Kid Koala's Music To Draw To album launch

KID KOALA
Creator, musician

Kid Koala is a world-renowned scratch DJ, music producer, and award winning graphic novelist. He has released four solo albums two graphic novels. He has also been involved in collaborations with many artists and has contributed to scores for the films Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Looper and The Great Gatsby. He has composed music for The National Film Board of Canada, the Cartoon Network, Sesame Street, and Adult Swim. He has also been commissioned to create music for runway shows for Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten. Kid Koala’s unforgettable live shows range from silly touring turntable carnivals like Short Attention Span Theater (featuring turntable bingo) and Vinyl Vaudeville (including puppets and dancers) to quiet-time events like Music To Draw To, his Space Cadet Headphone Experience and most recently, Nufonia Must Fall Live.

TRIXIE WHITLEY
Vocalist

From a very young age, Trixie Whitley nurtured a singular creative spirit, springing from her restless inner directive. At the age of three, she made her onstage debut alongside her father, the internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Chris Whitley. Never resting on her lineage, Trixie set out to craft a unique personal and artistic identity. Throughout all of this, she developed an affinity for punk rock’s nonconformist and D.I.Y. ethics that permeated her fearless genre-bending and daring life choices. One of her early efforts impressed the iconic producer Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris). Since 2013, Trixie has emerged as a compelling solo artist with three EPs and two full-length albums in her catalog.

KARINA BLEAU
Chemical Puppeteer

Karina Bleau began her training as a puppeteer by bringing the contemporary language of this mode of expression to the forefront of her practice. Since 2003, she’s done over twenty internships. In 2009, she completed a Specialized Graduate Diploma (DESS) in contemporary puppet theater, and in 2017, she completed a Master’s degree in theater at UQAM. Her approach led her to redefine the puppet. Instead of manipulating figurative matter that looks human, she seeks to start a dialogue with matter (water, sugar) which is active in itself. This way, sheaths, rods, and wires become chemical and physical reactions, placing the puppeteer in a relationship of dialogue, listening to the active principles of nature and its phenomena.

FÉLIX BOISVERT
Puppet designer, puppeteer

Félix Boisvert studied composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, where he received his master’s degree in 2005. He has worked as a multidisciplinary artist (puppet theatre, music, technological arts, and dance) for the following productions: Concerto au sol (2014), Lune et l’autre (2009), Pas à pas (2006), Manu danse (2005). He distinguishes himself alternately as a puppeteer, teacher, musician and sound artist. For the past few years, he has found fertile grounds for this exploration within puppet theatre. He also is a music teacher, mainly of the Fonofone, an instrument he helped to develop, and with which he tours schools across the province of Quebec.

BRIAN NEUMAN
Tour / Production Manager

Brian Neuman is an established tour and production manager based in Montreal, QC. He co-founded and ran the local promotion outfit Blue Skies Turn Black for over ten years, as well as owned and operated a successful music venue. Brian has booked and promoted hundreds of shows with artists such as Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Wolf Parade, Sufjan Stevens, Mastadon, Iron and Wine, Death Cab for Cutie, John Waters and many more. During his him at Blue Skies Turn Black, the company was voted ” Best Local Promoter” in Montreal for eight consecutive years. He has since turned his expertise to managing production and tour logistics for artists such as Timbre Timbre, Patrick Watson, and many others. He lives in Montreal with his wife and two children.