The Badly Behaved
At the end of 2019, songwriter, composer and producer, Richard von Kalmar, founded his electronic music project, The Badly Behaved. In a little over two years, and during the pandemic, his first studio album, Who am I, was created with 10 tracks, including a remix by Lauer and a reprise track.
Inspired by his experiences as a teenager in the 80s indie music scene in Glasgow, Richard now works exclusively with digital synthesisers, keyboards, sampled instruments and drum machines in his home studio in Berlin. Throughout the album, traces of retro synth pop are mixed with modern rhythm sections and strong bass lines, and classical string instruments are combined with synthesized sounds.
The Badly Behaved is..?
... a synth-pop band from Berlin. I, Richard von Kalmar, started the band and it has a fluid line up of musicians. Several different vocalists have collaborated with the band and Stewart Irving is the vocalist on most of the songs on Who am I?, the album we released in May 2022. Cole van Dias sings on Govinda Jaya Jaya and the title track of the album, Who am I?, too.
You started writing and producing music in the 80s, what are the differences between then and now?
In one word, technology! I was a child in the 80s and couldn’t afford the newest and best electronic music equipment, so was very limited in what I could do. That said, even if you could afford the newest and best equipment, you were always limited. Many synthesizers weren’t even polyphonic in those days, meaning you could only play one key at a time! The possibilities todays are almost limitless.
"Govinda Jaya Jaya" creates an amazing atmosphere, what was your inspiration?
Govinda Jaya Jaya is based on a Hindu chant. The chant was previously used in songs with the same title by Kula Shaker and by George Harrison of the Beatles. I wanted to produce an electronic song using the chant and fused it with an electronic bassline, swirling pads, percussion and ‘big’ guitar sounds towards the end to help build it up to a crescendo.
Grown up around the world, what's your favorite Town concerning music?
Berlin, without a doubt. So much goes on here, musically, and there is a feeling that anything is possible and that you can really express yourself, musically!
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Paul Conboy, who is a British singer with an amazing voice and previously worked with Tim Simenon of Bomb the Bass fame.
How would you describe Berlin's Indie Scene?
Berlin is the right environment for indie music as there is an appreciation for things, and particularly artistic things, that are different and experimental. Therefore, it’s little surprise that the indie music scene in Berlin is as big as it is and as varied as it is.
What are your Top 3 Songs at the moment?
The Ladder by Röyksopp,
Migration by Marvin & Guy and
Overthinker by Inzo.
What's next for you?
After Govinda Jaya Jaya, we plan to release a few more songs from the Who am I? album. We also plan to record a new version of Bobby O’s She has a way soon.
