Kandahar -

Kandahar was a Belgian art-rock/jazz-rock band that released the 1974/75 albums Long Live the Sliced Ham and In the Court of Catherina Squeezer, followed by the 1978 title Pictures From the Past.

Members: Jeff De Visscher (lead guitar, acoustic guitar, sitar, vocals), Karel Bogard (piano, clavinet, synthesizer, gong, bells, vocals), Jean Pierre Claeys (bass), Etienne Delaruye (drums, glockenspiel, timpani, cello, tambourine, vibraphone, piano, synthesizer, strings, clavinet, marimba, vocals), Jacky Eddyn (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, strings, Moog synthesizer, saxophone), Marc Van Herzeele (drums, timbales, vocals), Jos D’Hollander

Background

Kandahar formed in Ghent in 1972 and reached a settled public profile in 1973 around keyboardist Karel Bogard and guitarist Jef De Visscher. Bogard, born in Aalst on February 24, 1944, took a doctorate in law and oriental languages, then left for Paris, where he worked through blues, skiffle, and jug-band circles before he returned to Ghent and turned toward a new jazz-rock group. De Visscher entered as the other founding voice after earlier work in The Tigers and The Atlantics. Saxophonist Jacky Eddyn completed the first core with bassist Jean-Pierre Claeys and drummer Etienne Delaruye.

Bogard and De Visscher co-composed their early set, with Delaruye also credited by later band testimony as a key arranger in the first phase. By 1974 Kandahar amassed enough material to move on its own, so Bogard launched Dwarf to issue the band’s records.

Long Live the Sliced Ham ‎

Kandahar released their first album, Long Live the Sliced Ham, in 1975 on Dwarf Records.

The debut packs clipped guitar lines, organ and electric-piano clusters, reed and brass accents, and abrupt shifts between compact song form and longer sectional detours. Guitarist Jeff De Visscher, keyboardist Karel Bogard, saxophonist-flutist Jacky Eddyn, and drummer-cellist Etienne Delaruye trade the lead across the set, while added trumpet and trombone thicken key passages.

Sliced Ham moves between brisk instrumental charge, fractured vocal detours, and a few quieter pauses. “Down at the Finckle’s” sets the tone with a taut rhythm section, sax at the front, and clipped tremolo guitar that cuts across the beat. “Eyes of Glass” starts from near-silence with a quiet guitar figure, then widens through bass, drums, keys, an organ drone, and a harder twin-sax returns amid shifts in mood and tempo. “Outside of Reality” mixes spoken sections, lullaby-like keyboard lines, an eastern-leaning guitar phrase, treated low-set vocals, and several abrupt turns between sparse fills, denser drive, and a faster, smoother passage.

“The Walkin’ Piles” pushes the album furthest into odd theater, with shouted voices, a repetitive keyboard figure, mumbled vocals, sparse sax cries, flute, and percussion that locks into a rigid pulse. “The Hobbit” cuts that tension with a short, calm piece shaped by guitar, piano, violin, and soft keyboard color. “The Fancy Model” stands out for its sharper attack: distorted keyboard, guitar-led ensemble lines, two saxes that grow rougher as the track presses on, then a sudden drop to bass and drums before the full band snaps back. “When She Flies Away” closes the set through organ chords, lead-keyboard motion, vocal sections with female responses, and several mood and time shifts.

A1. “Down at the Finckle’s” (4:28)
A2. “Interlude” (0:22)
A3. “Eyes of Glass” (5:18)
A4. “Outside of Reality” (6:55)
A5. “Survivin’ Boogie” (3:20)

B1. “The Walkin’ Piles” (4:18)
B2. “The Hobbit” (3:10)
B3. “Interlude” (0:13)
B4. “The Fancy Model” (5:30)
B5. “When She Flies Away” (8:40)

Kandahar recorded Long Live the Sliced Ham at Tamara King Studio in Belgium on November 2, 4, and 5, 1974, produced and mixed the album themselves, and worked with engineer Luc Derdin.

Frans De Jonck and Agnes Maes designed the front and back covers, respectively, of the original blue boxing glove cover. The sleeve carried liner notes by Marc Moulin with additional notes by Barrie K. Jackson. After Dwarf sold its 3,000 press of Sliced Ham, EMI subsidiary Sounds Superb pressed 3,000 further copies with alternate cover art.

In the Court of Catherina Squeezer ‎

Kandahar released their second album, In the Court of Catherina Squeezer, in 1975 on Dwarf.

