Hear Kings of Convenience’s Erlend Øye cover “Wichita Lineman” on new EP
Kings of Convenience's Erlend Øye has just released a new solo EP, Winter Companion. The cover art proudly notes it was "Recorded in Mexico City, January 2023" which is pretty quick for an artist who, certainly with his band, tend to labor over every note and detail. It features for originals and covers of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman" (made famous by Glen Campbell) and The Moore Brothers' "New For You."
"In January I was in Mexico City without a particular professional reason," Øye says. "I went to visit some music studios, and one of them was Psicopsia Studios in Las Lomas. It is managed by Fernando Ramirez, who also is stage manager whenever I play in Mexico with KoC, Whitest Boy Alive or by myself."
He continues: "His house used be owned by a Colonel, and he had made a squash court in there, to keep himself in shape. That is now the recording room. It has a distinct reverb, and that makes is fun to sit and play and sing in. So then I started going there, recording what came to my mind. SPIDER was written just a few weeks before, when I stayed with the guys of WBA in a house by the beach in acapulco. I played it for the first time at my christmas show at Supremo, CDMX December 22nd last year. SHADOW IN THE WATER in turn was written a few days after that, while staying in Cabo Pulmo, Baja California."
As to the speed of the this EP, Erlend says, "It's been a dream for me to release songs that I have written while they are still fresh out of the oven. With these two that dream is coming true. Not all the material are new songs though. BE THE ONE came about in 2018 when I was in Chile and had just discovered the instrument Quatro Venezuelano. Javier Bobbert from La Matiné Uva Robot showed me the 4 essential chords for this instrument and with those this little song came to life. The Mexican musician Davide Alguilar joined me in the studio one day, and he brought a Quatro with him and we ended up recording that song with him playing a cool guitar rhythm on it. On SPIDER he also there, as part of a choir with Alex Ferreira and Diego Lorenzini. Clara Cebrian also sings on the chorus of this song, AND has made the cover for the album."
Listen to Winter Companion below.
Kings of Convenience will be on their first North American tour in 12 years this fall.