Posted on by Rob Jones

Kings of Convenience Play “Me In You”

Here’s a clip of Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience, here in their natural habitat of Bergen, Norway. It’s “Me In You”, a track that can be heard on their most recent record, Declaration of Dependence from 2009.

In addition to being a reminder of their skills in creating melancholic, atmospheric music that seems to fuse pop, jazz, and samba-like rhythms, this clip gives you an overview – literally – of their hometown. It was the first video that the duo directed themselves, although I’m not sure whether it was Erlend Øye or Erik Glambek Bøe , the two KoC principles, who oversaw the remote-control camera (if that’s what it was!).

This clip touches on a two of my personal passions. One is accessible, intelligent pop music that pulls from disparate sources and eras, yet is still to be considered as wholly original. The other is city planning designed for humans and human happiness, not for cars, for developers, or real estate speculators. Just look at that town. Beautiful.

Bergen Norway
Bergen, Norway: picture postcard perfect home of Kings of Convenience

And there’s a point. How does one’s environment affect the way one’s music comes out? Is there a correlation? And how does it play out here? Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones

Kings of Convenience Perform ‘Toxic Girl’

Here’s a clip of Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience with one of my favourite tracks off of their 2001 album Quiet Is the New Loud.

Kings of Convenience
Kings of Convenience

It’s hard to choose between which tune on this record I like best.  I’m a sucker for autumnal music, and this record on the whole is certainly that – you can practically smell the leaves on the ground with this one.  And there’s something dreamlike about these songs too, like the music which sometimes filters down from your subconscious just as you’re failing asleep, or just as you’re rising up from a long, good dream.  I chose this one because I mistook it initially for that music, the song in your dream which you remember being one of the most haunting and melodic tunes you’ve ever heard, yet forget once you’re awake.

It was the early morning, a weekday, when I was living in London.  I had a very long commute, and woke up stupidly early on weekdays.  I was in a deep sleep when the radio came on, and ‘Toxic Girl’ was playing – both on the radio and in my dream.  When I woke up fully, it was almost with shock that the song was still playing, a gentle, simple melody, rippling like a brook and with those tightly sung, yet also entirely relaxed Nordic voices.  I was hooked.  This song is made for early mornings, for Octobers.

For more about the band, check out the Kings of Convenience MySpace page.

Enjoy!