Representative Albums: "Riot on an Empty Street," "Versus," "Quiet Is the New Loud"
Biography
Bergen, Norway-based indie-pop duo Kings of Convenience teamed singer/guitarist Erik Glambek Bøe and guitarist Erlend Øye. After first earning notice thanks to a series of acclaimed European festival appearances during the summer of 1999, the twosome signed to American label Kindercore to issue their lovely eponymous debut the following spring. Quiet Is the New Loud was issued in early 2001on Astralwerks. The album used many of the same tracks from the Kindercore release but re-ordered them and replaced a few with newer songs. The remix album Versus followed later in the year and featured remixes by artists as diverse as Ladytron, avid Whitaker and Four Tet. After a three year layoff during which Øye recorded a solo album, 2003's Unrest, and gained some reknown as an electronica DJ while Bøe worked on finishing up his psychology degree, the pair teamed up again for the recording and release of 2004's excellent Riot on an Empty Street ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Kings of Convenience are an indie folk-pop duo from Bergen, Norway. Consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, the musical group is known for their delicate tunes, calming voices, and intricate and subtle guitar melodies. Øye and Bøe both compose and sing the songs.
Øye and Bøe were both born in 1975 (Øye on November 21 and Bøe on October 25) and have known each other since they met while participating in a geography contest at the age of 10.[1] At sixteen, they played together in the band Skog ("forest") with two other friends, releasing one EP, Tom Tids Tale, before breaking up and later forming the Kings duo.
The twosome were signed to the American label Kindercore after appearing in European festivals during the summer of 1999. After a spell living in London in 2001, they released their debut album Quiet Is the New Loud. The album was produced by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. The album was very successful and even lent its name to a small movement of musicians in the pop underground (including acoustic contemporaries such as Turin Brakes) which took Belle & Sebastian and Simon and Garfunkel as their inspiration and focused on more subtle melodies and messages.
Versus, an album of remixes of tracks from Quiet Is the New Loud, came out shortly after. After this breakthrough year, not much was heard from the band. Øye spent the next few years living in Berlin and doing solo material, releasing music under the DJ Kicks series as well as a solo album titled Unrest. He also has a side project named The Whitest Boy Alive.
It was not until 2004 that the Kings' follow-up Riot on an Empty Street was released. The video made for "I'd Rather Dance With You," the second single from the album, topped MTV's European list as the best music video of 2004. The album also featured contributions by Leslie Feist.
The band had a period of inactivity, which led to speculations that they had stopped working together. On March 7, 2007 however, the duo played a one-off concert in Mexico City. There was also a concert scheduled for March 6, but it had to be cancelled, because Erlend had a problem with "Montezuma's Revenge" and was not feeling well. They played two concerts on March 7 and announced they were going to start work on their new album in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Most recently, in January 2008 the band played concerts in the Northern Norwegian cities of Tromsø, Svolvær and Bodø, and Swedish city Umeå along with a concert in August in Stockholm.
Kings of Convenience sent an email to fans on June 14, 2009 promising a new album[2] followed by a tour in September 2009.
