The latest release from Kid Koala comes in collaboration with Dylan Frombach (Dynomite D). The result of a four-year project that fries chunky blues guitar riffs in a batter of turntablism, 100% is as adventurous an album that an everyday hip-hopper could wish to hear. Much like DJ Shadow’s classic ‘Entroducing’, 100% is constructed entirely of samples, with the primary difference being that Kid Koala laboriously cut each sample to vinyl himself. Being equipped with that knowledge means ‘100%’ is capable of making a bigger impression than without.
With solid, good-humoured grooves and licks throughout, The Slew’s debut album doesn’t necessarily require an appreciation of fine production techniques and deck wizardry. Even though ‘ Robbing Banks’, for example, is driven by an Angus Young style riff motif – and Kid Koala utilises the musical ability exhibited on early classics like Drunk Trumpet in order to manipulate a guitar lick into something akin to a solo – the track still throbs with a funky enough break to keep heads nodding.
Grabbing vocal acapellas is, of course, nothing new. Perhaps it’s Moby who’s best known for putting the blues vocals from the 1920’s Alan Lomax recordings to best effect resulting in hit-after-hit on advert after advert. Although The Slew are unlikely to get anywhere near that mainstream success, 100% is likely to stand as an untouchable underground project, revered and bootlegged alongside records like DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s Brainfreeze. Perhaps the best thing about 100% is that it’s, er, completely free: free and downloadable from Kid Koala’s blog.
For those of you who that prefer the feel of cold, hard 5” of polycarbonate or 12” of thick, black vinyl, you’ll have to go out and catch the band on tour in early 2010. With ex-Wolfmother duo Chris Ross (bass) and Myles Heskett (drums) officially part of The Slew, don’t be expecting anything less than an inspiring performance. So there you have it: a free, downloadable album of quality, artistic integrity and love. They don’t make ‘em like this very often…