AMY SALISBURY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Two years ago, when I came up with the title “Hits of Sunshine” for this column, I intended the “sunshine” part to indicate that the following few paragraphs are meant to bring a new light to one’s growing music repertoire. Maybe the reason for my word choice stemmed from creating it during the cold, foggy days of mid-winter. Or maybe it was just because I liked the Sonic Youth song.
With that said, my present feelings tend toward lengthening days and warmth. So, for whatever this batch of words turns into, take “sunshine” as a little reminder that summer is never far away, even during the coldest of February rain. Plus we’re in southern California. We’re spoiled.
One of the easiest conductors of mood is, arguably, music. It can take you to different time, different places, and different situations entirely. Some even call music their “escape.” Well, I currently care to escape from the looming weather; therefore, with my above sunshine and music library, I will turn to “Gold in the Air of Summer.”
Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe are the indie-driven, folky duo known as Kings of Convenience. Øye and Bøe started performing together with two friends at the age of 16 in their first band called Skog, Norwegian for “forest.” The duo split from Skog to pursue a different musical direction, forming Kings of Convenience and signing a record deal in 1999. Ever since their first album, “Quiet is the New Loud,” the band has been known for its parallels to Simon and Garfunkel, and most notably, its emotive qualities.
After much critical acclaim for “Quiet is the New Loud,” the band released “Riot on an Empty Street” in 2004. The album broke into the US top 50 charts, but Øye and Bøe managed to remain below the radar. Øye released some solo work and started another band, The Whitest Boy Alive, while Bøe focused on his personal life.
“Gold in the Air of Summer,” off “Riot,” begins with an acoustic quietly strumming until two harmonized voices complement the chords. Øye and Bøe speak of a spontaneous journey to a “house that used to be / the home of a friend of mine.” Single piano notes form a melody in front of the guitar as a light Norwegian accent flows through the English words; without the music, the lyrics read like a poem. The guitar stops, leaving the voices to sing the title a capella. The music returns and progresses like a warm breeze would, coming to an almost cliffhanger of an ending.
After five years of waiting, Kings of Convenience released their newest album, “Declaration of Dependence,” in early October of 2010. Øye will appear with Whitest Boy Alive at the Coachella Music Festival in April of this year, and Kings of Convenience are currently in the process of rescheduling tour dates after Bøe fell ill during an east coast show according to an unofficial announcement on the band’s MySpace.
Photos courtesy of stayloose.co.uk and soulstyles.com