A Norwegian soundtrack to an Italian summer

Norwegian Erlend Øye perfectly captures the languid charms of a typical Sicilian summer. 

A brief flicker of sunshine in London this weekend had us dreaming of summer. And nothing says summer like Erlend Øye’s beautiful acoustic reworking of the Italian classic, ‘Estate’.

Erlend Øye hails from Bergen in Norway. He is perhaps best known as half of the acoustic duo, Kings of Convenience.

But it’s a very particular type of Italian summer Erland evokes.

It’s one that is languid and chilled but wistful and plaintive as well.

The equally evocative video was shot around Syracuse in Sicily. 

Erlend bought a house in the city after performing a concert there in 2012 and has lived there ever since.

It was shot on an old 16mm camera by Luca Merli.

The washed-out tones and hand-held jitter imbues the song with the intimacy of an old home movie, perfectly complimenting Erland’s equally intimate delivery.

It encapsulates the kind of summer we’ve been missing during the pandemic.

Right down to the sparrows, chirping in the background.

‘Estate’ was originally performed by Bruno Martino, an old school ‘cantautori’ from Rome. It chronicles the story of two students, enjoying one last summer before graduation and the responsibilities of making their way in the real world.

Main image: Erlend Øye in a boat in Sicily (© Metatron Music)

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