Chris Hamelin

Have you ever wondered what Notorious B.I.G. mixed with Sigur Rós, Destiny’s Child and the Righteous Brothers might sound like? Me neither, but it’s better than you could have possibly imagined!

To say that Kids & Explosions’ debut album Shit Computer is a brilliant success would be an understatement. The hottest new mash-up DJ out of Toronto is humble about his art too, Kids & Explosions describes himself as “a boy who makes songs by stealing other people’s songs and making them worse” – Kids & Explosions.

Do not let his modesty fool you, K&E has the unnatural ability to seamlessly combine several samples into each of his songs creating a musical hodgepodge that is entirely its own. K&E differentiates himself from other mash-up DJs in 2 other very distinct ways.

The first difference I noticed between Shit Computer and other mash-up albums is K&E’s use of more obscure samples. One of the qualities that make this album so special is the vast array of different sounds used and how they come together to complement each other so well.  Unlike so many other so-called mash-up artists, Kids & Explosions does not just mix two mainstream, identifiable club hits together to make a club super-hit.

K&E’s careful consideration and selection of samples to employ becomes more and more evident as the album progresses. I admire his ability to blend a diverse lexicon of samples that are seemingly contradictory in either sound or lyrical content and position them against one another to create a juxtaposition of genres or content.  An example of this brilliant juxtaposition is track 16, where lyrically he pits Biggie’s “Suicidal Thoughts” against Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” making a comment about the duality between the frailty of life and the determination of the human spirit.

The second unique quality I noticed in Shit Computer is that Kids & Explosions in many of his songs uses lyrics and voices as more of a percussion instrument than anything else. In this way, his use of chopped up lyrics act as part of the beat rather than to form cohesive sentences. This interesting element of Shit Computer is most noticeable in tracks 1, 5 and 14.

Kids & Explosions is most certainly not afraid to experiment with genres, word play, and samples other DJs wouldn’t touch with a 40-foot record needle.

Shit Computer in its glorious entirety is available for “pay-what-you-can” download from the Kids & Explosions website ($0 is an option for you poor students out there that still enjoy great music).  Not only does this fantastic, young, Canadian artist deserve a little of your attention, NOT checking out this album is doing a serious disservice to your ears.

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