Never one to make the music making process easy on himself, Kid Koala has finally realised his child-hood dream of owning SP1200's, and in the process has tackled the stripped-down blues tradition with the machines that spawned the golden age of hip-hop (and keeps floppy disks alive!).

Over three days he cut up and reassembled the bed tracks for 12 bit Blues. No sequencing software was used. Using the pads on the machine and a multitrack, Eric played each part of the tracks in real time, before finally returning and adding cuts over the top. The result is a really raw, immediate and strangely beautiful album, much like the music it draws on for its inspiration. In attempting to outplay and out-think the technology he is working with he revives the unworldly oddness of blues music before it became a staple of beer adverts and the jam-fantasies of middle aged marketing executives. 

Hear a minimix of 12 bit Blues below.

The packaging for the first run of Kid Koala's 12 bit Blues album on CD and 2LP will include a cardboard hand powered record player kit! It also includes a mini flexi disc record that can be played on the kit. The flexi disc contains "15 blues bits" to scratch as well as a new Kid Koala track "Slinky".

12 bit Blues is available on LP, CD & DL now at the Ninjashop.

Tickets for Kid Koala's O2 Academy Islington show are available here.