Origin Mosfellsbær, Iceland Labels Elektra | Years active 2012 (2012)–present Website www.officialkaleo.com | |
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Genres Indie rock
indie folk
psychedelic rock
garage rock
alternative rock
blues rock
garage punk Members JJ Julius Son
David Antonsson
Daniel Kristjansson
Rubin Pollock Albums A/B, Kaleo Black, You Remain Profiles | ||
Kaleo is an Icelandic rock band that formed at Mosfellsbær in 2012. The band consists of JJ Julius Son (Jökull Júlíusson) (vocals and guitar), David Antonsson (percussion and vocals), Daniel Kristjansson (bass guitar), and Rubin Pollock (guitar and vocals). They have released two studio albums, Kaleo (2013) and A/B (2016), as well as an EP, Glasshouse (2013). A/B has sold over 175,000 albums worldwide. One of the singles from A/B, "Way Down We Go", has been sold over 500,000 times in the US and reached #1 on the Billboard Alternative Chart on August 20, 2016.
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The group has made multiple appearances on late night television shows including Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Their songs have been heard on many other television shows including Orange is the New Black, Blindspot, Suits, Vinyl, Grey's Anatomy, Empire, The Leftovers, Frequency, Supergirl, The Vampire Diaries, and Frontier. "Way Down We Go" was featured in a no7 Skincare ad in the UK and in the second trailer for the film Logan.
History
The band's first major public appearance was at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in November 2012. They gained fame after their cover of the song "Vor í Vaglaskógi" got heavy rotation on Icelandic state broadcaster RÚV's radio station Rás 2 and was featured on the station's top 10 list. This song is also featured in the first episode of the TV series Trapped.
In 2014, the band gained further attention with their single "All the Pretty Girls", which garnered over 23 million streams on Spotify. In early 2015, they signed with Atlantic Records and subsequently relocated to Austin, TX. Throughout 2015, Kaleo got increasing attention in the United States. The band's South by Southwest (SXSW) debut in 2015 garnered press from Esquire's "40 Bands You Need to Hear" as well as NPR's "The Austin 100: SXSW 2015 Feature and All Songs Considered SXSW 2015 Music Preview". "All the Pretty Girls" peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart.
In August 2015, Kaleo released the single "Way Down We Go", which also performed well. The single is RIAA Gold Digital certified. This song was featured in the shows Supergirl, Blindspot and Eyewitness, the FIFA 16 soundtrack, a TV advert for the retailer Boots UK, the season 5 finale of Suits, in a trailer for the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, and in a trailer for Logan. In the US, it reached number 8 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart and number 9 on the Hot Rock Songs chart. The song also charted in Canada. A video performance of the song was recorded in the magma chamber of the dormant Icelandic volcano Thrihnukagigur.
Musical style
Kaleo's music is influenced by folk and blues. Their blues influences are mainly drawn from delta blues, which was the target for some of the heavier songs in their album A/B. Their music prominently features a distinctive resonator sound.
Members
The band is made up of:
Albums
EPs
Tours
Songs
Way Down We GoA/B · 2016
All the Pretty GirlsA/B · 2016
No GoodA/B · 2016