The Incredible Kid
photo by Daniel Wedick
THE INCREDIBLE KID
Beginning with incorporating Asian Drum and Bass, Reggaeton, and Meren-Rap songs into his late ’90s house party sets, The Incredible Kid built his reputation igniting Portland, Oregon dance floors with the incendiary urban sounds of international dance music. In late 2000 The Kid introduced DJ Anjali to the dancing masses, and the two spearheaded the bhangra and Bollywood scene in Portland through their Andaz night, Portland’s longest-running monthly party. Alongside fellow DJ E3, the two initiated the international urban beats scene in Portland when they founded the still-thriving club night Atlas in November of 2003.
The Incredible Kid has no ordinary musical past. Two years of his early childhood were spent in Cairo, Egypt listening to the call to prayer at the mosque across the street and the haunting Arabic voices on the radio. Upon returning to the States his music listening was by necessity furtive and infrequent due to parents wary of the influence of modern youth music. After subsisting on a diet of Weird Al, 3rd generation dubbed punk cassettes and Christian rock our hero was allowed to place an order with Columbia House in his sophmore year of high school.
Despite such unlikely beginnngs The Kid began quickly amassing a staggering array of sonic detritus. Once awakened, his hunger for music knew no bounds. The Kid rapaciously sought out all sounds new or old in a vain quest to quench his thirst for that sweetest of all ambrosias: music. After a brief stint on KWVA, Eugene in 1995 The Kid doubted if he would ever play music for the public again, disdainful of playlists and the obstacles complicating the process of getting a show on non-commercial radio. He fantasized often about selling the bulk of his music and hitting the open road. Such was not to be, even though in 1999 The Kid did sojourn in Central America where he discovered the joys of reggaeton, punta rock and merengue-house.
In the ensuing years his ever-burgeoning record collection convinced his friends to invite him to DJ many, many house parties, most memorably at the Borthwick Manor. The Kid wanted to play it all:
revolutionary hip-hop, doo-wop, funk, soul, indie rock, girl punk, 80’s, drum and bass, reggaeton, mambos, and cha-chas. These all-night dance parties led to assorted gigs including his first ever club appearance at the legendary Satyricon, Halloween Night 2000.
In late 2000 he invited an interested young woman to DJ a mutual friend’s going away party. DJ Anjali, as she called herself, became an instant hit. The Incredible Kid was bewitched by the Bhangra tracks played amongst her varied selections. Having read about Bhangra in the British press since the late 80’s, without knowing where to get his hands on any, The Kid was eager to learn all he could about this passionate, visceral music. Anjali introduced our erstwhile hero to the hidden treasures of remote Indian stores and The Kid began a passionate love affair with Bhangra and the many eras of filmi music.
The Kid began playing at the legendary Blackbird in Summer of 2001 and that Fall he was offered a residency. He chose to prominently feature Bhangra and invited DJ Anjali to share what would become a much-remembered weekly for the next 6 months. The duo played a stunningly eclectic variety of music while always featuring the sounds of Hindi and Panjabi music. When the Blackbird switched to an all-band format our duo took up at the Kalga Cafe for another six-month residency. Since the focus there was on lounging and not dancing the restless masses pleaded for a dance party. This led to our duo throwing several packed-house Bhangra Dance Parties at Lola’s Room. After these successes our duo set their sites on the ideal club for their Andaz night: the Fez Ballroom, where they began their monthly residency (which continues today) in November of 2002. After a year of continued success at the Fez our duo joined with DJ E3 in November of 2003 in founding the international electronic dance night: Atlas. Alongside DJ Anjali the Kid headlined a sold-out night of “Basement Bhangra” in December of 2004 in NYC and headlined the opening night of the 2007 Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration. Other recent projects have included Bend It Like Bhangra, Booty Call, Dusty, Rocket Rickshaw, Resist Sonic Monoculture, and Ghetturista.
The Incredible Kid has supported Digable Planets, State of Bengal, DJ Rekha, DJ Spooky, Antibalas, J-Boogie, Karsh Kale, Joro-Boro, DJ Collage, Alter-Echo, Maneesh and Ferhan of Dhamaal Sound System, Ming and FS, Maga Bo, Dengue Fever, and Nickodemus from Turntables on the Hudson. He is also featured in the Adidas Originals/XLR8R book “Bedroom Rockers.”
copyright Brian McDonnell