Norway-based Kaizers Orchestra’s loooong awaited U.S. return to start in Cambridge

Kaizers Orchestra got off to a blazing start in 2001 with debut album Ompa til du dør, which won a Norwegian Grammy and gained the band a loyal following that sustained tours across Europe for more than 10 years. But the band went on hiatus after performing a one-and-done U.S. concert at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013 that The New York Times immortalized in an article headlined “Band Flies in From Norway to Say Hello and Goodbye.”

Now the six-member group, complete with its oil barrels for percussion and fantastical lyrics sung in Norwegian, is making its return to the United States, and the five-city tour starts in Cambridge at The Sinclair on Oct. 2.

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Lead singer Janove Ottesen and I met via Zoom ahead of the tour, and he got off on the right foot by saying he appreciates speaking with niche publishers and podcasters that have popped up in recent years. These formats, he said, allow artists more time to share their thoughts than they would typically get with mainstream media outlets (not that Kaizers would turn down an appearance on a late night TV show…). “We get to know each other,” he said.

janove ottesen, Kaizers Orchestra — Zooming with Janove Ottesen of Kaizers Orchestra

The band’s extended break wasn’t precipitated by any sort of falling out, Ottesen said (“If you asked the six of us, you’d probably get six different answers…”). Rather, the members lacked a vision for their music’s growth at the time, and as a group of thirty-somethings, most had a desire to spend more time with their young families. “We wanted to live normal lives,” Ottesen said, adding that he also wanted to do some solo work and produce music for others.

Wanting to remain in touch after becoming friends years before in the city of Bergen, Kaizers’ members agreed to get together on the first Saturday each January from different parts of Norway to catch up on kids, marriages, and whatever else. There was no talk of getting the band back together in the early years, but that changed three years ago, when Ottesen raised the possibility, feeling a passion to “play the old songs with my friends.” He said it took three years to prepare for a return to touring last year in Europe. “It’s a life changing decision,” he said.

There’s no specific talk at this point about a new album, though the band released a couple of new songs last year. The focus on this tour will be on the best songs in the band’s catalog.

“But of course… when we say ‘best,’ it’s not like we have any hits. Quite to the contrary, we don’t have any. We’re pretty famous in Europe for being in no hit wonder,'” Ottesen quips.

The singer said it won’t matter for the U.S. audience that most don’t know Norwegian and won’t actually understand the lyrics. But he explains that Kaizers’ songs are largely based on fictional stories and have a theatrical or movie-like feel to them, consisting of scenes that aren’t necessarily linear. “It’s quite opposite to what are most of the bands and artists around us at the time were doing, and maybe still do, because normally it feels like you have to really be so personal that it almost hurt… we never did any of that,” he said.

The band’s songs naturally lend themselves to videos (e.g., “Begravelsespolka,” translated as “funeral polka”).

Though Ottesen says what makes this “proper rock ‘n roll band” unique is its live performances, which combine styles like rock, cabaret and punk in a “show, it’s not a concert, it’s a show.” Fans will see guitars, double-bass, accordions, and yes, oil barrels, on stage. “It’s pure entertainment, there are a lot of characters in the band,” he said. That includes a drummer who wears a gas mask. “He has his own mini show in the show,” said Ottesen, who added that when he sees videos of their shows he’s always surprised to discover what goes on behind him.

About the oil barrels: The band was looking for more bang on certain songs while doing its first album, tried adding more drums, but found it wasn’t enough “to make the beat explode more.” What’s more, the barrels are a visual element at shows. “It’s a signature thing,” Ottesen sad. They also give band members something to stand on at shows so that everyone in the audience can see them.

The band will start small in the U.S. with five cities, including Minneapolis, known for having many Scandinavian descendants among its population.

If all goes well, the plan would be to return the next year and try to grow the audience, maybe mixing in some festivals. “There’s so much going on at our shows that you have to come back and see the show at least twice,” he said. “You might not think that this is for you, but it is. And 25 years of touring has proved that it is… It’s for everyone. It’s a party.”

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