{"title":"Kalbells","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"kalbells-ten-flowers","title":"Kalbells - Ten Flowers","description":"\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 42px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=50967868\/size=small\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/kalbells.bandcamp.com\/album\/ten-flowers\"\u003e'Ten Flowers' by Kalbells\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eNNA is overjoyed to unveil ‘Ten Flowers,’ the debut album from Kalmia Traver’s solo venture Kalbells. Nearly a decade of tireless and dedicated work on writing, vocal, and saxophone duty with her euphoric art-pop band Rubblebucket has given Traver a wealth of musical strength and experience, inspiring fans across the world to be proud of who they are and let their individualism shine through. In recent years after coming face-to-face with some strenuous life hurdles, including an experience surviving cancer, Traver decided to engage in a period of creative personal retreat in order to focus on writing new music. Instantly finding the process to be deeply cathartic and healing, she emerged with not only an important sense of self-discovery, but an abundance of new songs as well - and the genesis of ‘Ten Flowers.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBy opening up the floodgates for inspiration and personal expression, Kalmia found a voice for her music that largely reflects her unique personality - a colorful world filled with imagination, wonder, honesty, light, and no shortage of gorgeous melody and harmony. After assembling a self-recorded demo of songs using voice, electronics, pocket synthesizer, and other musical odds and ends, Traver teamed up with singer, songwriter, producer and fellow Vermonter (and NNA Tapes artist) Ryan Power to enter the studio and make ‘Ten Flowers’ a beautiful reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA largely electronic record, ‘Ten Flowers’ creates an environment that is lush and vivid with warm, purring synthesizers, arpeggiated embellishments, and deep palpable bass tones. However the organic touch of humanity is still very present, integrating plenty of environmental recordings, percussion, woodwinds, tapping, clapping, and whistling that bestows the songs with a unique playfulness. These predominantly metronomic compositions are conducive to finding one’s personal groove, encouraging dancing throughout a variety of tempos and instilling the album with invigorating momentum, aided by the contributions of drummer Ian Chang (Son Lux, Landlady) on several occasions. The backbone of these songs is of course Kalmia’s distinctive voice, one that is delicate, vulnerable, and tender, yet at the same time self-assured, dynamic, and powerful in spirit. The intricate layering of vocals unleashes cascades of glorious harmony that coexist comfortably with the rich instrumental melodies that envelop each song. Her lyrics are able to communicate the diverse emotional currents of the human experience through a genuine poetic sentiment. Circling around themes of self discovery, empowerment, and the quest for unity inside \u0026amp; out, the lyrics acknowledge and face hardships by finding the light and beauty inside of them, and they rejoice in the freedom that comes with acceptance of mystery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e‘Ten Flowers’ stands out not only in the NNA discography, but amongst the current droves of contemporary music as well. Traver’s natural talent, in conjunction with her seasoned experience, exude musical confidence and demonstrate a willingness to embrace a multitude of influences. The result is an individualized style that refuses to be compartmentalized, and transcends modern day genre corrals. The spirited collaboration between Traver's imagination and Power’s detailed production talents has birthed an album that invites one not just to listen to it, but to spend time inside of it, be enveloped by it, and find something new with each repeated visit. You just may end up learning something about yourself. Kalbells’ debut is a testament to the power of music to heal, and to achieve personal liberation. It is also an ode to the courage to explore oneself, to plant sweet, healing seeds that might blossom into fully unique work, a pure expression of self that is open, accepting, and bound by love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eVinyl LP comes packaged with digital download coupon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e\"I have not been this obsessed with a song in a long time.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e–Bob Boilen, Tiny Desk regarding the single “Why?!steria”\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e\"If Rubblebucket were the rave, Kalbells are the chill out room.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e–If It’s Too Loud\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“a brooding delight, a colourful pop composition that drifts in and out of focus, plummeting in to the dark in moment before shifting in to far lighter climes as Traver’s sumptuous vocal takes centre-stage.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e–Tom Johnson, Gold Flake Paint\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“intimate, quaint, and stunning… Traver’s vocals are soft and light, like a feather floating in the wind.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e–The Revue\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“there’s an uplifting spirit to \u003ctraver\u003e new work… is it the bells, the synths, the whistles? Who cares, it’s simply great.”