KAALA has operated as a publication, database, radio show, event series, tour operation, label and documentary producer. This timeline names the role precisely and links the surviving evidence.
KAALA traces its origin to 2013. The dense surviving public archive begins in 2015, so this history distinguishes first-party recollection from independently inspectable evidence.
Directory listings are not counted as events KAALA produced. Documentary footage is not treated as promotion. Imported records are not relabeled as KAALA releases. The point is not to inflate the record, but to make the real work visible.
KAALA’s role / First-party origin claim; documented publishing and data-platform activity from 2015
Kaala traces its origin to 2013. The dense surviving public record begins in 2015, when the project was publishing in English and maintaining structured band, event and venue information for Japan’s underground.
KAALA’s role / Publisher and structured directory operator
The recovered archive contains 141 dated articles alongside thousands of historical band, event and venue directory URLs. Those listings document the scale of the information platform; they do not imply that Kaala represented every band or produced every event.
KAALA’s role / Producer and interviewer
Kaala Radio carried interviews, regional reports and scene discussion. Twenty-four specific records survive and the recovered numbering reaches Episode 31.
KAALA’s role / Documentary and editorial coverage
Kaala produced a mini-documentary and interviewed festival organizer Dr. Naru. Grind Fest itself belongs to Naru and Butcher ABC’s organizing history; Kaala documented it rather than organizing the festival.
KAALA’s role / Recurring Kaala event series
The surviving record identifies Blood Rite Volumes XI and XII in 2016 and the twenty-third event in 2024. Volume 24 was scheduled for August 2026 at the time this history was assembled.
KAALA’s role / Contributor, media collaborator and event organizer
Kaala contributed reporting and recommendations to international underground publications while producing The Tower festival in Japan.
KAALA’s role / Tour designer, guide and event organizer
Decibel profiled a Kaala itinerary built around underground shows, bands and live houses rather than mainstream sightseeing. The route included Kaala’s ten-band Tower Vol. 2 festival.
KAALA’s role / Label and distro operation
Retch’s Torture & Pain / Streithammer was presented as the inaugural Kaala Records release. Separate GUEVNNA stock is classified as imported distribution inventory rather than relabeled as a Kaala-originated release.
KAALA’s role / Livestream producer supporting bands and live houses
Kaala developed a ticketed livestream model during the pandemic and produced seven numbered Korona Nights installments. Independent reporting documented the work and its support for venues including El Puente and Earthdom.
KAALA’s role / Collaborating documentary producer and label partner
Kaala and Live Labo Scenes traveled to Aizuwakamatsu to document a five-band concert. OSER’s filmed performance became the thirteen-track Live at Karando album.
KAALA’s role / Music-video production
Unite Asia premiered the video and credited it to Matt Ketchum of Kaala Japan. The underlying album was released by Zero Dimensional Records, not Kaala Records.
KAALA’s role / Performance and scene documentation
The official channel now preserves 44 long-form videos and 44 Shorts. A recorded performance is treated as documentation, not automatic evidence that Kaala promoted the underlying concert.
KAALA’s role / Newsletter publisher, event guide and tour operator
Kaala’s current work combines underground discovery with fan tours, international band support, event information and a continuing newsletter.