Erlend Oye

TRACK LISTING:
1. Ghost Trains
2. Sheltered Life
3. Sudden Rush
4. Prego Amore
5. Every Party
6. The Athlete
7. Symptom Of Disease
8. The Talk
9. A While Ago And Recently
10. Like Gold

Erland Oye made his name with Norwegian downbeat folk duo, Kings of Convenience, who thanks to a couple of unlikely remixes found themselves the toast of Ibiza. Vocal duties with fellow Norwegians Royksopp further cemented his reputation, and it is this more electronic sound that he's explored on his debut album. Packing away his guitar, he has embarked on a trip around the world and collaborated with probably the hottest leftfield dance producers of the day.

Whether Erland himself personally chose who to work with, or it was the work of some canny A+R man, someone deserves to be congratulated on their good taste and choices. For anyone connected with electronic music the ten artists would constitute a dream list of people to work with. From the absurdly talented Scott Herron (aka Prefuse 73) to the man of the moment Morgan Geist, every one of these are talented artists in their own right.

The album has a defiantly '80s edge to it, with most of the tracks easily fitting into a bouncy electro synth pop mould, with just a hint of Cameo lurking. Holding all the slight variations together is Erland’s soft melancholy voice, which can infuse even the poppiest track with a deep yearning.

It really is quite beautiful stuff- even without the vocals I’d love this album. All the producers turn in variations of perfect electro pop, from Mr. Velcro Fastener's booming electro to Prefuse 73's take on some kind of '80s electro-funk-rap hybrid. With the addition of the vocals, you end up with that rare thing, a ‘dance’ album that welcomes repeated listening.

Whilst purists, whether they be of the dance or indie/folk/downbeat variety, may turn their nose up at some of this, such snobbery would be a huge mistake. And it's early days yet, but Unrest should be in contention for one of the albums of the year. Expertly crafted pure pop, but without a hint of cheese surrounding it, it’s a blueprint for what the music of the future should be - one eye on the past but definitely moving forwards.

- John Power

I can't believe my boy's in town.

Friday, May 7
ERLEND OYE (Kings of Convenience) DJ Kicks Tour
Guest DJ set + live vocals

Zanzibar 1301 5th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401


Erlend Øye

The job title of DJ may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Erlend Øye. The singer, songwriter and indie pop star has only owned a set of turntables for a few months (evidence of this can be seen on the second page of the booklet to his solo album Unrest), and much prefers playing CD's anyway. Despite all this, Erlend Øye the DJ is anything but a joke. With his compilation for the latest installment of the DJ-Kicks series, the Berlin-residing Norwegian not only redefines the DJ mix, but also unknowingly uses !K7 classics to do it: you don't have to be the technically gifted record spinner to come up with an exciting mix. And, in a certain way, he also brings to mind DJ-Kicks alums like Kruder & Dorfmeister, but where they enriched their mixes in the studio using dub effects, keyboard overlays and distortions, Erlend Øye takes to the microphone. Erlend Øye has re-sung nine songs for his DJ-Kicks album. Three of these are so far unreleased compositions of his own ("Intergalactic Autobahn," "The Black Keys Work" and "A Place In My Heart" and the other six are cover versions. Øye also interprets these in such a way that the listener only recognizes them after the first or second verse. And when Erlend sings hits such as "Venus" and "Always On My Mind" with his enchantingly soft voice, it's not clear whether he's covering Bananarama or Shocking Blue, the Pet Shop Boys or Elvis. Erlend Øye generally sings his versions a cappella over pre-existing instrumental tracks and it wouldn't be too surprising if some of these homegrown mash-ups became club hits. Highpoints include the mix of Justus Köhncke's "2 After 909" with Erlend's "Intergalatic Autobahn", and Silikon Soul's instrumental mix of Röyksopp's hit "Poor Leno" (on the original of which Erlend's voice can be heard) with "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out." The idea of combining this Smiths classic with the Röyksopp remix came to Erlend two years ago when the Röyksopp CD was released and he heard Schneider TM's version of the Smiths song. The genesis of this approach wasn't so much the burning bootleg fever of the time but Erlend Oye's entrance into electronic music. "Until the end of the 90s, I wasn't really interested in electronic music at all," says Øye. "I first came into contact with it when my friend Erot played me a track he'd produced for the Swedish house label Svek. I thought it was magnificent and I wrote some lyrics to go with it. Subsequently, we re-recorded the piece with my vocals. For me as a singer, it's no big difference whether I sing to a piece especially produced for me or an already existing techno or house track." That was four years ago. In the ensuing period, the celebrated Kings of Convenience debut, Quiet Is The New Loud was released. This is the acoustic project made famous by Erlend and his partner Eirik Glambeck. Then there was the remix collection, Versus, which also included Erlend's song with Erot under the title, "Gold For The Price Of Silver." Erlend Øye¹s debut solo album, Unrest, subsequently brought him together with electronic producers like Morgan Geist, Schneider TM and Prefuse 73 at the start of last year.

Erlend Øye's selection for his DJ-Kicks mix is a mixture of tracks by these producers as well as a striking number of a tracks from the Cologne label Kompakt. All tracks that Erlend Øye first encountered in Berlin clubs. "I always dance when I go out. And when I particularly like a track I'm dancing to I have to know what it is. So I go to the DJ and ask him." says Erlend. He picked up one or two mixing techniques in the same way. "DJs often mix in a few bars of the track coming next. I do the same thing, but I don't announce the track by playing it. I sing a verse of it." On the DJ-Kicks CD, this technique can be heard in the fabulous transition from Cornelius's "Drop" to Phoenix's "If I Ever Feel Better." There's more of this to come, as Erlend Øye will be on the road soon for his upcoming DJ-Kicks tour. Stay tuned for the announcement of his U.S. dates this Spring.

