I Enjoy All Aspects of Erlend Oye
For a while now I've been wanting to share how much I enjoy the music of Erlend Oye, in all his various permutations. He's a very active musician who plays in multiple bands. So far I've heard him solo, as part of the duo Kings of Convenience (with Eirik Glambek Boe), The Whitest Boy Alive, and as guest vocalist on James Figurine's song "All the Way to China." As a matter of fact, he's made many more guest vocal appearances over the years, including a couple with the bands Royksopp and Safety Scissors.
The most recent song of his that I'm obsessed with is "Know How." It features Feist in a beautiful vocal that joins in halfway through the song, a sorrowful and delicate counterpart to the melody.
I'm also totally loving "Failure," a tune off KOC's 2001 release Quiet Is the New Loud, and a live version of "Until You Understand." Both tracks are heartrending and wistful.
I think what I like most about him--aside from his particularly mellow, calming voice--is his guitar playing. Although he's from Norway, he seems to have an affinity for Latin music, as he often works Latin flourishes into his songs. You can hear an excellent example of this in both "Know How" and "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)."
Kings of Convenience--"Know How" mp3 off A Brokedown Melody Soundtrack (buy)
Kings of Convenience--"I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)" mp3 off Versus (buy)
Kings of Convenience--"Failure" mp3 off Quiet Is the New Loud (buy)
Kings of Convenience--"Until You Understand (Live)" mp3 off Playing Live in a Room EP (buy)
Next we have "Done With You" from his band The Whitest Boy Alive. This rocks out a little and has more of a dance and indie-electronica sound than the above tunes, but it still has the same gorgeous guitar work.
The Whitest Boy Alive--"Done With You" mp3 off Dreams (buy)
According to one of his many websites, he's actually most involved with and interested in playing with this group at the moment. Unfortunately, several shows he had scheduled in L.A. and San Francisco were recently cancelled because of visa/work permit issues, so it's unknown at this time when he'll be back in the States. He is playing in Mexico City on Saturday, though, with two more dates in November. Check TWBA's myspace for more details.
He's got two solo albums, too, the earlier of which is called Unrest, that have an even more electronica/ambient-based dance groove. Here's a sample:
Erlend Oye--"Every Party Has a Winner and a Loser" mp3 off Unrest (buy)
The guy is decidedly talented and prolific. I realize I can't do him justice in one post, even one as long and rambling as this is, so I encourage you to check out his stuff and explore some more on your own. Enjoy.
It's funny you should post about this guy, me and my wife were sitting in
this bar and me being me, i was naming all the songs that came on the
speakers in my head (i figured it was the guy behind the bars ipod). The
bar was full of office types..then failure by koc came on and i couldn't
place it as it's been so long since i've listned to that album, i cained it
a few years ago, really good. But haven't heard much since apart from that
song about dancing or something....gonna check these tracks out when i get
home from work.
Thw Whitest Boy Alive? What would that Frere-Jones tool make of that I
wonder ;-)
ross--at first i thought you meant "the speakers in your head," not that
you were naming the songs in your head. he he. anyway, i always think it's
cool when things serendipitously work together like this. glad you dig
erlend, too.
yay!
wy too long since i thought bout him. or listened to any riots and new
louds.
but kinda fits my actual playlists. so thanks of reminding me :)
pik! good to hear from you. but a beard like sam beam? really? you're too
young! : )
Ooh! I have a track by Mr Oye you might not have heard...I'll try and find
it and post it up for you. May take a while to find, so don't hold your
breath! Erlend Oye with Morgan Geist of Metro Area I think it is called
Ghosts or maybe Ghost Train...I will have a root around for it. 12" only I
think. From a few years back.
Don´t forget his solo stuff-> great electronic stuff, perfect djing
check out Unrest or his DJ-Kicks.
I love his voice.
i've got unrest, but i don't have dj-kicks. is it as good?
Thank you for this post! i was googling royksopp for some college radio
flashbacks and ran into this entry, i used to play Oye's album all the time
at my old college radio show, his voice and the music that accompanies it
is very beautiful, this definitely brought me back (his name was escaping
me for a while)
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