Kid Koala presents 'Nufonia Must Fall'

Given the moniker “scratchmaster general” by Spin, Kid Koala (born Eric San) built his career in the early 2000s with a procession of innovative albums that blend pop-culture ephemera, unusual and humorous samples, cinematic layering, and deeply grooving beats. Tours with Radiohead and Björk and collaborations with artists ranging from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to influential Brazilian electronic composer Amon Tobin made Koala one of the most versatile and visible DJs on the global scene, with visual elements always playing a vital role in his creativity.

From the release of his 2000 debut LP Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Koala’s work has been steeped in comic book culture, and in 2003 he published a 300-page graphic novel entitled Nufonia Must Fall about a lonely robot on the verge of obsolescence and looking for love. Directed by Oscar nominee K.K. Barrett, this live staging of the book is built around a cast of 10-inch puppets manipulated by a team of puppeteers that interact in real time on over a dozen miniature sets, filmed with a network of cameras, edited live, and simultaneously projected onto the video screen above the action on the Miner stage.