. A dynamite new interpretation of hip-hop made from the finest the Salvation Army has to offer. Includes a 36 page comic book by the Kid himself plus the CD includes the video game 'Vidnoids'. Digipak.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive music doesn't require serious content, April 23, 2002

By	East Bay Phil "pvamazon" (Albany, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I've got all of Kid Koala's releases - and about 1500 other albums in almost every genre. In the two years I've had this disc, I've given it more plan than most anything else. It's witty, smart, and probably one of the most musical examples of turntablism you can find.

I really don't like to write Amazon reviews (personal reasons), but the reviews condemning the lack of song structure are pretty off-base. Case in point being the comparison with Shadow. Shadow is great and produces well-structured songs. Does that mean that one must emulate Shadow to be structured? Of course not. That's the beauty of this disc - it's really an expression of a unique artist who's not jumping any bandwagon where style's concerned. Some of the best funk is loose-limbed. Some of the best jazz is all about stretching-out. In fact, this album is more akin to jazz and funk records than modern hip-hop.

An interview with Del in the SF Bay Guardian hits the nail on the head. People don't give the Kid credit in part because he scratches in key. He likes to jam with other musicians and does so very well in Lovage, Deltron 3030, Bullfrog, etc.... His solo work gives free riegn to his unique turntable voice. In ten years, the artists who lack this sort of inventive musicianship will be in the bargain bin; and this record will be a touchstone.

[PS: the comic book liner notes are pretty funny, too.]

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A DJ's DJ...not for people who aren't into DJ music, June 16, 2001

By	Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Kid Koala is one of the most expressive people I've ever heard on a turntable. He gets a phrase, a sound or a snippet and he's drawing that thing in directions you probably didn't think were possible. However, this is not your big brother's DJ record. This isn't like Mix Master Mike or DJ Qbert, wherein the DJ may find a beat or two to run through a song and then proceeds to scratch and drop lines and magic over the rhythm. This record is an exploration into sound itself, and Koala can't be bothered with trying to make you dance. He's about exploring what a turntablist can DO, beats be damned.

It's this kind of thing that garners him increible respct (mostly from his peers and fans of DJ-based music), but will likely turn off the passer-by looking for a good party record. Koala is the Ornette Coleman of DJs, bending sound for the purpose of showing you what he can do and what he has to say, not so you can get up and dance. Try and find a breakbeat on here at your own risk. If you want a record like that, stick with the Mix Master Mike classic "Anti-Theft Device", DJ Qbert's "Wave Twisters" (which actually falls somewhere between Mike and Koala) and DJ Logic if you can find it.

Is it better than... Mix Master Mike's "Anti Theft Deivce" - no Qbert's "Wave Twisters" - no DJ T-Rock "Who's Your Daddy?" - yes. Shiggar Friggar (pick your volume) - yes. Rob Swift "The Abilist" - yes, but Swift is more accessible The X-ecutioners - no.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cure for the Common Ear, October 17, 2000

By	Jeremy Burger (Philly, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those doubters who mistakenly dub hip-hop as wannabe gansters rhyming over recycled beats... think again. True MC's and DJ's (Kid Koala) who understand that this genre of music is the most expressive and diverse to date keep raising the bar and effortlessly leaping over it. To the untrained ear, this album might not seem all that impressive, but to anyone who has ever tried to match or create their own beats, 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome' becomes an instant DJ masterpiece. The samples, scratching, and humor on this album are top notch. Along with Mix Master Mike and DJ Qbert, Kid Koala makes up the nastiest click of DJ's in the world... hands down. While MC's (Masters of Crap) like Jay-Z and Puffy are collectively grabbing hip-hop by the throat and squeezing the life from it, Kid Koala should be considered a dose of pure oxygen. Long live underground hip-hop! (Check out 'Deltron 3030' if you like this album.)