For more information, to request press photos, or to schedule an interview with Erlend please contact Gamall (gamall@backspinpromo.com), Roy (roy@backspinpromo.com) or Jayna (jayna@backspinpromo.com).







Erlend Øye speaks:

When I was telling my friend Simone about the good news, that I was doing the next DJ-Kicks record on !K7, she said she had already heard, and she wanted to know if I had met him yet. "Who?" I said."DJ Kicks", she replied. First I thought she was joking, then I realized that she wasn`t, and explained that DJ-Kicks is not a person. It's just the name of a DJ mix series. That I guess refers to the "kick" you get out of dj'ing. Not some mystery man in the shadows, who sprinkles dub-echoes when he feels like it. But I can see that it´s an easy mistake to make. If anyone else were under this assumption, I hope all is clear now.

Anyway, I DO get a kick out of DJ'ing. It requires use of all your senses and abilities. To read the crowd, their mood and their expectations: are they here to listen and talk, or did they bring their dancing shoes? You can come as a stranger and be everybody`s best friend at 3:30, or the one who empties a full dance floor within 10 minutes and leaves through the back door with a pink face. We come in many shapes and sizes. There is the house/techno DJ whose main focus is to mix tracks into each other, thus creating one long, developing piece of music. Keywords include: Build-up, bassdrums, "artistic dimension", drugs, facelessness. On the other side you`ll find the wedding DJ, whose job is to please, and does so by playing danceable hits from all decades (although mostly ABBA). He might feel conceptual and play five tracks from the eighties, followed by five tracks from the seventies, and then back to the eighties again. But there won`t be any mixing or interaction between the tracks. He`s there to entertain, not to educate. So who am I? Well, I am not really a skilled beat-mixer, and I rarely play ABBA, so I guess I am positioned somewhere in between, although with one distinguishing feature: A microphone. I am a singing DJ. I sing over instrumentals or talk about what´s on my mind, especially in the beginning of the night when people are still sipping their drinks. Because in my opinion, a good Dj is not only musically responsible, he is also the host of the party. As doormen become increasingly tough, barstaff increasingly unfriendly and the organizers are laundering money in the office upstairs, someone must take responsibility and make people feel welcome. This is where I come in. Not just a DJ, but a party official. I have tried to sum up my rules of thumb in five points.

1. Sound. Generally, DJ sets are too loud. Especially in the beginning. One should always have headroom to take from when the party really gets going. If not, one risks the chance that the party never does get going, because people get tired and go home. The volume and equalisation must be adjusted and mixed from the perspective of the dancefloor as the sound in the DJ-booth is always different. The jockey must take strolls around the club and see what people are actually hearing.

2. Music. Before the club is 50% full, focus on songs or at least melody. When it´s clear that people are not going to dance, think more about mood than rhythm. And again, make sure you GIVE energy instead of take. Only when you feel a certain restlessness in the crowd, it´s time to bring on the disco. And, increase the volume.

3. Priorities. Don`t engage in conversation when you are working. Give high five`s or a big smile, but talk when your set is done. Right now you need to figure out the next record BEFORE the current one ends.

4. Air. Ok, so you got the party started. In fact, the crowd is going crazy,and to use my friend DJ Highfish`s expression, "the air is burning." Which means, the oxygen is turning into CO2. And it´s just a matter of time before everyone`s legs turn to jelly. And all that great energy from half an hour ago will be gone. But luckily, you made enquiries upon your arrival, and got the key for the ventilation machine room, where you are standing right now and turning the level to 11. Or: you open the windows. If the organizers come and close them because of the neighbours, you open them again. Don`t worry, they won`t get mad. You`re the DJ! They paid to get you here! Needless to say, the smokemachine is the most useless and irritating invention known to man. Don`t use it.

5. Light. Oxygen returned, dancefloor packed, the end of your alotted 2 hours approaching: it`s time to drop the MEGA-BURNER. That one track that always works, but only YOU have a copy of. Your signature-tune. And at this point, control of the light is crucial. Either you have the lighting-guy next to you and you communicate with him, or you have arranged for the controls to be explained to you and put within your reach, but you must be in command.

Slowly make it dark as you fade the previous track out, start the drum-intro, say something in the mic and when that Holy!-Ka!-Moly!-bassline comes in, put all the coloured lights on max. People go nuts. Then, a minute later, make it pitch-dark when the bassdrum drops out. And when it returns, you unleash the strobe. Alone. Other lights will just diminish the effect. In this moment, people will go double-crazy and think of you as a rockstar. When in fact, you are just playing other peoples music! It`s sooo easy...

I checked em' out, pretty darn cool I didn't get to go to that show though.
It's probably just me but I can't see the picture.

nevermind.......I see it now. :duh:

Quote:

Originally posted by Neuwave 5. Light. Oxygen returned, dancefloor packed, the end of your alotted 2 hours approaching: it`s time to drop the MEGA-BURNER. That one track that always works, but only YOU have a copy of. Your signature-tune. And at this point, control of the light is crucial. Either you have the lighting-guy next to you and you communicate with him, or you have arranged for the controls to be explained to you and put within your reach, but you must be in command. Slowly make it dark as you fade the previous track out, start the drum-intro, say something in the mic and when that Holy!-Ka!-Moly!-bassline comes in, put all the coloured lights on max. People go nuts. Then, a minute later, make it pitch-dark when the bassdrum drops out. And when it returns, you unleash the strobe. Alone. Other lights will just diminish the effect. In this moment, people will go double-crazy and think of you as a rockstar. When in fact, you are just playing other peoples music! It`s sooo easy...

.......sweet :wow: