LIVE REVIEW: KALANDRA + PORTAIR @ THE BRIGHTSIDE 23/11/25

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi. Photos Rod Fletcher.

The Brightside had a line outside it. It stretched down Warner Street. On a Sunday evening. It was quite a long line, and I joined it. And the line grew until we were able to move and get into the venue. I was so pleased that there was a long line of music fans, because this meant that a large crowd of people had come to see the Nordic band Kalandra.

The band Kalandra is a collaboration of musicians from both Norway and Sweden and is comprised of: Katrine Stenbekk, Florian Döderlein Winter, Jogeir Daae Maeland and Oskar Johnsen Rydh. The band’s music is strongly associated with Norway and has strong ties to Nordic heritage and language. So, the band had come all the way “a long, long way…from winter” to Australia, and this was Kalandra’s first ever Australian tour and their first ever visit to Brisbane and “the heat”. In fact, Brisbane was their last stop. They had brought along with them Sydney-born, Los Angeles-based musician Portair (Drew Southwell) and his atmospheric soundscapes to warm up the crowd and set the tone of the evening.

The evening commenced with The Brightside being full. There was a wide range of people, and from the t-shirt choices, a wide range of musical tastes in the crowd. Multi-instrumentalist Portair came to the stage with his electric guitar and live looping with synth. The electric guitar started to chime, the music built in layers, as the cool soundscape didn’t so much warm the crowd as calm it into place with ‘Afterglow’. Portair’s beautiful voice floated over the venue, backed by ambient textures and looped guitar, it was like a slow exhale.

Portair’s songs like ‘Alaska’, ‘Lying To Myself’, ‘Flowers For A Home’ blended an appealing mix of electronic and earthy melodies that were delicate and moving. He spun ethereal, cinematic soundscapes that felt like he was a one-man band conjuring musical magic. His vocals were crisp, angelic, and versatile as they swirled through the layered effects like a gentle wave. He closed out his set with the lovely ‘Places’. His set was understated and elegant, and his music was the perfect calm before the storm.

Then, as the sonic induced calmness left and the venue went dark with blue highlights, there was a brooding and moody Scandi Noir atmospheric soundscape playing and building as we waited for Kalandra to come to the stage.

Kalandra have captivated the world with their unique blend of melancholic Nordic folk, gritty guitars, ethereal melodies, and voices. Since their 2017 debut EP ‘Beneath The Breaking Waves’ and album 2020’s ‘The Line’, they have never lost their central core tenet which is their devotion to their original take on Nordic indie-folk rock music. This band is all about the music, and this is what the crowd at The Brightside had come to see.

Kalandra are a band on a journey as they commenced their set with ‘Borders’. During the performance they told the crowd: “We were told that we are going to Australia?” said Katrine Stenbekk. “I said Why?” and while the band were grateful for the opportunity and loving the fact that Australian crowds were: “Ready for Kalandra to send their music and message, and that we were ready to receive it”. Kalandra made it known that they are a band of musicians that will forge their own pathway. They will go where the mood takes them rather than bow down to commercial factors. And these views made the crowd love them even more.

Kalandra weaved together a mix of older songs and new songs as they wowed the crowd with the beautiful ‘Slow Motion’, ‘Naïve’ and ‘I Am’. The band also showed their instrumental class with the organic authenticity of ‘Bukkehorn Jam', with the goat horn being played by Jogeir Daae Maeland.

Kalandra, then, performed the emotive and beautiful love song ‘Till The End’, and then followed it with the outstanding songs ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Untie The Knot’. These songs were real highlights. The band then “hit peak Norwegian”: the beautiful ‘Virkelighetens Etterklang’, the post-rock crescendo of ‘Segla’, written in Old and New Norse with help from a language professor, showed off the band in all their Nordic majesty, and it was followed by the rousing ‘Ensom’.

Knowing that the crowd were English speakers, the band pivoted back to songs like the described “most schizophrenic song we have written”, the boppy ‘Are You Ready?’. It was followed by a talk about the song ‘It Gets Easier’ where Katrine Stenbekk stated: “It does not get easier – life. It just becomes a different kind of difficult”. Then, she delivered her song about peace, the impressive, ‘The State Of The World’ that she based on Irish signwriting tradition.

The sonic textures weaved by fellow band members Oskar Johnsen Rydh (drums) and Florian Döderlein Winter (guitar with bow) were energetic and ethereal in equal measure. Katrine Stenbekk is the central point with her crystal-clear melodies and stage presence, her limbs reacting to the music like an improvising conductor and her intimate connection with the crowd. The music that the band creates on stage seems to merge and flow like water, while being disciplined and precise.

The Nordic Noir was on full show with “the song about death” ‘Helvegen’ and the closing song ‘Bardaginn’. These songs were sung in native Norwegian. Another set of highlights, in a night of musical highlights, sandwiched in between was the fabulous ‘Brave New World’, and it was a joy to hear that song live.

Kalandra, and their support musician Portair, delivered a night of musical excellence. It really was magical, ethereal, and authentic. Do not miss them when they return to Australia.