Kalo
Sexy guitar. Infectious rhythms. Smoky vocals. KALO is groovesome rhythm and blues meets fiery rock ‘n’ roll. Israeli guitarist, singer and songwriter Bat-Or Kalo fronts her eponymous band and also travels and tours the U.S. and Israel solo (wearing only her last name and her vintage Gibson electric guitar). Fiery, unbridled and electrifying, KALO’s guitar chops and contralto voice are a force like none other.
For fans who have never heard your music, can you pick three words to describe it?! Gritty. Guitar-driven. Rock n roll. More specifically / sexy guitars. Infectious rhythms. Smoky vocals. KALO is groovesome rhythm and blues meets fiery rock and roll.
What is your favorite part about being an artist? Is it songwriting, performing, recording, something else?) Tell us why. My favorite part of being a musician is the freedom to work hard, but have the mornings to myself. Seriously. I get so much done in the morning with a cup of coffee and my morning pages. But being an artist is also a lot of hard work that doesn't always feel like it will pay off. But for the love of all of it - for the love of creating something out of nothing - that's what keeps me going.
Can you tell us what being in the recording studio is like for you? I love being in the studio. It's my canvas. Every microphone and every pre-amp is like a brush stroke. Every channel and every sound a different color. I dream of one day having a studio atop a mountain where I can create all day.
Okay, this a fun question. When you are not doing music, what else do you enjoy doing? Being an artist is hard work, despite what some might think. You don't have as much free time as you'd like. But in my free time I love being in nature. I love riding my motorcycle. Working outdoors. Getting away from screens and getting dirty.
Who do you admire most in the music scene today and why? Although I'm from Israel and country music wasn't as famous there as it is here, since I've been in the U.S., I've learned the joy of country music. And I admire the heck out of Keith Urban. He's a hell of a guitar player and his songs are honest. I just enjoy him a lot right now. But I also respect and admire some of the old greats who have passed – Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, Prince, Johnny Cash. I admire artists who build on what was before them but chart their own path.
Can you tell us what song you've written that is the most emotional and describe the meaning behind it? "Calling All Dreamers." I wrote it in a couple of hours after I had just put my album, "Wild Change,"released in 2017, to bed. We literally had finished all the songs and all the mixing. But the album didn't quite feel complete. And then this song, this song that is about not forgetting the magic, not overlooking the little things in life, and not forgetting to dream - it just manifested itself and ended up being the closing track on the album. I love it because it reminds me to always dream and always believe in the unseen. There is something bigger than us all.
Are you working on any new material right now or what's in the works for the upcoming year? This past year has been so different and so challenging in. My plan is to always move forward. To get better, to learn. I want to spend time in the studio honing my skills at engineering and learning more about this sound that just has to come out of me. So, I'll keep writing. I'll keep creating. And I'll always keep dreaming.
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For more information on Kalo, visit her website.