Kayak

KAYAK ble etablert i 1968 - 50 år siden - og har siden da laget 17 studioalbum og flere live-album. Med røtter i klassisk, pop, rock, og progrock lager de en melodiøs og herlig blanding av sjangere i sin musikk. Dette er musikk alle kan like uansett smak. WLRC er stolte og glade for å ha fått dette Nederlandske bandet til Norge for første gang i historien. Velkommen til en uforglemmelig musikalsk opplevelse i Oslo Konserthus, Lille sal 3.november kl.20.30

Kayak was founded in 1972 by keyboardist/composer Ton Scherpenzeel and drummer/composer Pim Koopman, along with lead singer Max Werner, guitarist Johan Slager and bass player Cees van Leeuwen. In the beginning critics often compared the band to contemporaries like Yes and Focus, but the band quickly developed their own style of symphonic rock that, although almost each album contained one or more 'epics', was concentrating on songs rather than elaborate solos and long instrumental passages.  

Throughout the years Kayak has seen many changes in the line-up. Ton Scherpenzeel is now the only remaining original member and leader of the band.  

Pim Koopman left the band in 1976. In 1978 Kayak charted the USA Top-60 with their single 'Want You To Be Mine.' One year later the band's commercially most successful album 'Phantom of the Night' went platinum in The Netherlands, hitting the number one spot in the Dutch album charts for several weeks. Line up: Ton Scherpenzeel (keyboard) Edward Reekers (vocals), Johan Slager (guitar), Peter Scherpenzeel (bass) and background vocalists Irene Linders (who co-wrote many of the lyrics) and Katherine Lapthorn. The single taken from that album, 'Ruthless Queen', reached the Dutch top 5. The first episode ended in 1981, when after two more albums the group decided to call it a day. That coincided with a German number one hit for former lead-singer, then drummer of the band Max Werner, 'Rain in May'. All members went their own way. Ton Scherpenzeel for instance played and recorded with groups like Earth & Fire and the British band Camel.  

Fast forward to 1999: after an 18 year abscence Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman restarted Kayak, with Max Werner again singing lead. This second period was marked by a new explosion of creativity. Kayak's output even exceeded their first period. In 2009 disaster struck when Koopman died of heart failure in the middle of their 'Letters from Utopia' tour. In 2011 the band overcame this big loss and returned to the stage and a new album. A couple of years later Kayak completed their rock opera trilogy 'Merlin', 'Nostradamus'(2CD) and 'Cleopatra'(2CD). When lead singers Cindy Oudshoorn and Edward Reekers left the band shortly after, Scherpenzeel realized he had to completely renew the line up in order to maintain his creativity as well as keep the band going.  

Now, with singer Bart Schwertmann and guitarist Marcel Singor, bass player Kristoffer Gildenlöw and drummer Collin Leijenaar a reborn Kayak once again proves that the band's name- though chosen randomly back in 1972- is as appropriate as ever. Just when everyone expects the boat to go under, it miraculously resurfaces and sails on.  

The new album 'Seventeen' is due for release in January 2018. Special guest on Kayak's seventeenth studio album is Camel guitar player Andy Latimer.