\u003c\/traver\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e–Austin Town Hall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"NNA Tapes","offers":[{"title":"12\" LP (With Digital Download)","offer_id":45567665668319,"sku":"LP-NNA-101","price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD (With Digital Download)","offer_id":45567665701087,"sku":"CD-NNA-101","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital Download (320 MP3)","offer_id":45567665733855,"sku":null,"price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (WAV)","offer_id":45567665766623,"sku":null,"price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/9256\/8543\/files\/NNA101.jpg?v=1714759764"},{"product_id":"kalbells","title":"Kalbells - Mothertime","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn April 2015, \u003cstrong\u003eKalmia Traver\u003c\/strong\u003e (Kalbells, Rubblebucket) had just come out of an intensive 2-month writing retreat with 27 songlets in hand, 10 of which would become Kalbells’ debut album Ten Flowers. Jeremy Malvin (\u003cstrong\u003eChrome Sparks\u003c\/strong\u003e) loved what she shared with him then, and the two began regular co-production sessions in his studio in Brooklyn, where classical percussion ensemble \u003cstrong\u003eSo Percussion\u003c\/strong\u003e also worked. Drawing inspiration from the abundance of acoustic sound-makers all around, Jeremy performed marimbas, cactus shakers, and massive bass drums, while Kal layered flute arpeggios, penny whistles, and saxophones through tape echo to make smooth harmonic waves of rainbow velvet layer cake. They pretended to be an orchestra.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLyrically, the \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eMothertime\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e EP sees Kal processing themes she has been continually chewing on in the 6-year wake of surviving ovarian cancer and transforming a codependent relationship wither her long-time music partner \u003cstrong\u003eAlex Toth\u003c\/strong\u003e (Tōth, Rubblebucket): resilience, yielding, beckoning creativity, self-exploration, and joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Cool and Bendable”\u003c\/strong\u003e was inspired by a dream in which she held her yet-unborn child, but as Kal finished writing the song in the studio with Jeremy, she realized it was actually about holding\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e herself, a body, a life. “Supple, strong, funny: a person, a being,” she says. “I also think I was celebrating in awe the general aliveness of our world, Earth.” \u003cstrong\u003e“Mothertime,”\u003c\/strong\u003e is about her mother and their relationship, which she describes as her most cherished learning-grounds. “It’s about the bewildering beauty and uncanniness of the fact that we can keep growing \u0026amp; changing so much, cueing off each other across our two mobius-entwined lifetimes.” The EP’s final two tracks, \u003cstrong\u003e“Precipice”\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003e“Tremble,”\u003c\/strong\u003e are both about the struggle of being in a codependent relationship: the sadness of neglect, the zing of excitement during a bitter fight, the addictive explosion of energy that feels momentarily gratifying but isn’t ultimately what one is searching for, truly, and the cyclical realization (and perhaps, denial) of harming oneself or others. “It’s something I feel proud to have moved and grown through,” she says, “and I hope writing about it can be a form of revealing the illusion, and healing.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"NNA Tapes","offers":[{"title":"Cassette (With Digital Download)","offer_id":45567671075039,"sku":"CS-NNA-126","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (WAV)","offer_id":45567670943967,"sku":null,"price":4.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (320 MP3)","offer_id":45567671009503,"sku":null,"price":4.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/9256\/8543\/files\/201374726428.jpg?v=1720877529"},{"product_id":"maxheart","title":"Kalbells - Max Heart","description":"\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 42px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2236198828\/size=small\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/kalbells.bandcamp.com\/album\/max-heart\"\u003eMax Heart by Kalbells\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cp\u003e♥️ \u003cem\u003eThe first 50 LP pre-orders will include a Kalbells coloring book, featuring original drawings by the band! \u003c\/em\u003e♥️\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eKalbells’s sophomore album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMax Heart\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e opens with the process of regeneration. “I’m rotting and I’m never coming back the way you knew me then,” Kalmia Traver sings with a combination of buoyancy and resilience on the opener “Red Marker.” From the beginning, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMax Heart\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e is an illustration of death and rebirth; letting go of what doesn’t serve us in order to leave space for the blessings that do. With \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMax Heart\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e as their next chapter, central to Kalbells work is the process of creativity giving space for vulnerability and radicalism–continually practicing decolonization work and fighting against white supremacist, heternormative, and patriarchal models. Take their pre-show vocal improv practice of tintinnabulation (introduced by sometimes-drummer and honorary member Dandy McDowell) which Traver explains is “more about listening than it is about vocalizing; it's more about creating that ecosystem together of trust and