Eirik of the Kings of Convenience interviewed by Tom Dark

"This week I have been mostly…" given the opportunity to interview one half of the Kings of Convenience. I conducted the interview with Eirik (the un-spectacled one) from his hotel room in London, near Hyde Park. This is what he had to say about everything from world pollution to Kylie Minogue and everything in-between…

You guys are native to Norway. Do you still live there or do you spend most of your time in the UK?

We live in Norway but travel to the UK quite a lot. Tomorrow we're playing for the Norwegian Ambassador to celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize. We're very honoured, it's a celebration of something very important… especially in these times.

There is a short pause after this as I furiously scribble down his response; I try to excuse myself, explaining how I'm "not a proper journalist anyway", so he'll have to bear with me. Eirik doesn't seem to mind and to put me at ease he explains how Norwegians are "very slow people" and that he's also eating an apple, so I really have nothing to worry about!

So, what is the best thing about living in Norway compared to being in other countries?

There's more nature, more wild nature… and mountains… there's the sea, the water is very clean. [At this point Eirik get up on his political soapbox] Now though, the British Government is dumping nuclear waste in the North Sea and if you buy a Lobster in Norway and take it to a Laboratory you can see that it's radioactive! Your Government doesn't give a shit - emissions are getting worse every year. Nowadays no countries care about the environment until it effects them. Make sure you write this down, it's important.

I agree; it's definitely a problem. So how long have you been over in the UK, have you only just arrived for this performance tomorrow?

Yes, we arrived yesterday evening.

So what is at Number One back home in Norway? I was quite interested to find out how similar the charts really are across Europe.

Last week [on the album chart] it was Röyksopp, who is one of the collaborators on our new remix album… it's a fantastic album.

And singles? Over here we've just had Number Ones from Kylie and DJ Otzi!

I'm not too sure, it was probably Kylie. I'm not particularly a fan of hers although actually I think it's quite good, very simple, very banal. There's something about it that makes me not hate it… and she looks great!

I'd certainly agree with that! So, can you explain the name 'Kings of Convenience', is there a story or a meaning behind it?

That's actually a very difficult question, because now I like to think of it just as a name, I think it sounds good. I just like to think of it as just a name and not explain different interpretations; it's just that I like the sound. It does have five different meanings… but people can figure it out for themselves!

The story of you and Erlend meeting is well documented (winning a Geography competition at age 11) but what actually prompted you two to get together and make music?

Well we were in the same class at Senior High School… and I had a guitar… and Erlend had just bought one. When I told him I had just bought one myself he said "Yeah, I'll come over to yours and play some songs". We'd been writing songs together before we could play guitars. We were making up the chords before we really learnt them. I didn't spend my time learning how to play other people's songs, like 'Stairway to Heaven'! We were doing things our own way - our first songs were pretty much crap! I'd encourage people to play with music… just make up your own stuff. That's the great thing about music: it belongs to everyone.

The type of music you make is often linked in the press to the likes of Badly Drawn Boy, and hailed as 'New Acoustic Music'. What do you think of this tag - do you like it or would you describe it differently?

I like Badly Drawn Boy and Turin Brakes but I don't really see the similarities so much… I don't think that there is such a thing as New Acoustic Music. Most of these bands use the electric guitar too. That tag doesn't really say that much - it doesn't matter if it's acoustic or electric.

So, you're just about to release a remix album called 'Versus'. What was the thinking behind that? Who did you choose for the remixes and collaborations and why?

It was because three of the people we have collaborated with are bands based in Bergen - our hometown - they were friends of ours who made remixes. It sounded good so we wanted to do more of it. We also worked with our friends in the band Alfie; we were pleased with the results.

And do you have a favourite remix on the album?

I like all of them but I think my favourite is the Riton remix of 'The Girl From Back Then'. It's the third track on the album.

Okay, well time's nearly up so lets finish the interview with some 'Quickfire Questions'…
Do you have a favourite website?

No I don't use the internet very much.

Who would you most like to get stuck in a lift with?

My girlfriend!

And finally… if you were forced to perform a cover version, what would you do?

We've done several before! I'd choose a song that in the original recording doesn't sound as good as it could - some 80's love song that had been created with a synthesiser [Eirik promptly imitates a banging 80's synth bass line!] I'd strip it down and play it with acoustic guitar to show how good it really is.

The Kings of Convenience release their new album, 'Versus', on October 22. It features remixes of tracks from their current record 'Quiet Is The New Loud'. By the time you read this they will have already performed for the Norwegian Ambassador!

Tom Dark