English
On the 7th and 8th of April, the Norwegian indie pop duo Kings of Convenience are going to be playing at Paradiso in Amsterdam. On this occasion their two concerts will be different; the first one will take place in the main room and their repertoire will be focused on their greatest hits, so everyone can sing along and dance to them, and the second one will be in a smaller room with a more intimate atmosphere and their songs will be the most popular ones but also the lesser known ones, so both concerts will be complementing each other.
The duo is formed by Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, born in Bergen, Norway. The band was born naturally from friendship and their mutual taste for the same music. Øye and Bøe have known each other since childhood and had previously formed a band with other friends, even recording an LP.
Their music is made up of acoustic guitars, occasionally with added pianos or chord instruments that give their songs more depth. Their sounds are highly influenced by Simon & Garfunkel, who shaped the 60s generation with music coming predominantly from guitars and vocals. They also have some influence from Belle & Sebastian, with some slight Bossa Nova twists that we can hear in their guitars.
In 1999 they signed their first contract with the American independent label Kindercore. After this, they settled in London and recorded their first album, ´Quiet is the New Loud´, which had relative success.
In 2001 they edited their first remix album, ´Versus´, where artists such as Ladytron, Röyksopp, Four Tet, Alfie and many others participated by mixing the songs of Kings of Convenience. After this big effort that didn´t reach the expected success, Erlend Øye settled in Berlin and recorded the album ´Unrest´, an album with synth pop sounds, and also made a session for DJ Kicks.
In 2004 the band´s second album appeared, ´Riot on an Empty Street´, where the singer Feit collaborated by singing in various tracks. Not long after the single ´Misread´ appeared, an interesting piece of music just like the album because in them they delineate their own sound.
The video of ´I´d Rather Dance With You´, their second single, was chosen as Best European Video by the music channel MTV.
In 2009 they started a new studio project with ´Declaration of Independence´. This album got excellent critics and placed them in the public eye as well as going on various tours.
This is one of the most interesting duos on the European music scene because they go further than the trends that the market imposes and have made an experimental field out of music, where each of their albums has an extensive elaboration project behind it that the crowd is grateful for when it comes to the final result.
For more information: http://www.paradiso.nl/web/Agenda-Item/Kings-of-Convenience-Bsides.htm
Walking around the canals or having a coffee in the pleasant little corners of this beautiful city can be done if you rent apartments in Amsterdam Also, don´t forget to go to the Kings of Convenience concert.
