Kalaha - 2025 - Guirca

(37:20; April Records)

Track list:
1. Yacumama 4:17
2. Duele 4:21
3. Out in the Woods 6:00
4. Give Peace Another Chance 3:02
5. Lampuki Bite 4:04
6. Guirca 3:12
7. El Zorro 5:05
8. Vals Ajillo 3:07
9. Tumbleweed Turnpike 4:12

Line-up:
Emil de Waal - drums, percussion, vocals
Niclas Knudsen - guitars, talkbox
Jens Berents Christiansen - synthesizers, Wurlitzer, 303, percussion, various electronic devices
Anders Stig Møller - bass, synthesizers, vocals, various electronic devices
with:
Claudia Rodriguez Ahlfors - vocals
Stine Grøn - vocals


Danish band Kalaha was formed back in 2014, and in the decade and a bit since their formation they have released new studio material at a steady pace, with more than half a dozen albums to their name as of 2026. Their latest studio production appeared in the fall of 2025. This album is called "Guirca", and was released through Danish label April Records.

It is quite the playful affair this one, and the band moves around quite a bit in terms of style and orientation throughout this production. The compositions tend to stick to being instrumental, but with one of the songs featuring more conventional lead vocals and several including vocal effects or vocal inspired effects. 

The most common denominators throughout are that the songs tend to have a more playful and uplifting mood and feel to them, the rhythms tend to include some exotic elements, and all of the compositions feature electronic sounds and effects in a manner that makes the a defining aspect of the overall sound explored.

We are treated to quite the expansive landscape here, with relaxed compositions with a borderline meditative feel to them nicely coexisting with escapades into more playful, joyful and distinctly funk-tinged constructions. A little bit of world music is added too, cuwe the one track featuring vocals, but here the world music is given a little bit of a futuristic vibe too. Kind of like a meeting between ancient cultures and an environment from sometime in the ages yet to come. Speaking of the latter, one of the compositions comes with a sound and style that wouldn't have been too much out of place on an album by UK band Ozric Tentacles. Oh, and we also get quite the whimsical trip into a landscape with a vocals inspired sound of the kind that always makes me think of jungles, monkeys and the old but perhaps not all that good Tarzan movies.

The band opts to conclude this production on a darker note, with Americana tendencies of a slightly more desolate and forlorn nature, blended nicely in with majestic impulses that comes with a little bit more of a movie soundtrack feel. I should also add that we get a few songs here where we get what sounds very much like a surf guitar inspired motif. Just to stress that this is an album that is rather expansive in the style and sound department. Much the same can be said for the slight cosmic and futuristic sounding tendencies that appear on occasion.

While I have a hard time defining this album in terms of style and genre indicators, I suspect that those with a general interest in world music and electronic music should find the landscapes explored here rather intriguing, especially if they don't mind a little bit of jazz thrown in for good measure. Most of all this is a fun, joyful and at times whimsical affair, and if that description combined with a mainly instrumental scope strikes you as intriguing, then chances are good that you'll find this album to be quite the intriguing affair.

Olav M. Björnsen, January 2026

Links:
https://kalahamusic.dk/
https://aprilrecords.com/