''Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'' is the debut studio album by Canadian turntablist

Kid Koala Eric San (born December 5, 1974), aka Kid Koala, is a Canadian scratch DJ, music producer, theatre producer, film composer, multimedia-performer and visual artist. His career began as a scratch DJ in 1994. Kid Koala works with genres as eclectic ...

, released on

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visit ...

in 2000. It peaked at number 33 on the

UK Independent Albums Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. It was nominated for

Alternative Album of the Year Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

at the 2001 Juno Awards.

Production

''Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'' was made by hand-cutting vinyl records onto an 8-track recorder without computer splicing or samplers. The album took Kid Koala 4 years to record, more than the 6 months he originally told Ninja Tunes it would take.

Critical reception

Steve Huey of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album 5 stars out of 5, saying: "It's capable of making turntablism engaging to a wider audience." He added, " id Koala isable to bring so much personality and entertainment value to his work, which makes ''Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'' arguably the most appealing turntablist album yet released." Matt Byrnie of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' said, "Kid Koala's real charm is not his virtuosity, per se, but his ability to express the simple joy of playing with records." In 2018, the album won the

Polaris Heritage Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was incr ...

Production

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

References

External links