The album sets guitar, electric piano, clavinet, acoustic piano, synthesizer, flute, and a four-part sax chair inside broader arrangements that favor sustained themes and heavier ensemble punch. Guitarist Jeff De Visscher, keyboardist Karel Bogard, saxophonist-flutist Jacky Eddyn, and drummer-cellist-marimba player Etienne Delaruye pass the lead across the longer passages, while trumpet and trombone reinforce the front line.

Catherina Squeezer leans on fuller horn charts, tighter ensemble motion, and longer lines of development than the debut. “Jungle Dreams” opens with clipped guitar rhythm, liquid synth color, and a steady brass front, while “I’ll Still Have My Soul” starts in a rough, hoarse drawl and then kicks into a faster section with stronger forward thrust. “L’s Mood” holds to an instrumental focus, with foregrounded brass and quick exchanges between guitar and bass, and “Song for Catherina” folds folk-shaped phrases, mid-tempo lift, and a broad closing vocal into one continuous arc.

“Lahti Jumps” begins in a calmer register and then presses toward a harder, faster charge, but “The Day I Came to Life” carries the album’s real weight through trumpet calls, firm piano, female choir passages, flute-led interludes, and recurring themes that move between chamber detail and full-band attack without losing shape.

A1. “Jungle Dreams” (6:11)
A2. “I’ll Still Have My Soul” (4:40)
A3. “L’s Mood” (3:54)
A4. “Song for Catherina” (6:05)

B1. “Lahti Jumps” (2:56)
B2. “The Day I Came to Life” (16:12)

Kandahar recorded and mixed In the Court of Catherina Squeezer at Morgan Studios in Brussels, cut “The Day I Came to Life” on May 11, 1975, completed the remaining tracks on June 10, 1975, and worked with producers Karel Bogard and Felix Meerten, engineer Mike Butcher, mixer Christopher Luhr, and tape operator Philippe Delire. Gipi designed the cover. Kandahar dedicated the album to adult stars Linda Lovelace and Chesty Morgan.

Kandahar frontman/multi-instrumentalist Karel Bogard left the band after Catherina Squeezer, but most of the other members appeared on his 1975 solo release From Dusk Till Dawn. That same year, guitarist Jeff De Visscher also guested on the singular album by Belgian free-jazzers the Full Moon Trio.

Billy De Bluffer (EP)

In 1977, Kandahar released the Billy De Bluffer, an EP on Best Seller.

Billy De Bluffer ties to the company’s 1977 Meirtheater staging, with choreography by Mark Bogaerts and Dutch translation by Paul Rodenko. The four-track theater record compresses the group into short forms built around guitarist Jef De Visscher, keyboardist-cellist Etienne Delaruye, saxophonist-flutist Jacky Eddyn, bassist Jean-Pierre Claeys, and drummer Marc Van Herzele.

A1. “Just Call Me Billy” (2:54)
A2. “Utopia” (3:34)
B1. “Billy Is The Greatest” (2:40)
B2. “Realiteit” (2:54)

Kandahar recorded Billy De Bluffer with producer Jef De Visscher for the Antwerp Fakkeltheater and engineer Raf Lenssens.

The front sleeve omits Kandahar’s name, but the notes identify the record as music written and performed for Billy de Bluffer, the Antwerp Fakkeltheater adaptation of Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall’s Billy Liar.

Pictures From the Past ‎

Kandahar released their third album, Pictures From the Past, in 1978 on GIP.

Pictures contains short instrumental pieces built from guitar, piano, electric piano, organ, clavinet, synthesizer, reeds, strings, and vibraphone.

Guitarist Jeff De Visscher and keyboardist-arranger Etienne Delaruye shape most of the harmonic and rhythmic detail, while saxophonist Jacky Eddyn widens the top line and bassist Jean-Pierre Claeys with drummer Marc Van Herzeele hold the underpin across the set.

Side two ends in longer form, with the title track, “Darkness,” and “Floating Pearls” leading to the multipart “Theme From Tuin der lusten.”

A1. “D.O.N.” (1:40)
A2. “Azucar” (3:40)
A3. “Virus” (3:25)
A4. “Mise au chateau” (3:40)
A5. “Synchron” (3:55)
A6. “Feeling Blue” (5:25)

B1. “Pictures From the Past” (4:25)
B2. “Darkness” (3:55)
B3. “Floating Pearls” (4:30)
B4. “Theme From Tuin der lusten” (9:20)
— a. “Miharca”
— b. “Teloc”
— c. “Zenon”
— d. “Lais”
— e. “Finale”

Kandahar recorded and mixed Pictures From the Past at Kritz International Studio in Kuurne in August 1978 with engineer Fritz Valcke. Kandahar produced the album and Etienne Delaruye arranged the material. The sleeve also credits sound effects to Kandavox.