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Review: 'KID KOALA FT. EMILIANA TORRINI'
'Music To Draw To: Satellite'   

-  Label: 'Arts & Crafts'
-  Genre: 'Pop' -  Release Date: 'April 7th 2017'

Our Rating:
We've all heard of Kid Koala right? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, turntablism, Ninja Tune but rest assured there is a lot more to this guy than just a couple of hip-hop albums and some fancy crabbing.

This album is the latest and possibly greatest example of that. Without boring you too much with the details I will give you some background to this album because for once it is the case that you can actually hear the amount of effort that went into it and even why things sound like they do. First of all Kid chose to work with Emiliana as opposed to them being put together by a record label and they spent time together and worked together on the project. Her vocals were recorded in a very specific way (Universa magnetic disc recorder to be precise) in order to make them sound like a transmission being received from an Apollo mission. The narrative theme is a woman on a one way mission to Mars and her significant other left behind forever and the differing points of view of these characters.

Two firsts for Kid on this album. There are no samples and this is his first time contributing lyrics. It could easily be described as an ambient record and yet Emiliana has managed to turn pieces into songs in a seemingly effortless manner. The album is over an hour long and includes 18 tracks and the vocal tracks are evenly broken up with instrumentals.

In that sense it might be viewed as a call and response between the earthbound instrumentals and the space travelling vocals. This sequencing works extremely well in terms of narrative. It would be wrong on all levels for me to break this down into tracks for you. It should be viewed as a whole and preferably listened to in the same way. It captures the starkness of the separation but also the magic and beauty and desolation of space beyond this tiny planet but not in a cold way.

This album is full of emotion and there is plenty of it in Emiliana's voice. Fans of hers will surely like this album? It is a bold, assertive, delicate and gentle album that could only have come from a spirit of genuine collaboration. SIMPATICO. Expansive instrumental soundscapes blended with chilling ballads. It may well be his masterpiece, although I hope not as 'Music To Draw To' is the first in a proposed series and the idea behind it is a very interesting and worthy concept in itself. I can't draw so I'm off to do a collage instead, with this amazing record playing in the background.
  author: Leo Newbiggin

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KID KOALA FT. EMILIANA TORRINI - Music To Draw To: Satellite