Everyone’s favourite Sami-joik pop group KEiiNO have released a fantastic cover version of ‘On A Night Like This’, originally by one of their all time idols, Kylie. It arrives whilst the band are on a tour of her home-country, so a homage to the Australian icon feels just right.
‘On A Night Like This’ has a perfect theme now that many countries can finally go back to socialising. With KEiiNO’s Tom Hugo, together with the band’s in-house producer Rüdiger Schramm, turning the song into a banger for a party, dance floor or a work-out session they hope “the Sami spirit will hopefully bring good fortune and many nights without social distancing”.
The new release arrives at the same time as a compilation album by KEiiNO, celebrating 3 years of the band. The album, titled ‘OKTA guokte’, features all of the band’s original singles, in addition to their dance-cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Shallow’. Since the band couldn’t promote their 2020 debut album ‘OKTA’ (translation: One) on tour, ‘OKTA guokte’ (“guokte” translating to “two”) serves as the album’s follow up, additionally featuring the whopping 9 singles the band have put out since their debut album was released – bringing the total to 19 tracks, with well over 100 million combined streams.
In just 3 years, KEiiNO have become one of Norway’s most streamed pop bands, their uplifting pop finding them a dedicated fan base all over the world. Their success in Eurovision 2019 saw them chart in many European countries, go on to achieve a #1 in Norway, 4 platinum certifications and receive a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemann) nomination. As a trio of singers, they’re far from a one-trick pony, and the songs on ‘OKTA guokte’ vary in sound and style. Some songs might give you a flashback to Y2K eurodisco, some are darker and more synth-heavy, others are timeless pop/rock songs. Quite fitting for a band who have “unity in diversity” as their value motto. But variations aside, all songs have uplifting melodies and a touch of joik and Sami (the Indigenous people of the Nordics language). All sound unmistakably “KEiiNO”.
