KAL

The infusion of pure energy and the sound that won’t leave your mind and body indifferent in any moment – is Kal Band.
The eclectic rhythm created by the combination of Western Balkan music with swing, jazz, blues, and pop brings a completely new and original sound that is applied from the first to the last chords.
The group was founded in 1996. Since then, over a thousand concerts have been played abroad. They participated in all major European festivals: Fusion Festival – Germany, Pepsi Sziget Festival – Hungary, Berlinale Festival – Germany, EXIT Festival – Serbia, Belgrade Beer Fest – Serbia, Kustendorf Film and Music Festival – Serbia, Nisville Jazz Festival – Serbia…
Those are the pure aesthetics of the minor scale, so it’s no surprise that western, music critics, the style that the Roma group put into our lives called Rock’N’Roma, or Gypsy Rockabilly.
They played in America in 2006 and 2008. As a part of the tour, they guested at all major American clubs such as Joe’s Pub in New York city. There, musicians such as Leonard Cohen, David Byrne, Richard Thompson, Dolly Parton, Sinead O’Connor, Norah Jones, Youssou N’Dour, David Gilmour and many more have been featured.
On the second US tour in 2008, they performed 45 concerts and collaborated with one of the most famous New York musical attractions, Gogol Bordello.


They have, to date, published four CDs: Traditional music from Serbia, Asphalt Tango (2006), Radio Romanista (2009) and Romology (2013). For Asphalt Tango and Radio Romanista, the production was signed by Mike Nielsen, known for collaborating with the world’s major music attractions such as Underworld, Snow Patrol, The Cure, and Jamiroquai.
Dragan Ristic, guitarist and frontman of the group, besides music, engages in acting, theater production and performance. He partnered in films as a translator for Romanes.
For Emir Kusturica’s film Black Cat, White Cat, Dragan Ristić wrote the lyrics for the song Bubamara, which became a hit. Kal opened the first Kustendorf Festival in 20018.
He played in Helsinki with Finnish bass guitarist Sami Yaffa, who he later collaborated with and created many musical projects.


Since 2014, he has been organizing and leading the FRCA Festival in Belgrade (Festival of Roma Culture and Activism). The festival was founded with the idea that Roma become more involved in social trends.
After several years of active social work and the struggle for human rights of minorities in Serbia, Dragan Ristić returns to music again.
Among the awards they have won are:
2007 – First place on the annual chart of the World Chart Music Chart of Europe in 2007
– Davorin Popovic Award for Best Video in the Former Yugoslavia 2007
2009 – Second place on the annual chart of the World Chart Music Chart of Europe in 2009
– Top 20 World Music CDs of the Year for band KAL.
2016 – Golden Badge of the Cultural Education Community of Serbia for outstanding contribution in the field of culture.
The music that is created carries Balkan style and Roma rhythm. It is an original and unexpected mix that simultaneously sounds both traditional and urban. Those are the pure aesthetics of the minor scale, so it’s no surprise that western, music critics, the style that the Roma group put into our lives called Rock’N’Roma, or Gypsy Rockabilly.