Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-08-30
Scandinavian alt-prog-folk group Kalandra have announced their third studio album, The Other Side, due November 13 worldwide via By Norse Music.
Along with the announcement, the band have released the album’s first single, “Let Me Be Open,” a dreamy and uplifting track centered on rediscovering the openness and curiosity that can fade with age. The album will be available on black vinyl, limited-edition colored vinyl, digibook, and digital formats.
Listen to “Let Me Be Open”.
Watch the music video HERE.
Pre-order The Other Side HERE.
“Let Me Be Open” encourages the kind of free and open-minded thinking that can gradually disappear as people grow older. In the song, vocalist Katrine Stenbekk sings, “Let me be open and ready to recieve.” The track expresses hope while pushing back against fear and reconnecting with the sense of wonder associated with childhood.
“There’s a moment when you realise how much of yourself you’ve learned to hold back,” Stenbekk explains. “Let Me Be Open grew out of that feeling, the longing to loosen your grip, let go of some of the fear, and rediscover the sense of wonder you had as a child. It’s a song about making space for something softer to emerge, and trusting that not every shadow needs to be fought.”
On The Other Side, Kalandra explores the mysterious imagery of the subconscious, where memories, fears, and imagination intertwine. The album grew out of a series of vivid and recurring dreams experienced over the past several years.
Stenbekk and bandmate Jogeir Daae Mæland began exploring dream analysis and keeping notebooks by their beds, writing down fragments of dreams immediately after waking. Those images, emotions, and subconscious narratives eventually became the foundation for the new songs.
The dream-centered concept fits naturally into Kalandra’s atmospheric approach. Formed while the core members were studying at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the group have spent the past 15 years developing a sound that blends Nordic folk, pop, progressive rock, and dark cinematic textures.
Their 2020 debut, The Line, has accumulated more than 54 million streams, followed by the 2022 video game soundtrack Kingdom Two Crowns: Norse Lands and 2024’s A Frame Of Mind.
For The Other Side, the band determined the dream concept before the writing process began.
“It’s been very helpful to write down my dreams,” Stenbekk says. “It definitely affected how I wrote lyrics. I would love to do this again, have some sort of loose concept, it brings the record together.”
Guitarist Florian adds, “Knowing the theme was dreaming was helpful to me musically too. We could have these dreamy effects in there. I feel most of the songs have nightmarish or dreamy parts, one way or another. There are still a lot of different themes here though, there’s folklore, current events, introspective stuff, life and death... Everything can fit into dreams lyrically speaking, it’s just life, it’s all-encompassing.”
Kalandra have also announced their biggest European headlining tour to date, with special guest Finnegan Tui. The 2027 run begins February 26 in Cologne and concludes March 27 in Amsterdam, with stops throughout the U.K., Scandinavia, and mainland Europe.
KALANDRA – THE OTHER SIDE TOUR DATES
2026 – Norway
Nov 26 - Stavanger - Folken
Nov 27 - Kristiansand - Kick
Dec 4 - Bergen - Kulturhuset
Dec 5 - Bodø - Sinus
Dec 11 - Oslo - Salt
Dec 12 - Trondheim - Havet
2027 – EU & UK
Feb 26 - Cologne - Gebaeude 9
Feb 27 - Munich - Backstage
Feb 28 - Stuttgart - Im Wizemann Club
Mar 2 - Bristol - Trinity
Mar 3 - Nottingham - Rescue Rooms
Mar 4 - Glasgow - Slay
Mar 5 - Manchester - Manchester Academy 2
Mar 6 - London - Islington Assembly Hall
Mar 7 - Brussels - Botanique
Mar 9 - Leipzig - Moritzbastei
Mar 10 - Vienna - Szene Wien
Mar 11 - Budapest - A38
Mar 12 - Krakow - Hype Park
Mar 13 - Warsaw - Niebo
Mar 14 - Berlin - FRANNZ Club
Mar 16 - Stockholm - Kollektivet Livet
Mar 18 - Gothenburg - Monument
Mar 19 - Copenhagen - Hotel Cecil
Mar 20 - Hamburg - Logo
Mar 21 - Prague - Rock Café
Mar 23 - Zurich - Dynamo
Mar 24 - Milan - Legend Club
Mar 25 - Lyon - Rayonne
Mar 26 - Paris - Machine du Moulin Rouge
Mar 27 - Amsterdam - Paradiso
