The MUITO KABALLA project was originally started by saxophonist and composer Niklas Mündemann as a one-man show in 2017. The project quickly gained attention, and Niklas soon recorded his first solo album, “EVERYTHING IS BROKE” (Switchstance Recordings, 2019). In the same year, he met Jan Janzen (Keys, Synth), and the two decided to take the Muito project to the next level. They assembled a group of incredibly talented musicians, most of whom still play in the band today, and recorded their first band album, “MAMARI,” in 2021 (Rebel Up! Records). This garnered international attention for MUITO KABALLA, and the band had the opportunity to perform on major stages such as the Düsseldorf Festival 2021 and Radio Cosmo Festival 2022, among others.
The album “LITTLE CHILD” was released in May 2022 and represents a significant milestone in the band’s musical development. Since their first album, MUITO KABALLA has been exploring a diverse sound and musicality, reflecting on the many backgrounds of the band members. This search and journey are evident in the album “LITTLE CHILD,” which goes beyond the depth and diversity of the musical language of MUITO KABALLA’s initial releases.
The band continues their artistic evolution with their new album, “LIKE A RIVER” (Batov Records, 2023), showcasing an entirely new range of musical expressiveness while remaining connected to the Afrobeat and Jazz influences that have always shaped the project.
FACTS
1. The Name Muito Kaballa doesnt have any meaning. I just liked the percussive sound of the two words (of course „muito“ means many in portugese, but we dont refer to that). Just maybe though the name „Kaballa“ was influenced by the word „Kasalla“ which means something like „trouble, chaos or turmoil“ and comes from the cologne regional dialect. Thats where I am from and where I started the project. Anyways, I never really want to share that part of the story, cause in fact „Kasalla“ is also the name of a famous Kölsch-Karneval Band and to be honest: when i was trying to think of a name for my project, Kasalla had many ads running in the city so it might just have been them that influenced me into coming up with „Kaballa“ …
2. Muito Kaballa started as a one man show in cologne. I (niklas mündemann) used to ride my bike around the city and play „guerilla soundbombings“ with a loop station and many instruments.
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
It’s hard to say, really, cause we are so many in the band that there are a lot of influences merging together. I guess you can also hear that in our music actually. Since I write most the songs though, there might be a certain touch to it. My influences have changed a lot throughout the development of the project. When i first started it used to be a kind of „afrobeat“ knockoff and to be honest – it was quite problematic, too. But anyways i didnt really think about it that much cause i really just started the project as a mere joke… i thought it would be funny to make some music in the streets, thats it. The music i was listening too back then was mostly Fela Kuti, Marijata or Ebo Taylor – so naturally thats what i did as well. But people suddenly took my project seriously and my music as well. I remember them calling me a musician, and I was like: „What??“ … but i started to take the project serious as well and my musical ambitions changed. I wanted to create a music more of myself … this was a long journey that is still going and it’s also still super difficult to leave that pure „afrobeat“ pigeonhole which Muito Kaballa was put into after the first album „Everything Is Broke“. Nowadays I dont actually listen to a lot of classic afrobeat anymore. My main influences come from Bands and Artists like Little Dragon, Michael Kiwanuka, Jitwam, SAULT, and many many more. What I like about all of them is how they are able to merge different styles together into something unique. Thats kind of my quest as well and with the latest album „Like A River“ we already achieved a nice step in that direction. Im working on a new album which will be released next year in spring and i think this could be another great step into something uniquely „Muito Kaballa“ :)
2. How and when did you get into making music?
Making Music has been a part of my life as long as i can remember. Two of my earliest childhood memories are about music actually. One is how im listening to the song „Mambo Number Five“. I had this on casette and was listening to it all day long, completely fascinated by the singer and the groove. I started my own choreo for this song and danced along to it in my room. The other is how i wrote a song together with a friend and my sister. It was called „I want to go into the galaxy“ (in german though) and we had this super trash keyboard and some cooking equipment which we used to play the song. We also recorded it on cassette, which was super fun.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Marijata by Marijata, Rocket Juice and the Moon by rocket Juice and the moon, So What by Miles Davis, Little Dragon by Little Dragon, Home Again by Michael Kiwanuka … well i could go on but i guess thats the drill :)
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Liveliness, Dirt, Noise and also this kind of energetic vibe that i experience only in berlin and has always fascinated me about this city.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
There is a super sweet italian restaurant in Torfstraße in Wedding which has no name (i think) – at least it doesnt really show a name on the outside – and its really small. They also sell second hand furniture which is kind of random i think. but the food is amazing and it’s a great vibe. I’ll get back to you with the name :)
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Propably curle up and dry out from the inside until i’m dead.
7. What was the last record/music you bought or listen?
Ginza – J. Balvin
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
For our new album we are looking to collaborate with a few amazing artists. One is the singer and rapper Blu Samu from Brussels. Right now is only an idea and we are still talking about it and working on it. But we’ve played some shows together and her charisma is incredible, she does such great music and freestyle rap from the top of her head on any stage – which is really incredible. So im super stoked about a possible collab and really hope this will happen.
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
As performer one of the most intense shows i can recall right now was actually at an illegal rave in Plänterwald, here in berlin. We had just started the band and couldnt tour or anything, cause corona was still a huge thing (even though in summer obviously everyone kind of gave a shit). we decided to play a „street-music tour“ here in berlin. we had our full equipment packed on bikes and drove around the city for a few days in the summer. these were kind of our first gigs as a band and we were super unexperienced as a group back than. We got invited to play at this rave in the forest and went there and for some reason the crowd was incredibly hyped. When we played, the whole place kind of vanished in the dust stirred up by the dancing feet. we received soooo much energy from the crowd that we pretty much couldnt handle it. It was incredible. We all felt super energized after that concert.
As a spectator one of my most intense concert experiences was in a super small bar in cologne, called „stecken“ – it doesnt exist anymore and there’s not even a door or anything that proves of its past existence nowadays. but ten years ago it used to be THE place for the cologne underground hip hop scene, revolving around the whole entourage label and all of that. i kind of got suck into that scene when i was 18 and started making beats. i was recording a lot with „O-Flow“ who used to be quite the thing in the underground scene. I also started this mini label with two very good friends (up to today) called Herotapes. Anyways, Stecken was the place to be when you wanted to be part of that whole scene. And every thursday they had these jazz concerts. The place was a tiny basement cave, so dont picture a stage or anything. they just set up a drum set and some keys and there they went. and the people who played were THE BEST jazz cats in cologne … or some of them at least. i saw Jonas Burgwinkel (drums) and Robert Landferman (bass) perform there and it just blew me away. This is when i wanted to become a jazz musician and learn all i can about jazz.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
I have always been super fascinated by technology and the potential it has. Not only in music, but in life generally. For my music i really try to integrate it into my projects. We use a lot of synth sounds for our songs in muito and i have been exploring these sounds more and more lately – especially for the upcoming album. Im also a fan of arpeggiated electronic sound structures. They can give a unique and interesting touch to music. I love to explore the possibilities of merging the mechanical, technical side with the organic and human side of music.
11. Please tell us, what we can expect from your concert at the Humboldt Forum Durchlüften 2024?
Since we are in the midst of rehearsals for our recording in octobre, there’s a great chance that we will already try out some very new songs from the upcoming album. so this will be a premiere and im super excited about how the audience reacts and how it sounds and everything. Aside from that our biggest mission on stage is to create a connection to the audience and provide a musical experience that not only catches your ears, but also your body and heart. We try achieving that by giving all our heart and bodies into the musical performance :)
So bring your dancing shoes, cause im sure you will need them ;)
