Spring has finally arrived and with it, we welcome Kalaman, a friend and a talented artist. His inspirations are driven by his numerous travels around the world that have shown him the beauty of human connection and nature. Music is the path to a better world is to create communities and bonds with our intimate friends. To dance around fires together. To keep each others’ heads up and keep each other hopeful.

He is here to have a chat and to present us his new EP on Saisons, Kumaya.

Hi Kalaman, we are very happy and honored to share your beautifully crafted EP with our listeners. To start things up, how are you my friend? :)

I am doing great! Spring has sprung and the flowers are blooming on the tree right outside my apartment window here in New York. I’m quite sensitive to the weather changes so I feel like spring myself. The Kumaya EP was released last Friday and the incredible feedback has me in the clouds :)

Can you tell us a little more about where you are from and where you are at the moment?

I was born in Colombia and I grew up in a suburb near Miami. My father is Colombian and my mother is Venezuelan but their parents are from Germany and Hungary, so my roots reach quite far. Right now I am living in New York.

Describe to us your musical journey? How did music influence you to make you who you are today?

I always loved music. I remember as a kid I would always make tunes in my head and I would mess around on this little piano that my grandma gave me that would light up the keys so you knew what notes to play. My parents are the most supportive and loving people in my life, but they never put me in music lessons. When I was around 18 I started to feel resentful about it. I blamed them for not making me learn an instrument as a child. Then one day I signed up for a music production course at my university and I started teaching music to myself. Just my ears and my curiosity. I have never stopped producing after that. Music showed me that I am the author of my own life and that I should not blame others for things I can change.

Do you have other passions outside of music?

Yes! I always had a passion for bringing people together. These days I am working with my close friends to build a Burning Man camp and a community effort around it. Nothing makes me happier than sharing intimate experiences with my closest friends and family. I also have a passion for architecture and architecture photography. Often I will go on long walks around New York with my camera, capturing the incredible details and textures and designs of buildings.

What is your favorite piece/decor/object in your studio and why?

Definitely my bookshelf. Apart from containing all the books that have influenced me, it sparks great discussions. People always browse through the books and we end up having incredible conversations about the stories and the lessons in them.

Can you describe to us the story of this EP? What do “Kumaya” and “Bengali” stand for?

Kumaya means deep friendship. I became obsessed with this idea that we have the freedom to choose our family through the friends we make. I really believe the path to a better world is to create bonds with our intimate friends, to encourage each other, and to keep each other hopeful. Our friends have immense power to make us better. This is what Kumaya stands for.

Bengali was inspired by a beautiful moment I experienced. I was sitting in meditation on a beach when suddenly I could hear a million sounds all around me – crowds, bells, cars, people – it sounded like all the sounds in the world. Then the sounds transformed into a loud OM and an image appeared in my mind of the eye of a Bengal tiger. I was fully present. I don’t know what it all means, but it was the only time I ever reached this meditative state. The track Bengali was inspired by this powerful moment.

I remember that Kumaya was finished at a very special time, tell us about that moment.

I started the track at the height of the quarantine in 2020. It was just a thirty second sketch and I abandoned the project because I didn’t love it. Then a year later Mikael (Kora) had a gig in New York and he was staying at my place for the weekend. I showed him the sketch and he said “if you can finish the whole track by tomorrow I will play it in my set.” Against all logic, I finished the track! I love this story because it’s a true example of how we can be so critical of our own art, while other people truly appreciate it. This track would not exist if Mikael didn’t help me see its potential. His support and vision for me is what Kumaya means.

Who or what are your influences at the moment?

Recently I’ve been participating in a lot of sound meditation ceremonies with all sorts of gongs, bowls, bells and other instruments. These have been influential in making me explore the concept of raw sound. From a production perspective, Roy Rosenfeld and Sebastian Leger are huge influences right now. I’ve also been into Da Vinci and I am super inspired by his way of being a master of so many disciplines.

Favorite places to get inspired in New York?

Washington Square Park with all its music and art, Soho with its beautiful architecture, and the music scene with so many incredible musicians and performers.

What’s planned for the next months for you?

I am staying in New York for the most part. I have a gig at Coda Toronto in a few weeks, which I am really excited about. And the next big thing is Burning Man in August with the new camp we are creating.

Anything that you would like to share with us today before we conclude this conversation?

The endless love from my mom and dad, my brothers, and my friends is the reason for this whole Kalaman thing. I feel appropriate to always keep that in mind cause I would be nothing without them.

And also, the release of Kumaya has been a lovely welcome into the Saisons family. Thank you guys :)

A conversation with Kalaman