Kalaha is a Danish band consisting of Emil de Waal (drums), Niclas Knudsen (guitar), Rumpistol aka Jens Berents Christiansen (synthesizer) and electronic producer Mikael Elkjær aka Spejderrobot...[1] The band takes inspiration from Afrobeat, Anatolian rock, electronic rave music and jazz improvisation.
Kalaha has collaborated with a wide range of artists from around the world including Hilal Kaya,[2] Uffe Lorenzen (Spids Nøgenhat/Baby Woodrose)[3] In 2019 they played a show together with American bass player Bill Laswell at Black Diamond during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.[4]
Kalaha's debut album "Hahaha", released in 2014,[5] was a live recording from their first show ever as a band. Their follow-up album "Masala" (2016) received a Danish Music Award (Jazz) in the category "Special Release of the Year"[6] as well as receiving airplay by Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music.[7] Their third album "Mandala" (2019) was also well received by the critics[8][9][10][11] and highlighted as album of the year in the Danish Newspaper Information.[12] The album featured the band's first Turkish song "Çok Küstüm", which became the beginning of a long time collaboration with the Turkish singer Hilal Kaya and also secured the band some attention in Turkey.[13]
In 2020 their single "Eymen" brought Kalaha a Danish Music Award (Roots) nomination for Danish Roots Track of The Year[14] and their single "Dans Det Op feat. Uffe Lorenzen was nominated as "Song of the Year 2020" for the Danish Critics Award Steppeulven.[15]
Since their 2014 debut, Kalaha has been using Danish artist Zven Balslev as their art director.[16] Zven Balslev has also directed three of the bands music videos.[17][18][19]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title[20] | Label | Format | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hahaha | Rump Recordings | Digital Album | 2014 |
| Masala | Rump Recordings | Vinyl & Digital Album | 2016 |
| Masala – Extra Spicy | Rump Recordings | Vinyl & Digital Album | 2018 |
| Mandala | DME | Vinyl & Digital Album | 2019 |
| Mystafa | April Records | Vinyl, CD & Digital Album | 2021 |
Singles & EPs
edit| Title[20][21][22] | Label | Format | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarquaba | Rump Recordings | Digital EP | 2016 |
| Wahwahwah | Rump Recordings | Digital EP | 2016 |
| Dragon Jenny (Extended Version) | Rump Recordings | Digital Single | 2018 |
| Mama Ngoma | Rump Recordings | Digital EP | 2018 |
| Çok Küstüm feat. Hilal Kaya | DME | Digital Single | 2019 |
| Eymen feat. Hilal Kaya | DME | Digital Single | 2019 |
| Eymen feat. Hilal Kaya (Junglelyd & Merlyn Silva remix feat. Huaynot) | Sofa Beats | Digital Single | 2019 |
| Dans Det Op feat. Uffe Lorenzen / Eymen feat. Hilal Kaya | April Records | 7" Vinyl | 2020 |
| Vivo | April Records | Digital Single | 2020 |
| Özgürüm Ben feat. Hilal Kaya | DME | Digital Single | 2020 |
| Hurt You Once Again feat. Hjalte Ross | April Records | Digital Single | 2021 |
Awards
editWon
edit- 2017, Danish Music Awards – Jazz. Category: Special Release of the Year for the album "Masala"[6]
- 2019, Carl Prisen. Category: Roots Composer of the Year for the EP "Mama Ngoma"[23]
Nominated
edit- 2017, Danish Music Awards – World. Category: Danish World composer of the year; Niclas Knudsen, Emil De Waal, Spejderrobot og Rumpistol (Kalaha) – ‘’Quarquaba EP’[24]
- 2020, Danish Music Awards – Roots. Category: Danish Roots Track of the Year for "Eymen"[14]
- 2021, Steppeulven. Category: Track of the year for "Dans det op" featuring Uffe Lorentzen.[15]
References
edit- ^ "Beijing Beats: J-Fever at Blue Note, Kalaha at Dada, and DJ Sodeyama at Lantern". Thebeijinger.com. October 11, 2017.
- ^ "Kalaha feat. Hilal Kaya – Özgürüm Ben – DMA Jazz | TV 2 Lorry". Cdn.lorry.bazo.dk. November 29, 2020.
- ^ "Kalaha Featuring Uffe Lorenzen – dans Det Op (2020, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 2020.
- ^ "Bill Laswell & Kalaha (US/DK) | Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019". Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
- ^ Rygaard, Rasmus. "Kalaha". Soundvenue.com.
- ^ a b "Her er årets vindere af DMA Jazz 2017". JazzDanmark. 4 December 2017.
- ^ "BBC Radio 6 Music – Gilles Peterson, Gilles's Glasgow Gems". BBC.
- ^ "Anmeldelse: Kalaha skaber en festlig mosaik af det bedste fra alle verdner | Information". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
- ^ "ANMELDELSE: Medrivende nyt fra de danske globalister". Gaffa.dk.
- ^ "Kalaha - Mandala | Anmeldelse | Vinyl". Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
- ^ "Tre nævenyttige unge gennemskuede, hvordan man vinder hver gang i Kalaha. Bandet Kalaha er sværere at regne ud". Politiken. May 19, 2019.
- ^ "Dansk musik i 2019: Spil nu noget andet, nogle andre, noget anderledes | Information". Archived from the original on 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Kalaha: "Dinleyicilerimiz Türkçe anlayamıyor ama müziğe bayılıyor"". Dergy.com. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ a b "De nominerede til DMA Roots er offentliggjort". Gaffa.dk.
- ^ a b Wolkoff, Christian (11 December 2020). "Se alle de nominerede til prisuddelingen Steppeulven – Joyce og Ganger fører an". Soundvenue.com.
- ^ "RECORD COVERS — Zven Balslev". Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Kalaha – Çok Küstüm (feat. Hilal Kaya)". YouTube. 29 March 2019.
- ^ "Kalaha – Mama Ngoma [Official Video]". YouTube. 24 October 2018.
- ^ "Kalaha – Eymen (feat. Hilal Kaya)". YouTube. 17 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Kalaha". Discogs.
- ^ "Rump Recordings". Rump Recordings.
- ^ "Dans det op, by Kalaha Featuring Uffe Lorenzen". Kalaha Featuring Uffe Lorenzen.
- ^ "Carl Prisen 2019". Musikforlæggerne.dk. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "DMA World 2016 – Her er de nominerede". Koda.