06/05/2025

Ariel Kalma, (1947 – June 8, 2025)

Ariel Kalma has passed away, at the age of 78, at his home in the main arm locality of new south wales, Australia, surrounded by his dear family: Ama, his life partner, his son Joel and daughter-in-law Becka, and his grandchildren. After contending with many health challenges over the past several years, his departure was sudden though peaceful.

Ariel and I first began speaking in december of 2012 around the idea of having him collaborate with Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe on what would become FRKWYS vol. 12: We Know Each Other Somehow. After months of messaging, and a fortuitous meeting of Ariel and Robert in San Francisco, Robert and I traveled to Australia, met up with our friends Misha and Joey, and spent almost two weeks with Ariel making music, documenting natural sounds and sights, sharing an unreal amount of laughter, and generally basking in the glow of Ariel.

During that trip, Ariel and I began exploring his music archives, both incredibly rich and deep. Ariel’s travels as a young Parisian lead him all over the world to collaborate with fellow musicians, and after he returned to Paris, he found his own sound manifesting magically and magnificently. His self-titled album and Osmose, from 1975 and 1978 respectively, formed the creative period where we focused our attention for Ariel’s first archival collection, An Evolutionary Music.

I would not visit Ariel again in Australia, but he traveled the states to play a number of shows with Robert after the collection and collaboration had been released. It was such a joy seeing the two push forward their work beyond the album. I have such a vivid memory of Ariel resting on our family’s living room couch after one of these shows, a giant smile on his face reminiscing about the experience, his eyes following the notes played through the air. Beatific and grateful, in touch with an unspoken, unseen force

My heart hurts, Ariel, but is so full of love from the creative, transformative experiences shared, the laughter, the relationship that you leave with dear Ama and your family. I can only express gratitude with this grieving, and promise to honor your legacy in big and small ways. So much love ~