John Erik Kaada (born 28 July 1975), also known by the mononym Kaada, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, producer, film score composer and multi-instrumentalist. Kaada's career spans a string of solo albums, motion picture soundtracks, high-profile collaborations with key players such as

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...

, as well as numerous live appearances at home and abroad.

Discography

Kaada Recordings is a Norwegian label dedicated to releasing or licensing out the music of composer John Erik Kaada.

Solo albums

* ''

Thank You for Giving Me Your Valuable Time ''Thank You for Giving Me Your Valuable Time'' is the debut album by Norwegian pop/experimental/Avant-garde Kaada. Initially released by EMI in 2001, it would be re-released in 2003 by Ipecac Recordings, with the track "Volkswagen" being remove ...

'' (2001 – re-released in 2003) * '' MECD'' (2004) * ''

Music for Moviebikers ''Music for Moviebikers'' is the third album by Norwegian pop/experimental singer-songwriter Kaada. It was released in 2006 by Ipecac Recordings. Track listing Personnel Conducted by : Baldakhin *Joe Young : vocals, keyboards, tannerin *Cain ...

'' (2006) * ''

Junkyard Nostalgias ''Junkyard Nostalgias'' is the fourth album by Norwegian pop/experimental singer-songwriter Kaada. It was the second album by Kaada not to be released by Ipecac Recordings (the first being '' MECD'') — instead, it was released by his own label, ...

'' (2009) * ''

Kaada and the Late Bloomers in Concert John Erik Kaada (born 28 July 1975), also known by the mononym Kaada, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, producer, film score composer and multi-instrumentalist. Kaada's career spans a string of solo albums, motion picture soundtracks, high-prof ...

'' (2012) * ''

Closing Statements ''Kaada Closing Statements'' is a solo album by Norwegian pop/experimental Kaada John Erik Kaada (born 28 July 1975), also known by the mononym Kaada, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, producer, film score composer and multi-instrumentalist. ...

'' (2018) Kaada´s debut in a recorded format came with his 2001 solo album ''

''. A musical blend of woo-wop, show tunes and jungle rhythms into a coherent mix of live instrumentation and electronic elements, fusing elements of five decades of popular music. ''

'' firmly established Kaada as a key voice on Norway´s blossoming music scene. The album was named as one of the ten most important releases of the year by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. 2006 saw the release of ''

'' (

Ipecac Recordings Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton (Faith No M ...

), a collection of lush arrangements set as soundtracks for imaginary films. The album features an evocative quality as it sets out to bring the two musical worlds of Kaada together; the one of the recording artist with the cinematic film music one. The albums´s 22-strong ensemble consists of traditional instrumentation with strings, vocals and electric guitars as well as homemade instruments and some exotic folk music performers hailing from various corners of Europe. The strings were recorded in the Vigeland mausoleum in Oslo. 2009's outing ''

'' with its myriad sounds and instruments. The album was conceived as a self-proclaimed homage to the thousands of Polish workers that have come to Norway to earn a better living and to fuel the country´s economy with cheap labour. ''

'' featured Kaada playing all of the instruments on the album, solidifying his personal universe of sound. Kaada have said about the album that he made it to justify buying hundreds of instruments on eBay

Kaada/Patton albums

* '' Romances'' (2004) * '' Bacteria Cult'' (2016) A milestone in Kaada´s career came in 2004 with the release of the album '' Romances'' – a joint effort with

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

and

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

vocalist

An eerily addicting work with inspirations from classical music, '' Romances'' features the two composers working in tandem to create a slow-moving large piece based in late romanticism which again is made up of nine smaller pieces, resembling a symphony's compositional structure. In many ways, 'Romances' pays homage to Kaada's musical upbringing that included classical training from age six to 20 and a repertoire spanning form

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

. The titles are lifted from old pieces from the

Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. 2007 saw the release of Kaada/Patton's '' Kaada/Patton Live'' DVD (

) – a live recording from the 2005

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

featuring a seven-piece ensemble playing mostly the repertoire of '' Romances'' . The outing features the full festival set as well as behind the scenes from the key event. Kaada and

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a General (United States), general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, Mediterranean Theater ...

have maintained their musical bond over the last decade. Spring 2016 sees the release of their new joint effort ´ Bacteria Cult´.

Cloroform albums

* ''

Deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences w ...

