Kent FAQ (English)

[henrik]

Kent FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Kent.

* = Newly updated question and answer.

There are several different sections with questions and answers:

• The band
• Albums/songs
• Concerts
• Kent and the Internet
• Who is who?

What's the fastest way to find what I'm looking for?
Press Ctrl F or click on Edit in your browser (Internet Explorer). Choose Find. Write the word you're looking for in the text box.


>> The band

Q: This guy Kent... Who are the geezers he teams up with on stage all the time?*
A: Kent is a Swedish rock band where none of the members are actually named Kent.
They are the following:
Joakim Berg - Lead vocals, guitars. Born: March 16, 1970.
Markus Mustonen - Drums, percussion, backing vocals. Born: January 20, 1973.
Sami Sirviö - Lead guitar. Born: May 28, 1970.
Martin Sköld - Bass. Born: October 2, 1970.

Former member of Kent: Harri Mänty - Rhythm guitar. Born: July 31, 1971.

More information about the band can be found in the biography. An English biography is coming soon!

Q: Where in Sweden are they from?
A: All of the members in Kent are from Eskilstuna, but now they live in Stockholm.

Q: Have any of the Kent members been involved in other bands, or solo projects?
A: In his teens, Markus Mustonen used to play gloomy rock music in a band called Beds of Flowers.
Markus also played drums for Space Age Baby Jane during their 2003 tour. Marcus was also the drummer for Nina Rochelle on their album Om Sverige Vill Ha Det Så, and the ensuing tour in 2003.

Harri Mänty was the lead singer in a band called No security, and also played in a band named No funktion.

Several band members in Kent have played in Coca Cola Kids, Jones & Giftet and Havsänglar. These bands are considered prototypes of what would later be known as Kent.

In 1998, Joakim Berg and Peter Svensson (guitarist and songwriter in the Swedish band The Cardigans) joined together in a side-project named Paus to release a solo album.
Jocke co-wrote songs for Lisa Miskovsky’s second album Fallingwater (2003), and contributed with backing vocals on a few songs.

Q: Were there any albums released?
A: Paus has released one album (Paus, 1998), and the two album singles Chock and Leia.
Go to Paus' website.

Harri’s band No Security released a compilation record titled When the gist is sucked from the fruit of welfare, the ugly faces of truth show.

Jones & Giftet and Havsänglar did record several demos, that were never released.

Q: Where could I find these songs that are not available on CD?
A: As stated above, they aren’t available for purchase. To find them, you would have to resort to file-sharing computer programs in the hope that they will be available for download there.

Q: Isn’t downloading music illegal?
A: From July 1 2005 it is forbidden, according to Swedish law, to download music if you don't have permission from the originator.

Q: Where could I find the lyrics to these demo recordings?
A: At the Sjufiresju lyrics page.

Q: Is it true that Joakim actually does some rapping in one of these songs?
A: Yes, Joakim does indeed rap a little in the Jones & Giftet demo Långt och Längre.

Q: Why was the band called The Coca Cola Kids?
A: Sami said this in an interview in Sonic (Number 6, 2002):
"Because we always went and bought bottles of coke in the café and took them with us to the studio – but never took them away from there – there lied a snowdrift of bottles on the floor. Thus we became The Coca Cola Kids."

Q: Why was the band called Jones & Giftet (Jones & the Poison)?
A: Martin said this in the interview in Sonic (Number 6, 2002):
"The thought with Jones & Giftet was that we would be that priest Jones [Jim Jones, leader of a suicide-cult in Guyana 1970-1978. Editor's note] and the music would be the poison. People would just accept it."

Q: Why was the band called Havsänglar (Sea Angels)?
A: From the interview in Sonic (Number 6, 2002):
"Jocke: Just then it was damned 'in' with the sea, Ride had released a single with a shark on it and on 'Nowhere' there was a wave.
Sami: Jocke and Martin sat and drank beer and had a nature-program on about animals in the sea. The word Havsängel (Sea Angel) flickered past and the guys believed that it was the name of a big stingray. 'Damn how cool!'"

