Homepagethe Gentlemen Kaizerin Color & Soundthe Lyrics in Englishthe Forumon Tourfrom the PressSalt & Pepperthe KaizerlinksSave me !auf Deutsch, bittethe Impressed strike back
last update: July 17th, 2006
Intropages W3C validated!
last update: July 17th, 2006
Intropages W3C validated!
It all starts when Janove Ottesen's grandma gives him a guitar as a present. At that time he is just a teenager and very much into football. But now there is this guitar. So, not really having any other choices for leisure-time activities in the small Norwegian town Bryne, Janove and his friend Geir Zahl start making music in the home cellar. From this cooperation strange lyrics and songs emerge which are sometimes recorded with a simple tape-recorder. Thus the band Blod, Snått og Juling ("Blood, Snot and Beating") comes into existence. A first dilettante studio tape is done in 1994. The nine songs on "Ein Glad Tunnel" ("A happy Tunnel") are recorded within two days, and all 50 copies get sold. Things become more serious with the second album "Sympatiske Fisk" ("Nice Fish"): This time the songs are recorded at a better equipped studio, and there are guest musicians on some of the songs (that is the first time Terje Vinterstø appears). Again all tapes - which amount to 100 copies - get sold.
In 1995 Janove and Geir move to Bergen to study but also go on making music. The following year many new songs are made but both Geir and Janove are not really content with the recordings. The 'career' is interrupted, when Janove goes to the army in 1996. He regrets his decision very soon and returns after a single year. Back in Bergen, he starts an education as a music teacher. He and Geir pick up their career from where they paused. They are inclined to found a proper band and, believing that "blood, snot and beating" does not sound serious enough, the need for a new band name arises. Finally, they come up with the name gnom. The CD "Mys" is recorded with the musicians Helge Risa, Rune Solheim und Rolf Prestø in 1998. It does not sell very well. Still, there is a song on the CD called "Hemmelig Beskjed" ("Secret Message"), which is kind of ompa-style.
The song is not only the band's favourite song, it also achieves the strongest audience response. Thus the band continues with the idea of including more folk elements into their music. The song "Bastard" is the first song containing a barrel solo and is composed on the pump organ by Janove. The response to that new composition is overwhelming. The band sees the song "Bastard" as the musical turning point in the history of the band. From then on, Janove is composing songs mostly on the piano or the organ. In 1999 the bass-player Rolf is replaced by Jon Sjøen who has just completed his musical education in Amsterdam. Geir plays the electric guitar for the first time and und Jon's only comment is that he has never heard worse a guitarist. Well, Mister Zahl has obviously taken this to his heart.
A line from the song "Bastard" goes (translation): "A certain Mister Kaizer cared for me / he is the proud owner of the world's heaviest siamese cats". So, the new name of the band is inspired by this obscure Mister Kaizer: In the course of the new musical changes involving oil drums, the band again feels that a new name is needed. In the end the name Kaizers Orchestra is accepted by everybody. The new "yellow EP" that is recorded on Shimmer Recordings contains four songs: The old gnom song "Bastard" the three new songs "Bøn Fra Helvete" ("Prayer from Hell"), "Katastrofen" ("The Catastrophe") and "Dekk Bord" ("Lay the Table").
The first Kaizers concert in Rick's Bar in Bergen is a total disappointment, since Geir falls ill and feels absolutely miserable. But still, within the scope of the festival By:Larm in Bergen the songs "Bøn Fra Helvete" und "Dekk Bord" are aired on the radio stations. This is how Remo Rehder owning a small record company called Farmen becomes aware of Kaizers Orchestra. Remo is impressed by the new and fresh influences the band is sporting and the way the Norwegian lyrics work.
In sommer of 2000 the band plays on the Norwegian Wood Festival, and in spite of Geir (yes, it is him again) getting his fingers caught between the crowbar and an oil barrel during the first song, the concert is a big success. Until that point, there has been a 2 to 3 formation on stage. Since Janove wants to concentrate more on the vocals and the stage show and since an additional barrelist is needed, a new guitarrist is looked for. That is how Terje Vinterstø, who has already contributed to a BS&J album, joins the band as the sixth musician.