'' ( Kaada Records, 1998) * ''

All-Scars Cloroform is a Norwegian alternative rock band that formed in 1998 in Stavanger. They started out as an acoustic jazz trio, but soon went on to sound more like a rock band. In the later years they have experimented with noise and avant-garde r ...

'' ( Kaada Records, 1998) * '' Do the Crawl'' ( Kaada Records, 2000) * ''

Scrawl Scrawl was an American indie rock trio based in Columbus, Ohio, and active from the mid-1980s. History The band formed in 1985, originally under the name Skull. The founding members were Marcy Mays (lead vocals, guitar, songwriting), Sue Harsh ...

'' ( Kaada Records, 2001) * '' Hey You Let's Kiss'' ( Kaada Records, 2003) * ''

Cracked Wide Open Cloroform is a Norway, Norwegian alternative rock band that formed in 1998 in Stavanger. They started out as an acoustic jazz trio, but soon went on to sound more like a rock band. In the later years they have experimented with Noise (music), n ...

'' ( Kaada Records, 2005) * '' Clean'' ( Kaada Records, 2007) * '' Grrr'' ( Kaada Records, 2016) Another key arena for Kaada´s compositional as well as improvisational output has been the exploratory trio Cloroform. Highly active from 1998 to 2006, the trio released six critically acclaimed albums and toured extensively. Double bass, drums, keys and distorted vocals form the frame for Cloroform's highly-charged live sets and studio recordings. The trio made the transition from an underground act on the domestic scene to a live favourite on European stages, earning them a loyal following all over Europe.

DVD releases

*2007 – '' Kaada/Patton Live'' – Live performance DVD Kaada/Patton ''Live'' is a DVD of the collaboration between

and John Kaada that was released on 20 November 2007. The DVD features a live performance of the music from the album '' Romances'' from Roskilde Festival 2005. The entire concert is in black & white. *2008 – ''

O' Horten ''O' Horten'' is a 2007 Norwegian language film directed by Bent Hamer. The film's title character Odd Horten is a habit-bound train driver, who is about to retire. On the day of his retirement he ends up in an unexpected situation, and is forced t ...

DVD'' – interview together with director

Bent Hamer Bent Hamer (born 18 December 1956) is a film director, writer and producer, born in Sandefjord, Norway in 1956. Biography Hamer studied film theory and literature at the University of Stockholm and the Stockholm Film School. In addition to his fe ...

*2012 –

'' – live DVD

Film music

A core component of Kaada´s career has been composing film scores, beginning with 2000s low-budget domestic success ''

Mongoland ''Mongoland'' is a Norwegian film, from 2001, by Arild Østin Ommundsen. Having lived in England for six months Pia returns home for Christmas. She is looking for Kristoffer, her boyfriend, who was supposed to go with her abroad. It turns out ...

'' which generated considerable demand for his compositional skills. 2002 saw Kaada being bestowed with "the Golden Clapboard Prize" at the Amanda Award – the Norwegian equivalent to

The Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

at the time being the youngest film worker to receive the prestigious award. In the ensuing decade, Kaada went on to compose scores for some of the most successful domestic films as well as several international productions, earning him numerous awards for his distinct compositional style. One of Kaada´s most notable international film score successes came in 2014 with the French blockbuster ''

La liste de mes envies ''La Liste de mes envies'' (''The List of My Desires'') is the second novel by Grégoire Delacourt, published in 2012. By August 2012, close to 440,000 copies had been sold, with 27 countries having translation rights. A review in ''L'Express'' ...

''. The motion picture, which featured a cast of major French actors, was box office hit in France and Belgium and resulted in a successful soundtrack released through

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

. Composing for films was something that I took up rather coincidentally, relates Kaada. – "I had not intended to pursue that direction and had no formal training, but at some point, writing film scores was what I did. In the beginning it was quite stressful and made me nervous, but now I'm enjoying the work much more, thinking of it as a compositional playground. Orchestration and sonorous experimentation are the fields that I really enjoy delving into these days. Working on film scores enables me to create unconventional instrument ensembles. I'm also doing music for documentaries and television scores in between film scores. TV gigs is a great composers' workshop, because you have the opportunity to experiment with small ensembles and develop composing and arranging skills." Kaada´s TV-music works has been heard on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and in relation to shows such as ''

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'', ''

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

'', ''The Super Bowl'', ''

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

'', ''

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' and '' NBA Tonight''.