A graphic novel with its own soundtrack.

“She’s a lonely office girl. He’s an out-of-work robot struggling to find his voice. Little does he know that destiny has programmed him for the greatest love story of our time.” So says the blurb for the new graphic novel by Canadian DJ Kid Koala. Although it may be something of an exaggeration.

Rendered in subtle shades of grey and white, and infused with melancholy, Nufonia Must Fall looks like the storyboard for a silent film. Which is fitting because it comes with its own CD soundtrack, courtesy of Ninja Tune, specially recorded by the Kid himself, aka Eric San. It features ten little ambient soundscapes (think Bagpuss remixed by Aphex Twin), one for each of the eight chapters with a plaintive Nufonian theme tune at either end.

It’s a wonderfully eccentric creation, and one that made me root for a monochrome robot as he tries to woo the girl of his dreams, while lugging round a portable record player. And that’s something I could never have predicted. Jonathan Carter 16 May 03

Nufonia Must Fall is published by ECW Press, out now.

useful link: kid koala official site