Kent

The foundation of what was to become Kent took place in the small Swedish industrial town of Eskilstuna in 1990 (125 kilometers from Stockholm). Inspired by My Bloody Valentine, Joakim Berg (guitar/vocals) and Martin Sköld (bass/keyboards) decided to form a band called Jones & Giftet. The two of them bumped into a pissed Markus Mustonen (drums/piano) outside a local restaurant and in his drunkenness, Mustonen agreed on playing drums in the newly formed band. Two other members joined: Sami Sirviö (lead guitar) and Thomas Bergqvist (synth).

A year later, Jonas & Giftet won the prestigious competition Cult 91 in Eskilstuna. This awoke the interest of EMI’s Magnus Nygren who arranged a gig for them at Daily News & Universitetet. At Cult 92, Bergqvist was replaced by Martin Roos and in September, the band changed their name to Havsängler and more gigs followed. In 1993, the band decided to move to Stockholm. Berg’s brother (Adam) came up with the name Kent which the band have used since then. In Stockholm, the members developed an interest for their image and started wearing suits (an image which later changed to black (leather) clothings).

In March 1994, Kent released a 10 track demo cassette which landed them a record deal with RCA/BMG in June. The band hit Silence Studios in Koppom (Sweden) and started working on their debut album. In February the following year, Kent released their debut single När Det Blåser På Månen, followed by the self-titled debut album which was put out on March 15. Kent participated in the first Lollipop Tour which meant that they got to perform in front of 10,000 people! In September, Kent went back into the studio and took up working on their second album. Meanwhile, Roos was replaced by Harri Mänty (guitar/percussion) as the former wished to focus on his job at Sony Music. However, Roos became Kent’s manager.

In 1996, Kent took on Sweden with storm! They received the Grammy for ‘Best Rock Band’, their second album Verklegen was released (topping the advance sale list for weeks), and the band set out on a massive tour in their home country. The following year, Kent were rewarded with a number of well-earned music awards. In May, they started rehearsing with their new producer, Zed. Initially, Kent wanted to record their third album in the legendary Hansa’s Studio in Berlin, but due to a renovation of the place (beyond all recognition!), the band settled for Galaxy Studios in Belgium. Kent released the first single, Om Du Var Här from the awaited album which hit the Single Top 3 immediately. Apparently, it took Berg a mere 10 minutes to write the track - while he was watching MTV and nursing his hangover! The actual album, Isola (the Italian word for ‘island’) was put out on November 12 and, instantly, went Gold. A week later, the album hit the no. 1 spot on the Album List.

February 1998, Isola went Platinum and the following month, the band won Grammies for Best Rock/Pop Group and Best Album. The band also won several Swedish music awards and had indeed established themselves as one of the most important bands in, not only their home country, but also in Norway, Denmark and Finland. During the winter, the band toured Fenno-Scandinavia – all shows were totally sold out! In April, Isola was released in English and the band spent 2 weeks of May touring Europe for the first time, followed by yet another tour in the Northern countries. September saw the release of Isola in the States and Canada which meant lots of promotions, radioshows and live performances for the band across the Atlantic. Another triumphant European tour followed for the band who, in Autumn, also recorded a track Längtan skala 3:1 for an Amnesty project (click here if ya wanna hear the track).

At the beginning of 1999, Kent set off on a UK tour, followed by their first ‘real’ American tour along with The Cardigans. The two bands continued to tour Fenno-Scandinavia during March, and, in April, Kent went back to tour the States yet again. This time with Papa Vegas. December 1999 saw the release of Kent's fourth album, the fantastic Hagnesta Hill, done in Swedish. The two first singles released were Musik Non Stop and En Himmelsk Drog, respectively, which both made it to the number one spot in the Swedish single chart. An English version of Hagnesta Hill was released in April 2000. Troughout the years, the band have produced some rather fantastic b-sides which were finally collected on one great album in November 2000 - the double album is called B-sidor 95-00.

Kent, whom the music press has compared to Radiohead, deliver a fantastic and powerful sound of layered guitars, beautifully mixed with Berg’s soothing voice. The lyrics, written by Berg, are absolutely amazing – and, personally, I’d call him ‘Sweden’s Morrissey’ (and that is a compliment!). The atmosphere is dark and moody, and one can trace influences such as Joy Division, The Cure, The Pixies, and Depeche Mode to name but a few.

"Vi är på väg till Isola..."

The Official Swedish Kent Site

The Official American Kent Site

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