Note: Havsänglar literally translates as Sea Angels, but the species is called Angel Shark in English.

Q: Why did the band change their name from Havsänglar to Kent?
A: They realised that a Havsängel (Angel Shark) was a rather unattractive fish, and decided to change their name to Kent in 1993. Joakim's brother Adam is said to have suggested the name Kent.
In an interview (Göteborgs-Posten 1995-03-12), Jocke said:
"We wrote down a bunch names on a piece of paper, 60 or so. Then we struck all the bad ones off the list, one by one. Eventually there was only Kent left. It's really a stupid name. Even people who are named Kent must think that."

Q: I keep hearing about a Kent documentary from time to time. What’s the story?
A: In 2000, journalists Per Sinding-Larsen and Mathias Engstrand accompanied Kent during tours and their leisure time to gather material for a documentary on the band. The project resulted in the hour-long documentary Så nära får ingen gå – ett år med Kent.
It has aired in Swedish television several times, by request, most recently in 2003. The documentary is not yet available on VHS or DVD.

Q: Which songs are played in the documentary?
A: When they band is having a heartbreaker evening in the tour bus they play Jojje Wadenius - Jag är det fulaste som finns.
When Jocke is standing together with Harri and Sami next to the tour bus on a parking lot, Jocke play and hum Annie's song by John Denver.
And when Sami tells Jocke to play a happier song they play a song they call Jag älskar Jesus (I love Jesus), according to a reply in Fråga Kent 2004-06-19.
Martin plays Sister Nancy - Bam Bam on the stereo in the tour bus.
When the band is on the Roskilde festival The Cure - Lullaby is played.
When the band is rehearsing on Käringön Harry Brandelius - Ungmön på Käringön is played.
Sami and Markus play and sing along on George Baker Selection - Little green bag when they're on an afterparty in a hotel room.
Depeche Mode - It's no good is played when Markus is moving furnitures from his apartment.

Q: What is this story about Harri and the pizza that people are talking about?
A: You can read the whole story in the kent enclosure from the Stockholm Stadion concert, on page 3 (in Swedish).

Briefly, Harri Mänty got hungry after a late night on the USA tour in 1999. They're in Minneapolis and Kent's manager makes sure that all the band members are in the tour bus before it's heading for Seattle. Everyone is in the bus. But after a while, a hungry Harri leaves to go and buy a pizza. Meanwhile, the bus leaves without him.

When Harri is going back to the bus he obviously can't find it. Eventually he succeeds in reaching Kent's manager, but then the bus is 7-8 hours away from Minneapolis. Harri has to take an airplane to Seattle and he arrives one hour before their show there. What about the pizza? Harri didn't get a pizza - all the pizzerias where closed.


>> Albums/songs

Q: How many albums have Kent released?*
A: Kent have released nine albums in Swedish:
Kent (1995)
Verkligen (1996)
Isola (1997)
Hagnesta Hill (1999)
Vapen & Ammunition (2002)
Du & jag döden (2005)
Tillbaka till samtiden (2007)
Röd (2009)
En plats i solen (2010)
They also released a b-sides compilation in 2000 containing all of their Swedish b-sides up to this point, on 2 CDs: B-sidor 95-00 (2002). In 2008, they released Box 1991-2008 containing 10 CDs - one for each album including extra tracks.

The albums Isola and Hagnesta Hill are also available in English (containing exclusive tracks), released in 1998 and 2000, respectively.

For details on the albums and the Swedish singles, go to the discography.
For details on English single releases, go to Why won't you listen's discography.

Q: What font is used in the Kent logotype?
A: ITC Avant Garde Gothic Book. Test and buy here or here.

Q: What font was used on Kent's first album?
A: Poster Bodoni Black. Test and buy here.

Q: What was the name of Kent’s first single?
A: När Det Blåser På Månen (2-track single with the non-album track Slutsats).

