Calya J’s journey started at age 4, with a plastic kiddy keyboard. Impressed, her parents then organised piano lessons. Somewhere along the line she played trumpet (a little) and then learnt drums from her father.
Fast forward to 2025. Calya J just never stopped learning and is now one of the most exciting new performers of her age. She sings, beautifully. She acts in theatre. She writes songs, endlessly.
Calya J is positive. Musically curious. Outgoing. And deeply, deeply musical.
“I was writing already from a very early age,” she remembers. “It has always been there.” In high school, she was more often called on to sing. So she sang – Adele was an unlikely early reference (“because it’s just piano and voice”) but also the rhythm and depth of gospel.
Then she slipped into an Afro-Groove collective and was often asked to sit in for friends’ recordings. “It was handy when they realised I could do vocals and play the drums and some keyboards,” she laughs.
But they don’t divert her from her own path. “I’m constantly experimenting,” she admits. Her daily routine usually involves writing and working on ideas in the morning and actual practice in the afternoon to stay on top of her instruments.
Calya J is positive. Musically curious. Outgoing. And deeply, deeply musical.
“I was writing already from a very early age,” she remembers. “It has always been there.” In high school, she was more often called on to sing. So she sang – Adele was an unlikely early reference (“because it’s just piano and voice”) but also the rhythm and depth of gospel.
Then she slipped into an Afro-Groove collective and was often asked to sit in for friends’ recordings. “It was handy when they realised I could do vocals and play the drums and some keyboards,” she laughs.
But they don’t divert her from her own path. “I’m constantly experimenting,” she admits. Her daily routine usually involves writing and working on ideas in the morning and actual practice in the afternoon to stay on top of her instruments.
Back to her roots
And in the back of her mind at the moment is the idea of exploring the Cameroon roots of her father – once she deals with all the other projects and her bigger dream of working with an orchestra.
“Yeah, one day.” Smile.
When she is not wowing people as Calya J, she appears with the theatre troupe Burning City and sings with Maisha. Catch her in her element: performing live.
Get Calya J on your show!
Invite someone really exceptional on your show or for a concert.
Phone:Thierry Tirabasso +32/468/36 01 72 studio@3hatmusic.com
