The Norwegian sextet Kaizers Orchestra build cathartic rock songs that borrow heavily from the dirges of Tin Pan Alley and Eastern European folk music. Formed on the first day of the new millennium, the band consisted of Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl on vocals/guitar/oil barrel, Helge Risa on pump organ, Øyvind Storesund on stand up bass, Terje Winterstø Röthing (Skambankt) on guitar, and Rune Solheim on drums.
Their signature sound eventually led to a record deal with the small label Broilerfarm and the band released Ompa Til du Dør in 2001, an album that shook the norwegian music scene, won the Norwegian Grammy, and went on to become the highest-selling rock debut ever issued in the Norwegian language. Evig Pint followed in 2003, and expanded the musical and physical radius of the band. Kaizers then signed an international deal with Universal Germany for 2005’s Maestro.
Maskineri arrived in 2008, followed by a collection of re-recorded versions of previously unreleased material called Våre Demoner (Our Demons) in 2009. The following year the band announced plans to release the first installment in a planned trilogy called Violeta Violeta, followed by Volumes 2 and 3 in 2012.
