Kid Koala

Floor Kids (Original Video Game Soundtrack)

BY Daniel SylvesterPublished Apr 23, 2018

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Although he's had his share of classic solo releases over the past 22 years, Eric San (aka Kid Koala) has acted the consummate soundtracker; whether he's adding his brand of freewheeling turntablism to Gorillaz, acting as the backbone in Delton 3030 or providing audio for his own graphic novels.
 
With his latest project, the soundtrack to the much-beloved Nintendo Switch breakdancing battle game Floor Kids, San not only crafts a terrific score, but plays an integral part in the game's overall feel and personality. With a whopping 42 tracks, each of which range from 30 seconds to two-and-a-half minutes, San has turned his Floor Kids soundtrack into a highly listenable and joyous full-length in the vein of J Dilla's Donuts.
 
Although lesser composers would have mined the latest pop sounds for this kid-friendly videogame, San rather explores numerous b-boy/girl eras and street beats to keep these tracks absorbing, giving "The Fundamentals" golden-era hip-hop looseness, "Keys & Kuts" 2000s footwork peppiness, "The Showdown" late '80s scratch mania and "Robo-tronix" cops early '80s electro.
 
The fact that the album runs long (just over 60 minutes), and that many songs retain the child-shouted "4-3-2-1" from the game, keeps Floor Kids from being a truly essential part of the Kid Koala discography, but it nonetheless retains all the imagination and passion that San puts into every project.
(Arts & Crafts)

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