The Whitest Boy Alive

The Whitest Boy Alive is a Berlin-based German-Norwegian indie pop group formed in 2003 by Erlend Øye (of Kings of Convenience fame) and Sebastian Maschat, who were later joined by Marcin Öz and Daniel Nentwig. Originally conceived as an electronic dance music project, the group gradually branched out into other genres such as disco, pop, and rock music. The Whitest Boy Alive released their debut album Dreams in 2006, garnering positive reviews from critics and achieving moderate commercial success in Europe. The album's UK version followed suit the next year, with its lead single "Burning" reaching Number 78 on the British charts. In 2009, the band released their second full-length, Rules. Entirely recorded in Nayarit, Mexico, the album included the single "1517," which was featured in the soundtrack of the video-game FIFA 10. After touring Europe and Asia between 2009 and 2011, The Whitest Boy Alive announced they were going on indefinite hiatus in 2014. Even though the band reunited as a live act in 2017, they wouldn't release new material until 2020 when they returned with the non-album single "Serious." Recorded by just Øye and Maschat while stranded in Mexico due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group's unofficial third album Quarantine at El Ganzo appeared later that year.