I Was a King

Indie rock clothing I USED TO BE a Ruler were shaped in Oslo, Norway by singer/songwriter/guitarist Frode Strømstad in 2006. Going for a cue from stalwart ’90s shoegaze works like Teenage Fanclub and My Bloody Valentine, aswell as lo-fi power pop symbols Led by Voices and psychedelic rock and roll royalty the Creation and Strawberry NOISY ALARMS, Strømstad released I USED TO BE a King’s debut, Dropping Something Best for Something Better, in 2007. The recording received accolades in its Scandinavian homeland aswell as with the English press. Released in ’09 2009, I HAD BEEN a King’s eponymous sophomore work featured looks by Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile), and Gary Olson (Ladybug Transistor). Around the group’s 2011 recording Old Close friends, Strømstad was once again became a member of by Nikolaisen and Smith, amongst others, as he crafted his most impressively musical and unforgettable record however. A year later on, the group released YOU LIKE It Here, that was made by Robyn Hitchcock and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake. In 2014, their 5th recording (and second for Warner Bros.) Isle of Yours premiered.