Internationally renowned musician Kid Koala will scratch his way through a turntablism masterclass at Carleton University in the Loeb Building this Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 at 12 p.m. The event, which is open to students and the general public, will teach attendees about beat matching, scratching, beat juggling and more of the tricks and techniques that make turntable music so unique. The class takes place before Kid Koala’s mainstage performance as part of the 9th annual House of PainT festival, being held near Carleton University that evening. Tickets to the masterclass are $15 and can be purchased here.
The festival is a four-day celebration of urban hip hop culture that starts on Thursday, Sept. 13 and concludes on Sunday evening. It will feature slam poets, graffiti artists, turntablists, artists and dancers. Sunday will see performances by notable Canadian MCs Shad and Maestro Fresh-Wes, along with local acts Flight Distance, Atherton and more.
“Our House of PainT masterclass program is really legitimized with Carleton’s participation,” said Rob Reid, one of the festival’s organizers. “Our goal is to expose people to hip hop culture. With the festival being located so close to the university, our relationship with Carleton is a great fit.”
In another House of PainT event, Juno-winning Carleton music professor Jesse Stewart is participating in Explorations of Hip Hop on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. Stewart will be joined by York University’s Mary Fogarty and local urbanist Kwende Kefentse in a talk about the intersections between jazz and hip hop, among other topics related to urban culture. The event takes place at the Fall Down Gallery at 288 Bank Street and entry is by donation.
A Bboy and Bgirl masterclass will also take place at Carleton’s Norm Fenn gym at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16. Led by legendary Bboy Nemisis, participants will explore one of urban culture’s most iconic dance styles.
Tickets for both masterclasses and a full schedule of events are available at houseofpaint.ca. Entry to the festival is free on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, but tickets are required for most other events. The Kid Koala masterclass takes place on the 9th floor of the Loeb Building at Carleton University.
About Kid Koala:
In 1996, Kid Koala became the first North American artist signed to UK label Ninja Tune. In the years that followed, Kid Koala released a string of remixes and toured North America with fellow Ninja artists, including Coldcut, DJ Food and DJ Vadim. But it was not long before his skill, innovation, and performance style led him to attract attention from those outside the club community.
In 1998, he was invited to join Money Mark’s band, and then went on the road to open for the Beastie Boys. In 2000, Ninja Tune released Kid Koala’s debut album Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which received international praise by the press for having defied expectation. Following the release of the album, Kid Koala toured extensively in North America and Europe, opening for artists like Radiohead and Bjork.
About Jesse Stewart:
Jesse Stewart wears many hats — award-winning composer, percussionist, improviser, artist, instrument builder, researcher, writer and educator at Carleton. As a composer, he writes mainly for percussion, found objects and instruments of his own design. As a researcher, Stewart’s work focuses primarily on experimental music, jazz, hip hop, music of the African diaspora and musical improvisation. He is a co-investigator with the Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice Project (ICASP), which received a multi-year $2.5-million Major Collaborative Research Initiative grant through Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in 2007. Stewart won a Juno for Instrumental Album of the Year in April 2012 as a member the Stretch Orchestra.
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For more information:
Chris Cline
Media Relations Co-ordinator
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 1391
christopher_cline@carleton.ca
