[Album Stream] Hear Pillowfight (Dan The Automator x Emily Wells x Kid Koala) Self Titled Debut LP

Sorry for the recent leave of absence from the SKOA scene. I've been working on some personal as well as other SKOA projects for this year. For those who enjoyed the Beats For Daze series, no worries! It will be back real soon. But speaking of beats for days, one of my favorite producers Dan The Automator (producer of Gorillaz S/T album, Deltron 3030 and Handsome Boy Modelling School) is back with his latest project Pillowfight featuing singer songwriter Emily Wells and frequent collaborator DJ Kid Koala.

A couple of months back, we debuted the first cut from the group titled "In The Afternoon" but now thanks to the folks of at the Huffington Post, you can hear the groups debut LP in full a week ahead of its release. Check it out and make sure you pick it up next Tuesday when it release. Automator always makes some good tunage.

[Watch] Kid Koala - "8 bit Blues (Chicago to LA to NY)" (Video)

DJ Mastermind Kid Koala has been rather busy within the last year or so. He recently released a 132-page graphic novel drawn entirely on etchboard and a "still picture score" to accompany it, he hooked back up with Dan The Automator on a new group Pillowfight featuring singer/songwriter Emily Wells, who are set to release an album later this year. Then linked back up with Automator once again and Del The Funky Homosapien to put the finishing touchs on the long awaited Deltron sequel Deltron Event II dropping later this year. And even with all that on his plate Kid Koala is gearing up to release a new solo LP this September. 

Thats right, Koala makes his triumphant return with his forthcoming album 12 bit Blues dropping Sept. 17 via Ninja Tune. Koala's new album was inspired by, you guessed it, the blues and how it was always about stripping music back to its bare essentials. So he took it back to the old school way of recording Hip Hop beats with Emu SP1200 sampler, no sequencing software and used the pads on the machine and a multitrack playing each part of the tracks in real time, before finally returning and adding cuts over the top. Fuck your Apple Garageband and Logic Pro.

You can peep the video above for the album cut "8 bit Blues (Chicago to LA to NY)" which was filmed in one shot, no edits and features just a map, magic drawing boards, a couple of etch-a-sketches and more! And if you still haven't had your Kid Koala fill, you can go download another cut from the album "5 bit Blues" over at Kid Koala's website. While you are there make sure you check out Koala's upcoming tour dates and pre-order the new album which will have a limited edition first run of the album that include a working 'cardboard, hand powered turntable kit'. 

[Download] Pillowfight (Dan The Automator x Emily Wells) - "In The Afternoon"

Deltron Event II isn't the only big project from super producer Dan The Automator this year. Automator has hooked up with singer/songwriter Emily Wells for a new collaborative project called Pillowfight which also features long time Automator collaborator Kid Koala on turntables. According to Wells' website, the group came together when Kid Koala and Wells met at the Calgary Folk Fest. Koala, a friend of Dan's knew he'd been working on a "passion project" and was hoping to find a female lyricist/vocalist.  Emily went to San Francisco to write and record for three days and the rest is history. 

The two spent the next several months writing and recording and have finished their first full length album, which is set to release some time this year. Those that are familiar with Automator's projects such as the first Gorillaz album, Lovage and Handsome Boy Modeling School will feel right at home with Pillowfight. The group recently previewed the upcoming debut album at this year's SXSW festival, which you can probably find decent quality videos on YouTube.

For those of you, who do not wish to go digging through YouTube just to hear the act, fear not! You can hear the group's first single "In The Afternoon" below which is available to download on the Ioda's SXSW 2012 Sampler (FREE on Amazon/$1.99 on iTunes). Can't wait to hear more from this upcoming project, as well as Deltron Event II. Automator can we haz your project with Mike Patton, Crudo, too?