Ariel Kalma (born Ariel Kalmanowicz; 1947 – 8 June 2025) was a French
new-age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
composer and electronic musician.
Life and career
Kalma learned to play
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
and
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
as a youth.
He studied
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
in college, and while at university he met
Salvatore Adamo
Salvatore Adamo (November 1, 1943) is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer, and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual citiz ...
, who soon hired Kalma into his touring band on a world tour as a saxophonist and flautist.
[ While on the road with Adamo, he met Baden Powell, with whom he would collaborate in France and Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s.][ Around this time, he made experimental tape pieces using his own recorded instruments, found sounds, church organs, and poetry.
In 1974 he took a one-way flight to India, learning rudimentary ]classical Indian music
Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...
and developing an interest in meditative and drone music
Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a minimalist genre of music that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tone clusters called '' drones''. It is typically characterized by lengthy compositions featuring relativel ...
. He was also influenced by American minimalist music
In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-m ...
. In 1975, he recorded and self-released an album, ''Le Temps des Moissons'' while working at the GRM studio of INA Pierre Henry
Henry at his home (January 2008)
Pierre Georges Albert François Henry (; 9 December 1927 – 5 July 2017) was a French composer known for his significant contributions to musique concrète.
Biography
Henry was born in Paris, France, and bega ...
in Paris.[ His 1978 album ''Osmose'' features ]Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
nature sounds recorded by Richard Tinti.
Kalma's output increased over the 1980s and 1990s, and his discography now runs to several dozen albums. In 2014, his 1970s work was collected by RVNG and a compilation, ''An Evolutionary Music'', was released. This album reached #9 on the Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
New Age albums chart in 2015.
For over five decades he released LPs, cassettes, and CDs of solo compositions and collaborations that all live on his personal website and Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
page.
Kalma died on 8 June 2025, at the age of 78.
Albums
*''Le Temps des Moissons'' (1975 LP)
*''Voyage méditatif au centre de la tête'' (archive 1978, digital 2014)
*''Osmose'' (1978 LP)
*''Interfréquence'' (1980 LP)
*''Musique Pour Le Rêve et L'Amour'' (1981 Cassette, 2016 LP)
*''Open Like A Flute'' (1982 Cassette, 2015 LP)
*''Bindu'' (1984 cassette)
*''Tropical'' (1985 cassette)
*''Rainbow'' (1985 cassette)
*''Serenity'' (1989 CD)
*''Flowing Dreams'' (1994 archive, 2010 CD)
*''Flute for the Soul'' (1997 CD)
*''My Sax, my Love'' (1997 CD)
*''In My Dreams'' (1996 archive, 2009 CD)
*''Endless Breath'' (1983 archive, 2010 CD)
*''Chansons d'Esprit - Poésie sonore'' *''Flowing Dreams'' (1981 archive, 2006 CD)
*''Spirit Dancer'' (2005 CD)
*''Galactica Electronica'' (2012 CD)
*''Lazy Lizard'' (2009 CD)
*''Osmose 2'' (2008 CD)
*''Chillout India'' (2007 CD)
*''Yo Yo A New Man'' (1981 archive, 2013 CD)
*''Yo Yo Homme Nouveau'' (1981 archive, 2013 CD)
*''Open Like a Flute, Vol 1+2'' (2015 double LP)
*''An Evolutionary Music: Original Recordings 1972-1979'' (2014)
Rue de la Gaité
(1976-79 archives, 2017 downloads)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalma, Ariel
1947 births
2025 deaths
Composers from Paris
Electronic composers
French composers
French electronic musicians
French male composers
Musicians from Paris
New-age composers
New-age musicians