Q: What is a b-side?
A: The extra songs that appear on a single, after the main track (a-side). These songs are often demo versions, live recordings, or brand new material.

Q: What does Isola mean?
A: Isola is Italian for island.

Q: Why was the album named Isola?
A: Isola was the tentative title for the song which is now known as Oprofessionell/Unprofessional. Jocke had taken the name from Ed McBain’s novels, where Isola is the name of a police district. When Jocke found out what it meant, he renamed the song, and instead named the album Isola, thinking this would give the record more depth.

Q: What/Where is Hagnesta Hill?
A: Hagnesta Hill, or Hagnestahill which is its actual name, is an area in Eskilstuna where Kent’s first rehearsal premises is located.

Q: What is this Z3 that Jocke sings about in Socker?
A: It’s a BMW sportscar.

Q: Is Aldrig a Kent song?
A: No, Aldrig is a song by Swedish synth-pop group Saft that has been distributed via several file-sharing programs with the false description V&A Demo.

Q: I’ve heard that the B-side Vintervila on the Dom Andra single originally was written by Havsänglar, is this correct?
Yes, that is correct. When the group went by the name Havsänglar, they recorded a demo named Vintervila. They song available on the Dom Andra single is a reworked re-recording of this song.

Q: Is Joakim Paus’ vocalist? It sounds like it could be him.
A: Joakim sings on one Paus song, the cover Kärlekens Tunga. It was recorded long after the album, so it is not included there. Peter Svensson is the singer on all the other Paus songs.

Q: Where could I find the song Kärlekens Tunga?
A: The song is a cover of Eldkvarn’s song with the very same name.
Kärlekens Tunga is available on the tribute album Plura 50, released as an homage to Plura Jonsson on his 50th birthday. All songs featured were recorded specifically for this release.

Q: What is that hidden song that starts to play several minutes after En Helt Ny Karriär II on the B-sides 95-00 compilation release?
A: The song is called Papin Jahti (The priest's chase), and was never intended to appear on record. It was improvised during the Hagnesta Hill recording sessions, with Markus Mustonen behind the microphone. The other band members play the instruments. The lyrics are in Finnish.
Read the lyrics to Papin Jahti.

Q: How should you interpret...? What do they mean by this song...?
A: Much of the beauty in Kent’s songs lies in that they are open for interpretation. Songwriter Joakim Berg never reveals what they are about.

Q: What do the French vocals in FF mean?
A: Read the lyrics.

Q: What does FF stand for?
A: No one besides the band members themselves know for sure. The most common guess is that FF stands for French Fucker. Kent once said in a chat that FF stands for "French ******". It’s difficult to tell whether they were being serious, or just joking around.

Q: What does OWC stand for?
A: It’s an acronym for Off World Colonies.

Q: When will the English version of Vapen & Ammunition be released?
A: Kent have decided not to record an English version of this album.

Q: Have Joakim Berg and Lisa Miskovsky collaborated to release an album?
A: Yes, Joakim (co-)wrote songs for Lisa Miskovsky’s new album Fallingwater.

Q: Has Martin Sköld recorded songs for a commercial?
A: Yes, Sköld and Martin "Nåid" Landquist are the men behind the tunes Don't turn away and Soon be on her way, in JC’s commercials that started to air in the spring of 2004. They feature Nåid on vocals, and the videos were directed by Adam Berg.
Watch the commercial.
Gå JC's site where the commercial is.
Watch a longer version of the commercial.
Discuss in the English forum or in the Swedish forum.

Don't turn away and Memory lane (with Soon be on her way as b-side) have been released on singles and can be bought in JC stores, CDON and Ginza.
Martin "Nåid" Landqvist and Martin Sköld go under the name Peking Laundry.

Q: Has Kent signed a contract for recording 4 additional albums?
A: Yes, in August 2003 Kent signed a contract for 4 records with BMG.
Discuss in the in the English forum or in the Swedish forum.

Q: What song on Du & jag döden had the working title Puk-60s?
A: Max 500, according to an interview with kent in Morgonpasset in P3. Puk-60s refers to the drums in the song and to the 1960's.

