Kalaha (band)
Kalaha is a Danish electronic band that debuted in 2014. The bands artistic style takes inspiration from Afrobeat, Anatolian rock, electronic rave music, and jazz improvisation. Its members include drummer Emil De Waal, guitarist Niclas Knudsen, synthesizer player Rumpistol, and electronic producer Mikael Elkjær, also known as Spejderrobot.[1]
Since their 2014 debut, Kalaha has been using Danish artist Zven Balslev as their art director.[2] Balslev has also directed three of the bands music videos.[3][4][5] Kalaha has collaborated with a wide range of artists from around the world including Hilal Kaya[6] and Uffe Lorenzen of Spids Nøgenhat and Baby Woodrose.[7]
History
Kalaha's debut album, Hahaha, was released in 2014.[8] The album was a live recording from their first show ever as a band. Their follow-up album Masala (2016) received a Danish Music Award for Jazz in the category "Special Release of the Year".[9] It also received airplay by Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music.[10] Their third album Mandala (2019) was also well received by the critics[11][12][13][14] and highlighted as album of the year in the Danish newspaper Information.[15] 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.[16]
In 2019 they played a show together with American bass player Bill Laswell at Black Diamond during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.[17] In 2020 their single "Eymen" brought Kalaha a Danish Music Award nomination for Danish Roots Track of The Year[18] and their single "Dans Det Op" featuring Uffe Lorenzen was nominated as "Song of the Year 2020" for the Danish Critics Award Steppeulven.[19]
Discography
Albums
| 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
| Title[20][21][22] | Label | Format | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarquaba | Rump Recordings | Digital EP | 2016 |
| Wahwahwah | Digital EP | 2016 | |
| Dragon Jenny (Extended Version) | Digital Single | 2018 | |
| Mama Ngoma | Digital EP | 2018 | |
| Çok Küstüm feat. Hilal Kaya | DME | Digital Single | 2019 |
| Eymen feat. Hilal Kaya | 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 | 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
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Danish Music Awards | Jazz: Special Release of the Year for Masala | Won | [9] |
| 2017 | Danish World composer of the year for ‘’Quarquaba EP’ | Nominated | [23] | |
| 2019 | Carl Prisen | Roots Composer of the Year for the EP "Mama Ngoma" | Won | [24] |
| 2020 | Danish Music Awards | Danish Roots Track of the Year for "Eymen" | Nominated | [18] |
| 2021 | Steppeulven | Track of the year for "Dans det op" featuring Uffe Lorentzen | Nominated | [19] |
References
- ^ "Beijing Beats: J-Fever at Blue Note, Kalaha at Dada, and DJ Sodeyama at Lantern". Thebeijinger.com. October 11, 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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. 29 July 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Bill Laswell & Kalaha (US/DK) | Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2019". Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
- ^ a b "De nominerede til DMA Roots er offentliggjort". Gaffa.dk. 26 August 2020.
- ^ a b Wolkoff, Christian (11 December 2020). "Se alle de nominerede til prisuddelingen Steppeulven – Joyce og Ganger fører an". Soundvenue.com.
- ^ a b "Kalaha". Discogs.
- ^ "Rump Recordings". Rump Recordings.
- ^ "Dans det op, by Kalaha Featuring Uffe Lorenzen". Kalaha Featuring Uffe Lorenzen.
- ^ "DMA World 2016 – Her er de nominerede". Koda.
- ^ "Carl Prisen 2019". Musikforlæggerne.dk. Retrieved 21 October 2021.