Kalle Kalima

One thing can be said with certainty: Kalle Kalima, born in Helsinki and now based in Berlin, plays the electric guitar. But a quick glance at his discography can lead to confusion, because the sheer volume of Kalima’s output – as a leader or collaborator – is overwhelming. Andreas Müller met Kalima in his home town, Berlin, to find out more.

"​A bubbling cauldron of avantgarde rock, psychedelic jazz, art pop and echoes of the 1980s 'no wave' weirdness, KUU! references a vast amount of influences yet still manages to project a firm and original identity."

Since 2005, Black Motor has been a proudly local Tampere institution, making its own idiosyncratic way apart from the orthodox Helsinki scene.

"Kalima is famed for his industrially rocking power trios and murky music with notes in between scales, sometimes inspired by films. Once again movies are a starting point, but now they play familiar themes from flicks like The High and the Mighty or The Alamo. "

"Kalima’s music contains only few pieces that can be hummed or even memorized. Rather, we are talking of a rich sound palette within an intricate weave of intertwined sounds.