respect and interplay and play and joy. I think that that practice is definitely at the center of our work together.” Angelica Bess, Zoë Brecher, Sarah Pedinotti and Traver used this collection of ten tracks to embody prosperity and reciprocity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eKalbells began as a side project for Traver, who also contributes to the joyous, rocking chaos of Rubblebucket. Three years after the debut album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eTen Flowers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e, a more ambient invocation of untapped self-creativity, the sophomore LP was designed to maximize the synergy that Bess, Brecher, Pedinotti, and Traver manifest. Over the course of 2019, Traver planned several week-long intervals of writing a song a day, and, surprising herself, she was writing a lot of love songs. That year she experienced acute heartbreak, but her heart organ “felt bigger than it had ever been.” Similar to energy conservation, it seems that the lost love that influenced Traver’s writing was transferred elsewhere. Rather she invested in the formidable love with her touring band turned bandmates, and they birthed songs that capture the vibrancy of their collective.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA prime example of Kalbells furthering their sum energies is the effervescent funk of “Purplepink.” Co-written between Bess, Pedinotti, and Traver, a hyper synth bass darts around elongated keyboard sighs. Although the three recorded their vocals in their bedrooms between 2019 and 2020, Bess remembers the day when the lyrics and rhythm came in sync. “I came over to Kal’s house with my bass, she had a cluster of lyrics scattered. I sort of mushed them together and came up with a melodic hook for the verse. The chorus we wrote was based off a run Kal took that day. I also remember coming up with a part of the chorus bass line and Kal took the bass from me and finished it. We kinda just came in there and boom a song was made.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the beginning of 2020, the band escaped to Outlier Inn for two weeks in upstate New York to record songs with the studio assistance of the prolific Luke Temple. Kalbells crafted and co-produced ten bright, layered tracks of psychedelic synth-pop. It was also Traver’s first time mixing an album. The result is a prismatic display of experimental pop. From the soft flute touches on opener “Red Marker” to the fluttering saxophone on “Flute Windows Open In The Rain,” each song holds a delicate surprise. Brooklyn-based rapper and multimedia artist Miss Eaves hops on “Pickles” for witty wordplay. On the elastic closer “Max Heart,” sprinkles of piano and bouncing percussion lock into each other. Brecher reveals that the band was grooving so hard that she felt like she wasn’t even drumming. “I was just watching us move along with the beat. It was kind of trance-like. Of all the songs on the album, this, to me, was the most fun to record.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTraver’s visual songwriting is part of what gives Max Heart its whimsy.  On “Bubbles,” Traver envisions that one’s fears  “take flight on a destination vacation” where later they’re fed peaches beside a fire.  Later, we’re invited into her subconscious on “Diagram Of Me Sleeping.” Her voice is low and sleepy with sand as she sings, “I woke up with a fishtank in my hips\/tropical clouds of neon floating little dreamy fish.” Traver’s image-focused lyricism is a way of tapping into her emotions. “I feel like the visual for me is really generative,” she says.  “That's just a way to get me talking about my feelings more, and I think it can be hard to talk about your feelings. The little visual things are little entry points.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMax Heart\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e is a portrait of these badass women harnessing their improvisational magic. They dispel any sexist assumption about jamming. “When we play grooves together it’s like some spiritual experience. It's really empowering,” Traver says. “I think, there's an unspoken thing that women don't groove. That men groove and women are the singers and that our groove would be not viable or not as cool,” Traver explains. “Once we're all together it's like frickin sparks fly.” Common groove language is a rare medicine to happen across, which is why, as a group, playing with each other has been not only exciting, but restorative. “Kalbells is a living, breathing, healing, grooving movement,” Pedinotti beams. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMax Heart\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e harnesses this magnetic power for a collection of songs that are packed with inspired tension and daring surreality. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"NNA Tapes","offers":[{"title":"Limited Edition \"Salty Pickle\" Green 12\" LP (With Digital Download)","offer_id":45567675728095,"sku":"MLP-NNA-135","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"12\" LP (With Digital Download)","offer_id":45567675760863,"sku":"LP-NNA-135","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD (With Digital Download)","offer_id":45567675793631,"sku":"CD-NNA-135","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (WAV)","offer_id":45567675826399,"sku":"","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (320 MP3)","offer_id":45567675859167,"sku":null,"price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/9256\/8543\/files\/Kalbells_Max_Heart.jpg?v=1720877373"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.northern-spy.com\/collections\/kabells.oembed","provider":"Northern Spy Label Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}