The Whitest Boy Alive reunite for South America and Europe tour to mark 20th anniversary

The Whitest Boy Alive are reuniting for a tour of South America and Europe this spring and summer to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Dreams, the band’s frontman Erlend Øye said. Øye, who has worked across numerous European projects from Kings of Convenience to La Comitiva, formed The Whitest Boy Alive after moving to Berlin.

He met Marcin Öz and then keyboard player Daniel Nentwig and drummer Sebastian Maschat at a rehearsal space on Karl-Marx-Allee; their 2006 album Dreams combined melancholy indie pop with deep-house rhythms, a sound the source likens to “Joy Division fronted by Art Garfunkel” and as a mood akin to Everything But the Girl.

The record’s reception in the Anglosphere was mixed: reviews prompted comparisons to “Jamiroquai’s most soulless moments” in The Guardian and Pitchfork called Dreams “toothless”, saying it sounded as if “Kraftwerk had produced Fleetwood Mac”. Øye said the band’s name hindered early US success and noted a contrasting peak of popularity in Mexico, where a 2021 festival drew “8,000 people who knew every word to every song”.

The band split in 2014 amid hints of internal strife; Øye has also cited tinnitus and hyperacusis, which make rehearsals and indoor gigs difficult, as a major reason for stopping. The upcoming tour will include stops in Potsdam, Paris and Copenhagen.

Key Topics

Culture, Whitest Boy Alive, Erlend Øye, Dreams Album, Berlin, Mexico