EXCLUSIVES

Words by Erez Reuveni
Images by Paul 107
December 2003

Eric San's career as a scratch DJ began rather inauspiciously. The son of Chinese immigrants living in Vancouver, British Columbia, San began training as a classical pianist at a young age, building up the agility of his fingers. By the time he was 13, he began listening to music in earnest, with hip hop acts like De La Soul and Public Enemy, forming the nucleus of his aural regimen.

Soon thereafter, San bought a turntable and taught himself how to scratch. With his skills maturing rapidly, he came to the attention of the independent label, Ninja Tune, in 1997. Dropping several singles, he eventually released his first full-length disc, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, in 2000. Since then, his popularity has increased exponentially. During the course of three years, San has toured with Radiohead, collaborated with Cut Chemist, Dan the Automator, Prince Paul, and Del the Funky Homosapien and recorded his sophomore release, Some of My Best Friends Are DJs.

San, a.k.a "Kid Koala," fuses beats, scratches, and a sense of humor reminiscent of Monty Python to create a kaleidoscopic potpourri of audio stimuli that mesh together seamlessly. Citing influences as diverse as educational television (Sesame Street), sketch comedy (Kids in the Hall), and bonafide DJs (ColdCut), San bridges the gap between sonic quality and giddy playfulness with his live sets and albums, and as such has been labeled everything from a "scratching virtuoso" to "quite silly." The truth lies somewhere in the middle, where San mixes consummate "turntablism" with a wacky sense of humor that is highly respected in the DJ and hip hop community.

San's musical antics apparently stem from his unabashed self-deprecation. "DJing seemed to be the only thing to do during high school that my classical piano training had already set up in terms of finger dexterity," he says. "It was either DJing, or something like speed typing or knitting." While San chose music over yarn and millinery, his exposure to an active DJ scene was limited. "I was learning to DJ in my bedroom, not at the block party or the night clubs," remarks San. In order to compensate, San drew from a host of unconventional influences and sounds. "I didn't really spawn from the club culture, so my ability to make beats to dance to is skewed," he says. "I make beats you could have elevator conversations to. But that comes from a lot of sketch comedy."

San's profession is dominated by Apple¨. Scores of DJs utilize programs like Logic, Pro Tools¨, and REAKTOR to manage sound libraries, create music, and perform live sets. Older means of recording and performingÐcollecting vinyl, renting studio time, carrying around bulky mixers and drum machines, and collaborating with a cadre of engineers, assistants, and managersÐare going the way of the dinosaurs. San has seen this firsthand while on tour. "I was on tour with ColdCut, DJ Food, and Hexstatic; and they all had G4 laptops, while all I had was a Gameboy¨ and my sketchbook," he says cheerfully.