Erlend Øye & La Comitiva

La Comitiva is a band based in Siracusa, Sicily, comprised of Norwegian musician Erlend Øye and the Sicilians Marco Castello, Luigi Orofino and Stefano Ortisi. Øye is previously known from his work with Kings of Convenience and Whitest Boy Alive and as a solo artist. In some ways La Comitiva is a continuation of his solo work, incorporating his 2013 italian language single La Prima Estate into the bands live setlist.

The band started in 2018 as backing band for Øye’s South American tour. Until then they knew each other from numerous jams in the piazzas of Siracusa, members of a bigger group of musicians that would sporadically play and sing together for their own entertainment, without amplification.

During this initial tour of Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, the band started to create own compositions, mostly based on Øye’s ukulele riffs. Mixed with Orofino’s cavaquinho and the rhythmic guitars a clear sound emerged. First recording session was made in Nils Frahms’ studio in Funkhaus, Berlin, and 2019 saw the release of first single “For The Time Being”.

Covid made a dent in the groups momentum and only in 2024 the full-length album sees the light of day.

It features 13 original songs and is simply called La Comitiva. This slightly outdated Italian expression refers to your “gang” , the crew of people you would go out on town with or go to the beach with.

The music is a mix of intimate chamber pop, understated south American rhythms, and soundtracks of Italian movies. The artwork for the album is made by an Italian artist that paints on glass, and lives on a tiny island north of Sicily. His name is Roberto Di Alicudi.

TRACKLIST:
1.Matrimonio di Ruggiero
2.Paradiso
3.Lockdown Blues
4.You And Only You
5.Altiplano
6.Abril’s Theme
7.Valdivia
8.For The Time Being
9.Upside Down
10.Marco’s Theme
11.Bologna
12.Mornings And Afternoons
13.The Attraction