Twenty years ago, in 2001, Kings of Convenience brought out Quiet is the New Loud. It was far more than just a debut album: it was a declaration of intent on which their entire musical career has hinged. With their hushed singing, solo or dual-vocal, the carefully caressed strings of an acoustic guitar and a delicately played piano, Kings of Convenience’s folk-pop music has sounded throughout the world for two decades. That first album would be followed by Riot on an Empty Street and Declaration of Dependence, two CDs that took them beyond comparisons with Simon & Garfunkel to a realm all of their own.

Kings of Convenience’s formula is so simple that there seems to be no hidden trick to it, although there must be one really, otherwise it would have been so easy for others to have followed their lead, taking advantage of the twelve-year lull in recordings by Erlend Øye and Eirik Bøe. During this period, they could occasionally be seen on stage, but no music was published after 2009.

Now, the sound of silence is finally about to be broken with Peace or Love, the CD due to be released on 18 June. Their work process confirms the fact that there is more mystery to their way of doing things than it may seem: the first recording sessions, when almost all the songs were already written, were back in 2016. “We’ve deceived ourselves over and over again, thinking that now we know how to make records, but when we’re in the studio, we realise that a recording is really about capturing the magic. It’s extremely hard to make something sound easy,” em> they explain now that Peace or Love is almost a reality and a first single, Rocky Trail, is out now.

On 21 October, L’Auditori de Barcelona will be the last stop on a tour that also includes Madrid (Teatro Lope de Vega) and Valencia (Teatre La Rambleta). Thanks to a collaborative initiative between L’Auditori de Barcelona and Primavera Sound, Kings of Convenience andJohn Hopkins will both feature in the programme of Sit Back concerts, since John Hopkins will be stopping off in the autumn (18 November) to present Polarity.

THURSDAY 21 OCTOBER – L’AUDITORI DE BARCELONA (SIT BACK)
Tickets will be on sale from 7 May at 11 am at auditori.cat