Singer, songwriter and musician KALEN leapt into early aughts Brooklyn – a vibrant music scene in derelict DIY venues and undisclosed loft parties off the L train. This New England native hauled her keyboard and amp up and down Bedford Ave, forging a sound rooted in rock, soul, and electronic music, performing high-kicks and jumping off amps in kinetic kinship with the audience.
Her music has unfolded through her punk funk ‘Ladybug Stingray,’ dance rock of ‘Kalen & the A-Listers’ (Roc-elle Records), sharpening into the fiery trip-hop ‘Kalen & The Sky Thieves’ (Rope-a-dope Records), and recently into the sinewy beats of her downtempo electronic project ‘Death By Piano’ (Hi-4-Head Records), all while continuing her solo project KALEN.
She’s performed at Brooklyn Bowl, Rough Trade, & Joe’s Pub, DC9 (Washington D.C.) and Hotel Café & The Mint (LA). KALEN tailors each performance (and the visuals) to the specific site, from analog slide projectors coupled with poetry and acoustic bands in Brownstoner salons to projection mapping and thumping tracks with a full electric band on stages around NYC.
KALEN’s latest indie-pop EP Silence Like Sirens – created in collaboration with Izzy Gliksberg (Late Sea), Will Bradford (SeepeopleS), and Eric Zeiler (Little Daylight, Me Not You, Young Saab) – is brimming with singable songs. Her upcoming Pandora EP under moniker Death by Piano – produced by Tom Marsh (Lana Del Rey) with visuals by Robert Lester – will drop later in the year.
DEATH BY PIANO:
Death By Piano, led by Brooklyn-based singer-producer KALEN, is an exhilarating upgrade to the live darkwave music scene. The dynamic live band has turned heads with its performances, combining music, movement, and visuals. The post-pandemic rebirth of the band has seen success with a sold-out performance at NuBlu on New York City’s Lower East Side and the band is set to headline at Brooklyn’s Sultan Room in conjunction with its new EP release – THE VOW EP. Beyond her voice, musicality, and lyricism though, it’s KALEN’s strength as a front person that has helped her stand out touring from coast to coast. The integration of theatrics, visuals, and dance escalates the narrative while bringing a powerful cinematic experience to live shows. Death By Piano is unpacking compelling narratives around the female experience in its new stage show: an amalgamation of ceremony, myth, motherhood, and feminist power through music.