After numerous concerts in Norway a CD is recorded in 2001. In cooperation with Jørgen Træen the band records 16 song within six days in the Duper Studios. This is only possible thanks to the professional team in the studio. Twelve of the recorded songs find their way onto the album "Ompa Til Du Dør" ("Ompa til you die"). It had a circulation of 3000 copies, which, thanks to euphoric reviews in the press, are sold out within eight days. In a flash the name Kaizers Orchestra is known to the public. With their offbeat rock music, mixed with East European sounds and Tom Waitish arangements they seem to have struck the right chord with the Norwegian audience. The lyrics are about arcane figures like the mysterious Mr. Kaizer, a mafia boss and his 'family', war veterans and bold sailors, the language always being Norwegian. The topics are also very much inspired by alternative films such as Emil Kuturica's "Underground", a film dealing with the history of ex-Yugoslavia from the Nazi occupation in 1941 and the forming of resistance groups until the civil war in 1992.
After the unexpected response in the public Kaizers go on tour in autumn 2001. The first gigs are booked by Janove himself and the band drives through Norway to show themselves on stage, squeezed into an old Ford Transit with the name "Constanze". The tours are a complete success. In Norway "Ompa Til Du Dør" sells more than 100.000 copies which makes it the most sold album in Norwegian language ever! Kaizers get their first Spellemann-award (the 'Norwegian grammy') for the best rock album 2001.
Only in the year 2002 the band plays 122 concerts in Norway and also in Denmark where Kaizer-music seems to go down very well. Kaizers make their first international breakthrough by playing on the Roskilde festival on 28th June 2002 in front of 14.000 people from all over Europe. This year they also get the Norwegian Alarm award for the best live-act and the best rock album. On 10th January 2003 Kaizers introduce themselves to an audience consisting of journalists and agents of the music industry on the Eurosonic-Festival in Groningen/NL. The show is a full success and Kaizers sign a deal with the German label PIAS records.
On 1st September 2003 Kaizers' second studio album "Evig Pint" ("Eternally in Pain") is launched, also outside Norway. Inspite of the much darker atmosphere and the gloomier sound the album can easily resume the success of "Ompa Til Du Dør". The first album is now published in some European countries too, with this special edition containing the two additinal songs "Mann Mot Mann" ("Man against Man") and "Død Manns Tango" ("Dead Man's Tango"). The video for the title-track "Evig Pint" gets the Spellemann-award for the best video. Kaizers start touring through Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria and collect good reviews both on the concerts and the albums. Jon has to quit the band due to personal reasons and is replaced by Øyvind Storesund on the double bass.
On 11th April 2004 the EP "Gypsy Finale" is published in a limited edition, containing live versions of the so called Gypsy Finale, consisting of the songs "Sigøynerblod" ("Gypsy Blood"), "Bak Et Halleluja" ("Behind a Halleluja") and "Resistansen" ("The Resistance"). Slowly but surely the word gets around that Kaizers Orchestra are a spectacular live band worth seeing, and shows on the biggest German music festival Rock am Ring in 2003 and 2004 help the band a lot getting in touch with a bigger audience. Thus Universal Germany takes notice of the exceptional musicians. This leads to Kaizers Orchestra signing a deal with Universal in early spring 2005, which to them means a change from one of the smallest record companies to the world's biggest. This is the ultimate breakthrough for a band with Norwegian lyrics! The year 2005 also seems to be the year where Kaizers play exceptional venues. They play on a rock called Prekestolen, 604 metres above the sea level in the west Norwegian fjord landscapes, and on the roof of the Universal building in Berlin. For the first time Kaizers Orchestra also play in Paris and Barcelona.
After the launch of the EP "Maestro" the third studio album with the same title comes out in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and France on 15th August 2005. In Norway "Maestro" immediately goes up to position 1 in the Norwegian charts, in Denmark it enters the charts on position 3. The Maestro-tour starts and takes the band through Europe and packed clubs and halls. On 6th October Kaizers play in Copenhagen in the sold-out hall Vega in front of a huge audience. The recordings of this concert are released on a dvd ("Viva La Vega") and a live-album ("Live At Vega"). In summer 2006 Kaizers do loads of festival jobs, among them Roskilde for the third time, where they open the orange stage before 60.000 people, followed by Morrissey and Bob Dylan. Also for the third time Kaizers play Rock am Ring and Rock im Park. In autumn 2006 there will be the Grand Finale Tour which will take Kaizers across Europe again.
The secret of Kaizers Orchestra are no doubt the original and unique live shows. What's more, the exceptional and varied way they mix different musical genres makes them into a distinctive band with an own sound. The sworn fan community consists of fans of various nationalities, even an American tribute-band has already been formed! The future will show if Kaizers are going to rule over one or even more continents. We wish them good luck!
Summarised and updated by Shirin with the help of the text "prosessen" on www.kaizers.no