Danish BAND WITH WORLD ROOTS

 

EMIL DE WAAL – NICLAS KNUDSEN – ANDERS STIG MØLLER

Winner of Carl Prisen Award 2019

Winner of Danish Music Awards 2017

 

“The music is at once traditional and strongly innovative, not to mention revolutionary.”  GAFFA (DK)

“Brilliant Album! Very tropical again!” – Gilles Peterson / BBC 6 / Worldwide FM (UK)

“Kalaha transport fans into another world” – Earmilk.com (US)

“A dance hall in outer space” – Jazz Special (DK)

“The band plays their own music that combines the essence of jazz with modern sounds. There are excellent sounds, mature solos, attention to form and finally a nice balance between respect for tradition and modern, progressive musical thinking.” – Jazz Fun (DE)

“A wide tapestry of colours that will fill the palette of choice sound selectors. Big on cultural essence & bass rhythms.” – Jay Scarlett / Sound Supreme, PULS Radio (DE)

“Truly a genre bending performance in the best way possible, music from the future, a flashing stage, and an absolutely mental drummer” – Pouledor (DE)

“Kalaha never chose the easy solutions. With humor and understanding the four inventive musicians put their tracks on fire.” – Jazznyt.com (DK)

“The combination of electronic music, hard-hitting jazz and Anatolian music is simply outstanding … Very impressive.” – GAFFA (DK)

“Kalaha deserves credit for the fact that more and more hearts in their home country are beating for the danceable psychedelic Turkish rock” – INFORMATION (DK)

“Throw away your prejudices and board the flying carpet. What’s important is not the destination. It’s all about the journey and the journey’s going to be fun.” – BØRSEN (DK)

“Danceable, challenging and sometimes hard-hitting, rhythmic songs.” – BANDSOFTOMORROW

“… a thrilling all-encompassing adventure that acts as a pure and unadulterated celebration from start to finish. … A staggering accomplishment … Simply a joy to experience.  ”  – BLUE IN GREEN RADIO (UK)

 

About

Kalaha creates a festive mosaic of the best of all worlds

In addition to being an extremely captivating and energetic live band, Kalaha is known for being eternally exploratory in their search for musical frontiers and geographical spectra.

Consisting of the drummer Emil de Waal,  guitarist Niclas Knudsen (Ibrahim Electric) and bass player Anders Stig Møller, Kalaha has managed to create a completely unique universe somewhere between world, jazz and electronic music and with the inclusion of Turkish singer Hilal Kaya on vocals, they've also gained a good grip on the Turkish audiences. 

Kalaha is known for setting dance floors on fire and bringing the audience into a trance, triggering the listener to dance with the head just as much as the heart.

As a listener, one moment you are on a whirlwind car chase through the bazaar of Istanbul, and the next you soar into the cosmic eternity of space, then land in a dusty village in Mali.

Elements from psychedelic rock and improvised jazz to Anatolian funk and acid techno have been part of Kalaha's sound since the beginning in 2013 and It comes as no surprise that their albums not only gather constant acclaim in among vinyl connoisseurs, but have also brought a Danish Music Award and a Carl Prize as well as several other nominations.

In 2021 Kalaha released 'Mystafa' which included genres such as Brazilian samba, Turkish 70s music, African highlife and desert blues, as well as Nordic vibes on songs with guest features from local psych-rock king Uffe Lorenzen and folk singer Hjalte Ross.

The band have headlined Copenhagen Jazz Festival in a collaboration with the legendary bass player and producer Bill Laswell (US) and they've also played festivals like Fusion Festival (DE)Boomtown (UK), Psy Fi (NL) and Jarasum (South Korea) among many other places. 

In October, 2025, the band's 7th album "Guirca" will be released. 

Kalaha consists of:
Niclas Knudsen: guitar & talk box
Emil de Waal: drums & percussion
Anders Stig Møller: bass & laptop

and occasionally Hilal Kaya: vocals

Press Quotes

“Brilliant Album! Very tropical again! ” - Gilles Peterson / BBC 6 / Worldwide FM (UK)

“The combination of electronic music, hard-hitting jazz and Anatolian music is simply outstanding … Very impressive.” – GAFFA (DK)

“Truly a genre bending performance in the best way possible, music from the future, a flashing stage, and an absolutely mental drummer” - Pouledor (DE)

"Mystafa" is a thrilling all-encompassing adventure that acts as a pure and unadulterated celebration from start to finish. … A staggering accomplishment… Simply a joy to experience. ” - BLUE IN GREEN RADIO (UK)

"Kalaha transport fans into another world" - Earmilk.com (US)

“A wide tapestry of colors that will fill the palette of choice sound selectors. Big on cultural essence & bass rhythms. ” - Jay Scarlett / Sound Supreme, PULS Radio (DE)

PREVIOUS SHOWS (among many other places):
Fusion Festival (DE), Boomtown Fair (UK), Psy-Fi Festival (NL), SPOT Festival (DK), Peter-Weiss-Haus, Rostock (DE), Tampere Jazz Festival (SF), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (DK), Jarasum Jazz Festival (KO), OCT-LOFT Jazz Festival (CH), Nordischer Klang Festival, Greifswald (DE), STUK Leuven (BE), Beursschouwburg, Bruxelles (BE), Kukuun, Hamburg (DE), DADA Bar Beijing (CH), Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, London (UK), Kristianstad/Åhus Jazzfestival (SE), Det Turkise Telt, Aarhus (DK), Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen (DK), Alice, CPH (DK).

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