Kalbott (קלבות or כלבות in Hebrew—it doesn’t really matter) was founded by bassist Yddo Locker sometime in 2018, around the time she came out. Music from Israel’s LGBTQ+ community tends to be pretty mainstream and sweet. Having grown up in extreme music scenes like punk and metal, Yddo felt something was missing. So she began writing lyrics and composing songs in a small apartment in Tel Aviv’s Yad Eliyahu neighborhood.

The lyrics started piling up, and she felt it was time. She recruited a dear friend, Shalom Halfon, and together they refined the music and lyrics until they found drummer Anat Rosenblum. After just a handful of rehearsals, they played their first show at Jean Jacques on 01/11/2019, with a five-song set. The show left them hungry for more, and Yddo decided they had to make an album.

Then COVID hit. We all remember that time: lockdowns, shuttered venues, a kind of panic and despair. Yddo was living in Jaffa then and, luckily, had a small studio. She picked up an acoustic guitar and a microphone, hit Record, and ended up recording and producing the EP The Acoustic Paw, featuring nothing but vocals and acoustic guitar.

As lockdown restrictions began to ease, Yddo, Shalom, and Anat got together to rehearse and prepare to record their first album. That same little studio had everything they needed to record a demo. Two songs, “Fight” and “Life’s a Stench,” became the demo A Ruff Session. That was when we knew we were ready to record an album.

The album was recorded at Janis Studios in Tel Aviv on 11/04/2021–12/04/2021, with Yddo on vocals and bass, Shalom on guitar and backing vocals, and Anat doing what she does best: drumming. Recorded in just 20 hours over two days, the eight-track album was titled Living Near A Sewage Pipe. After recording, Shalom decided he wanted to pursue other directions and left Kalbott.

After a long search, we found guitarist Daniel Chard. Although the album had already been recorded, disagreements over production and mixing delayed its release. Daniel offered to mix it himself. On 04/02/2023, the first single, “Bad Cop,” was released—the only song co-written by Anat and Yddo. Around six months later, on 16/08/2023, Kalbott’s debut album finally saw the light of day.

During this period, after Daniel joined, Anat also left Kalbott—but she would be back. Maya took over on drums. For a while, the future looked bright: Kalbott played frequently, and Yddo wrote nonstop. Then came the morning of 07/10/2023. Everything stopped.

After roughly a year of inactivity, sometime in October 2024, Yddo decided it was time to get things moving again. She came up with the idea of putting on not just another punk rock night, but an entire festival under the name RoitFest Grrl. There was just one problem: Maya had left. Luckily, Anat was available to play the ten-hour festival at Levontin 7.

The festival was more than a punk rock night. It featured hip-hop acts, drag performances, and, of course, punk rock bands. It was an electrifying event, enjoyed by many. Nitzan Pincu wrote the following post:

“A few words about Friday’s FestiRiot ~
I’m proud and happy that Riot culture is still going, even after the show ended.
The fact that there are enough bands to put on this event is the greatest success we could hope for!
It’s important to keep making voices of resistance heard—and to keep listening to them—especially at a time when people are trying harder than ever to silence us.
Many thanks to everyone involved in producing this important event…”

— Nitzan Pincu, Riot! Facebook group, 05/01/2025

Despite that feeling of catharsis, Daniel decided to leave, and Anat, who had returned for a guest appearance, did not stay on. Yddo was left as the only bitch in the kennel.
It took some time before she found Yuval, followed by Michal, and the kennel once again filled with music, lyrics, screams, buzzsaw riffs, hard-hitting bass, and relentless drums.
Kalbott keep working and kicking ass, with their sights set on playing major festivals across Europe and the United States.

Stay tuned…