Good Peeps: Erlend Oye

"Every Party Has A Winner & A Loser"

We're not afraid to admit our intense love of all things Scandanavian. The accent, the names (Jens/Lindstrom), and especially the music (electro/pop/space disco/goth house). Maybe it has something to do with only getting sunlight for half the year, but whatever the cause, there is some incredibly magikal stuff coming out of Viking land.

One of our favorite Scandanavian's is Erlend Oye. Erlend, who hails from Bergen, Norway (also home to Royksopp, Annie, and The Knife) is famous for his work in the Norweigan version of Simon & Garfunkel, Kings of Convenience. However, in the past few years Oye has ditched his acoustic guitar for a pair of turntables and a host of synthesizers. Aside from his work with Royksopp (yep, the sick song on the Geico commercial) and his on-going stint in the Whitest Boy Alive (fitting name), Erlend has produced a bevy of fuzzy, infectious downtempo electronic pop songs. His album Unrest is a collection of 10 tracks recorded in 10 different cities with 10 different producers. He has also contributed to the ever expanding DJ KiCKS series, where he remixes the Rapture and Phoenix, among others. Below you can download a song he did with Prefuse 73 (one of our all time favorites tracks) and the absurdly titled "Poor Leno" remix from Erlend's DJ KiCKS. If you dig the Postal Service, you're gonna eat this right up.



From DJ KiCKS
Royksopp & Erlend Oye- Poor Leno (Silicone Souls Hypno House Dub)/There is a Light that Never Goes Out (acappella)

From Unrest
Erlend Oye & Prefuse 73- Every Party Has a Winner and a Loser

Solo acoustic rendition of "Every Party..."

Under the Covers: The Magnetic Fields

"Hey?!? Am I Making Any Sense At All?!?!"



The Magnetic Fields are a folkie synth pop band (if that makes sense) fronted by Stephin Merritt. Merritt started the group as a bedroom project, but it quickly grew to include childhood friends Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol and John Woo. While the group has held a cult following since 1991, they gained notoriety in 1999 with 69 Love Songs, a triple album of, yep, love songs.

Today we've got two The Magnetic Fields covers. The first is from one of our favorite Norweigan's (we've got many), Erlend Oye. You may know of him as a DJ, a King of Convenience, Feist & Royksopp collaborator, or, possibly, the Whitest Boy Alive. Regardless, this guy's got the midas touch and his vocal on "the Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" is as genuine, clever and witty as Stephen Merritt's. Download the Kings of Convenience and Magnetic Fields versions below.

!!! If you've seen this puzzling string of exclamation points and were wondering what the hell it means, well it's pronounced 'chk-chk-chk' and it's punctuation for kick-ass drrrrty disco dance punk funk. Think Chili Peppers Meets LCD Soundsystem and My Bloody Valentine. A few years ago they released one of our favorite bangers "Me & Guiliani Down By the School Yard," which they followed with the aptly titled "Take Ecstasy With Me," a song off the Magnetic Fields record Holiday. They couldn't have picked a more appropriate song.

Magnetic Fields- Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side
Kings of Convenience- Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side (live)

Magnetic Fields- Take Ecstasy With Me
!!!- Take Ecstasy With Me

Just A Reminder

"1,2,3,4"


So Feist's new record, The Reminder, finally hits stores (physical and digital) today. Last week I featured her song "My Moon My Man" twice on the Knuckles McGregor podcast , so I figured I might as well throw the absolutely drunk Boyz Noise remix up for grabs. If you don't love the deep synth'd out vocoder intro, then swallow a handful of Mitsubishi pressed E-bombs and let the serotonin leak freely.

But first things first, if you haven't seen the videos for "1,2,3,4" and "My Moon My Man" do yourself a favor and scroll down. After watching you will have the strange urge start wearing multi-colored spandex leotards and recreating the synchronized choreography of "1,2,3,4" at slumber parties (post pizza, pre-pillow fight). You may notice a common theme among the videos, Feist sure loves dancing (Broadway?). Did I mention that I have a large (and growing) crush on Mrs. Leslie Feist?

The Reminder is also on sale at Amazon for a mind blowing $7.99.

Coincidently, while writing this post, STV SLV from THE HOOD INTERNET hit me up notifing me about a brand new Feist vs. Lloyd mash up they just posted. These guys are on fire, so of course, I had to throw it in in the mix. Feist vs. Lloyd- My Moon My Shawty

If you enjoy Ms. Feist's sweet voice, you may be interested in these tracks she cut with Norway's version of Simon & Garfunkel, the Kings of Convenience. Feist and K.o.C have collaborated alot in the past, both in the studio and on tour, and this live in-studio performance from KEXP in Seattle is a fine example of the lush, tranquil sounds they create together. "Know How," "Live Long" and "The Build Up" are Kings of Convenience songs, while "The Water" and "Mushaboom" are both off Feist's 2003 album, Let it Die.

Kings of Convenience w/ Feist- Know How
Kings of Convenience w/ Feist- Live Long
Feist w/ Kings of Convenience- The Water
Feist w/ Kings of Convenience- Mushaboom
Kings of Convenience & Feist- The Build Up
Feist- My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)




"1,2,3,4"


"My Moon My Man"