Erlend Øye of Kings of Convenience and The Whitest Boy Alive lives in Sicily these days, and started playing music with local musicians, which turned into his band La Comativa. Their self-titled debut album was released a few weeks ago and fits right in with Erlend’s discography, but also bears a strong Italian / Mediterranean influence. You can listen to the album below.
For more on the album, Erlend made us a list of 10 musical inspirations, which include Henry Mancini, Ornella Vanoni, Gipsy Kings, some Detroit techno, and more. In his commentary on each song, Erlend makes some direct ties from the influence to the album. It’s a fun read, and the album’s a fun listen; check it out below.
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ERLEND ØYE – 10 SONGS AND ALBUMS THAT INSPIRED THE MAKING OF LA COMITIVA
Ornella Vanoni – La Voglia, La Pazzia
The biggest female voice in italian music after Mina. She did an album in 1975 with Brazilian musicians that were exiled by the then military dictatorship in Brazil. It’s so playful and spontaneous, a big inspiration on what an album could and should be.
Diego Lorenzini
A contemporary chilean musician that also makes the ukulele a central part of his albums.
Gipsy Kings
La Comitiva was founded on a tour of South America in 2018. i had booked a day in a studio outside of Santiago Chile and we arrived the night before, as it included lodging. We were told to share the dinner with the band that was recording that day. Gipsy Kings! They arrived tired, and we didn’t speak…until the end of the dinner when one of them picked up my ukulele. Despite being left handed, he figured out the positioning in a minute, and after another he started to flesh out some incredible rhythmic strumming, the other started clapping flamenco style, and by the third minute we were all dancing on chairs and tables.
Joao Bosco – “A Nivel De”
My guys from Sicily are always discovering old music from Brazil. This song has an incredible melancholic nerve. When Marco from La Comitiva plays it, it heralds the start of the summer.
Eydie Gormé y Los Panchos – “Sabor A Mí”
Big Mexican classic. Bolero is the name of the musical style. One of many songs that are shared all over Spanish speaking america, recorded by many.
Los Hermanos – “Quetzal”
This Detroit artist released this song in 2002 and played slowed down from 130 bpm to 123 it became a big song for house/techno DJs in Berlin, which is where i heard it. I made some words and melody to go on top of it, for inclusion in my DJ Kicks album but it was impossible to license. However, you can hear the influence of this song in The Whitest Boy Alive song “Island.” But also it became the song “For The Time Being” that is part of the La Comitiva album.
Henry Mancini -“Lujon”
I have been listening a lot to film music the last six years. I don’t watch many movies, but Mancini and Morricone accompanies my life a lot. On the song “Abril’s Theme” you can hear a similar sound when the string section comes in.
Piero Piccioni – “Sensual”
A less famous composer, a recent discovery for me, this song makes me want to learn more about orchestration and recording. On to the future!
Bala Desejo – “Baile de Mascara”
Brazil totally lost it for many decades, similar to Italy, and just produced terrible rock music for a while. However, the tide is turning, and Bala Desejo leads the way. There is no other band i desire more to see live right now.