Three Gigs, One Night, and a Monkey Mask: The Curious Case of Kid Noize

When Being in Three Places at Once Isn’t Just a DJ Fantasy

What happens when the summer festival circuit collides with a DJ’s entrepreneurial spirit—and a penchant for monkey disguises? Enter Kid Noize, Belgium’s answer to both Daft Punk and the world’s busiest event planner.

Picture this: the festival season is in full swing, and while most DJs are grateful to land one prime slot, Kid Noize appeared to pull off the impossible—performing three gigs on the same night, in venues that are two hours apart by car. The crowd was understandably surprised. Was it quantum physics, teleportation, or just a well-timed playlist?

Turns out, it was none of the above. Kid Noize, famed for performing behind a monkey mask (his own cartoon alter ego brought to life), simply called in reinforcements. Two, to be exact. Yes, while the real Kid Noize was behind the decks at one gig, two stand-ins—each donning the iconic mask—covered the others.

“Kid Noize is now a team”

When dance fans started connecting the dots (and the timetables), the cat—or perhaps the monkey—was out of the bag. Rather than ducking the issue, Kid Noize took to Instagram to dramatically reveal: “After 15 years playing Kid Noize, I am honoured to announce that I have coached the best successor that I could… Kid Noize is now a team. Bigger, stronger, freer. There is no real or fake.”

Cue a flurry of online debate. Some punters mused that Daft Punk, the original masked maestros, never resorted to such shenanigans. Others wondered—underneath the mask, does it really matter who’s calling the tunes as long as the party keeps swinging?

Celebrated DJ Olivier Gossiers told A-Lyric pretty much the same thing: “If people are happy to pay a guy in a monkey mask to play music, do they really care that much who is behind the mask as long as the music is good and they’re having fun? There’s a certain amount of hypocrisy behind the indignation.”

One thing’s clear: promoters might now find themselves wondering which Kid Noize will rock up—artist, intern, or someone who just looks good in a monkey mask. The original Kid Noize has declared that he has now swapped the decks for the director’s chair, steering the ship as “artistic director.”

(Michael Leahy. Photo: Brice De Pass Creative Commons 4.0 Int’l)

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