Cool sounds from Kings of Convenience

We may not get a lot of their releases regularly and not know what really goes on in the music scene in the Land Of The Rising Sun. But judging from the few albums we get from time to time, it can be safely said that the Norwegians know how to make pop music that we like. Remember we made a phenomenon out of Fra Lippo Lippi, Beauty And Madness and Light And Shade or how much we enjoyed A-HA, Take On Me and Crying In The Rain from the ‘80s. Besides we all know that Norway is part of Scandinavia, just like Sweden from where came one of the greatest pop groups of all time, ABBA.

So it is no surprise we instantly took to the music of Kings of Convenience when the album Quiet Is The New Loud was introduced here about a decade ago. Then as softly as the music they create, the pop duo continued to build a solid Pinoy following over the years that also made hits out of their subsequent CD releases, Riot On An Empty Street and Declaration of Dependence.

Truth to tell I think the only time people realized how popular the Kings of Convenience are out here was after it was announced that the group would be coming over to perform at Whitespace Manila. Demand for tickets was so great, the show had to move to a bigger venue. And that is why Kings of Convenience will instead be performing at NBC Tent at The Fort on the evening of Wednesday, March 31.

The Kings is made up of the geeky-looking childhood friends Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe. They both got into music as teens and after a brief stint with a rock band, formed the duo that is now the Kings of Convenience. The title of their first album instantly caught my attention, Quiet Is The New Loud. The sentence is grammatically correct but it’s not something an ordinary English speaking person would use. I later found out that the guys were from Norway and English is their second language. But their title caught on with a lot of people and soon Quiet Is The New Loud was being used by kids, DJs and music reviewers to describe a lot of pop products.

That is still how some of the new minimalist sounds are described nowadays. Think Owl City or OneRepublic. These, like Kings of Convenience rock a bit, but are for the most part, simple, elegant tunes that I really see as a mix of old-time MOR and New Age meanderings. Think Jack Johnson times two in chilly Scandinavia. Whatever it is, I can say that you can listen to the music of Kings all day and all night over a long time and still find it hypnotic. It also helps that they write great lyrics, that sounds like poetry from the old days and are obviously not afraid to reach into their own emotions.

Check out the latest album Declaration Of Dependence and you will find out how cleverly this duo navigates across a lilting jig, Mrs. Cold or sadness, Me In You or daydreamy trance, Scars On Land. There is innocence in the songs and they are never angry or tense. They just take things easy, much like you would probably feel during a relaxing drive, across beautiful scenery while something like a Kings of Convenience CD plays in the background.

 You will probably hear the other cuts like 24-25, Boat Behind, Rule My World, My Ship Isn’t Pretty, Renegade, Power Of Not Knowing, Peacetime Resistance, Freedom And It’s Owner, Riot On An Empty Street, and Second to Numb from Declaration Of Dependence at the NBC Tent plus others by Kings Of Convenience. Also performing will be Swedish indie pop artist Jens Lekman.

Tickets are priced at P1,950 and available at Kate Torralba on the second floor of Greenbelt 5; Mag:Net on High Street at the second floor B-3, Bonifacio High Street; and Route 196 on 196-A Katipunan Avenue. Previously purchased tickets for Whitespace will be honored at the NBC Tent. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.