History

Erlend and Eirik were both born in 1975 (Erlend on November 21 and Eirik on October 20), and have known each other since the age of eleven. At sixteen, they played together in the band Skog ("forest") with two other friends, releasing one EP Tom Tids Tale, before breaking up and later forming the Kings duo.

The twosome found the American label Kindercore after appearing in European festivals during the summer of 1999. In 2001, they released their debut album Quiet Is the New Loud. The album was very successful and even lent its name to a small movement of musicians in the pop underground which took Belle and Sebastian and Simon and Garfunkel as their inspiration, trying to focus on more subtle melodies and messages, such as Turin Brakes.

The remix album Versus came out shortly after the Quiet. After this breakthrough year, not much was heard from the band. Øye spent the next few years living in Berlin and doing solo material, releasing music under the DJ Kicks series.

It was not until 2004 that the Kings' follow-up Riot on an Empty Street was released. The video made for I'd Rather Dance With You, the second single from Riot on an Empty Street, topped MTV's European list as the best music video of 2004. It also featured contributions by Leslie Feist.

Both Øye and Bøe sing in their tracks, and both of them compose.