"It ain't but one kind of Blues": Kid Koala's Bluesy Embrace of the Fragmented ("1 bit Blues," 2012)

This chapter analyzes “1 bit Blues” (12 bit Blues, 2012, Ninja Tune) by the Canadian turntablist and music producer Kid Koala (aka Eric San). Kid Koala is not a blues musician but is instead known for his eclectic selection of samples, his virtuosic turntable techniques, and his intriguingly playful music. 12 bit Blues was primarily created using the E-mu SP-1200 drum machine and sampler to manipulate and juxtapose samples from old blues records. The sonic result of that approach initiates a dialogue between two quite distinct aesthetic paradigms. The focus of this chapter, then, is on this particular dialogue, including the ways in which this track reimagines the blues by embracing the aesthetic potential of the temporally fragmented.