Kaizers Orchestra

Kaizers Orchestra

Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock group from Bryne, Norway. The line-up includes Janove Ottesen, Geir Zahl, Øyvind Storesund, Terje Winterstø Røthing and Geir Zahl. The band is associated with Petroleum Records and is active from 2000 to 2013.

Overview

The group forms in Bryne, Rogaland, and is founded by Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl, who are childhood friends and have already played together in earlier bands including Blod, snått & juling and gnom. Kaizers Orchestra develops out of that earlier work and is known for combining alternative rock with a range of other styles, including ompa rock, gypsy punk, surf rock and R&B.

The band is also recognised for its Norwegian-language lyrics and for becoming one of the first Norwegian acts outside black metal to gain international attention while singing in Norwegian. Its live performances are known for their energy, and its recordings receive strong critical praise.

Sound and lyrics

Janove Ottesen writes most of the lyrics, with Geir Zahl as the secondary contributor. The songs often tell connected stories across the catalogue, with themes including organised crime, war, underground resistance movements and mental institutions. The band also uses distinctive stage imagery, including the gas mask worn by organist Helge Risa and the use of oil barrels as percussion.

Their sound is shaped in part by gnom, the earlier group in which they develop a version of the “ompa” style that later influences Kaizers Orchestra. The song “Bastard” becomes especially important in this shift, with its dissonant arrangement and unusual percussion helping to define the band’s new image and name.

Career

Kaizers Orchestra is officially founded on 1 January 2000 as a five-piece group: Ottesen on vocals, Zahl on guitar and backing vocals, Rune Solheim on drums, Helge Risa on organ, and Jon Sjøen on bass. The band plays small venues in Norway through 2000 and records a 14-track demo, followed by an untitled EP known as Gul EP, which includes “Bastard”. After signing with BroilerFarm, the group expands its profile and begins recording with co-producers Jørgen Træen and Stian Carstensen.

Its debut album, Ompa til du dør, becomes a major breakthrough, winning a Spellemannspris and going on to become the best-selling Norwegian rock album of all time. The band then releases the EPs Død manns tango and Mann mot mann before performing its first international concert at Roskilde Festival in Denmark in 2002. In 2003, it appears at Eurosonic in the Netherlands and releases Evig pint, a darker album that sells less well than the debut. Later that year, Jon Sjøen leaves and is replaced by Øyvind Storesund.

In 2004 the band signs to Universal Germany, after which much of its catalogue is reissued in Europe. Maestro follows in 2005, then the live release Live at Vega and the DVD Viva La Vega in 2006. A book about the group, Kontroll på kontinentet, is also published, written by Jan Zahl and photographed by Paal Audestad. Although the band announces a break from live performance in 2007, it still plays selected shows that year, including appearances at Documenta 12 in Germany and Sziget Festival in Hungary.

Maskineri appears in 2008, followed by the live compilation 250 Prosent and the associated tour, which includes older and rarely played songs. In 2009 the group releases Våre demoner, a compilation of re-recorded material drawn from across its career. It then begins the Violeta Violeta trilogy, released across 2011 and 2012. “Hjerteknuser” becomes the band’s most successful single, and Violeta Violeta Volume I, Volume II and Volume III are issued during this period, alongside live releases and digital EPs linked to the trilogy.

The final concert for the foreseeable future takes place in Stavanger on 15 September 2013, after the band announces an indefinite hiatus from performing as a group.