Q: What song on Du & jag döden had the working title Vildvines avfärd?
A: Du är ånga, according to a post from Jocke.

Q: What is "Grönan" that Jocke sings about in Järnspöken?
A: According to the biography, Grönan is the cafeteria at the school S:t Eskil in Eskilstuna.

Q: Why does it say "Guns & Ammunition" on the tape in the car in the video to Dom andra?
A: Jocke Berg has given this explanation (this is a translated version of the post):

To make an English version of V&A was never an option.
Not after we had begun to rehearse the songs before the recordings.
We did no English versions what so ever of songs from V&A.
There were a couple of demo songs in "English", but my first versions of the lyrics are usually a sort of play with words and then I prefer to use fake English.
The vocal sounds, you know.
The fact that it says Guns & Ammo on the tape in the video is Adam's play with the gun magazine with the same name.
Not an indication at all that the album was or was meant to be in an international version.

Q: What's kevlar in Kevlar soul?
A: Kevlar is a very strong material that is used in protective gloves and vests etc.

Q: What is a nihilist?
A: A person who denies the existence of things, often values. There are two different kinds. They who deny the function of values, like feelings, and they who think that there is nothing normal or abnormal. A nihilist is convinced that there is no foundation for values, feelings etc.

Q: Have Kent released an EP?
A: Yes, "The Hjärta & Smärta EP" (The Heart & Pain EP) was released November 2 2005. It contains the songs "Vi Mot Världen" (We against the world), "Ansgar & Evelyne" (Ansgar & Evelyne, it's a male and a female name), "Flen/Paris" (Flen/Paris, Flen is a city), "Månadens Erbjudande" (Offer of the month), "Dom Som Försvann" (They who disappeared).

Read more about the EP here.

Q: How is The hjärta & smärta EP pronounced?
A: Jocke wrote in a topic:
"The hjärta och smärta EP" is the title.
Only The is pronounced in English.

Q: Did Kent make a song for Save the children?
A: Yes, the song called "Nålens öga" (The needle's eye) was recorded in favour of Save the children's campaign "It's about a child". The song is available on a single and as download.

Q: I found lyrics to a song called "Betraktaren". Is that Kent?
A: No, it's not. Jocke wrote "Hahaha. That's not my lyrics." in this topic.

Q: Will there be an English version of Du & jag döden?
A: No. Jocke Berg explained in a topic in the forum why kent stopped making English albums and stopped touring outside Scandinavia:

Hello.
The thing with the touring is quite simple.
At the end of the "english experiment"we came to the point of no return.
The tour-fatigue was beginning to take its toll on the core of this band which always was and always will be our friendship.
It was either slow down or go down.
The choice we made was not an easy one.
It was pure survival instinct.
Im sorry to say we´re not going outside scandinavia this time.
I hope you understand.
In retrospect i think it would have been a better idea to do the albums(Isola&Hagnesta Hill)in english only.
At least it would not have been the compromise it sort of became.

Love
JB

Q: What song is "Nåt för dom som väntar"?
A: It's a song originally recorded by the Swedish artist Olle Ljungström. Joakim Berg sings the song on the tribute album "Andra sjunger Olle Ljungström", released September 2008.

Q: Is it the same girl on the album covers for Hagnesta Hill and Röd?*
A: No, they are different persons. The girl on the cover for Röd is Dora Kovács. The photographer is Annika Aschberg. The picture was inspired by Jones & Giftet's first concert poster from 1991.


>> Concerts

Q: If, for example, kent played Roskilde one year, are they going to play there again next year?
A: No. The band seems to have a policy not to play the same venue two years in a row.

Q: Is there a DVD or live album from kent’s Stockholm Stadion gig in 2003 going to be released?
A: No. Here’s what Joakim Berg wrote in the guestbook concerning this question:
"The answer to the DVD-question is as follows: No we are NOT going to release a dvd or a live album or anything else from the stadium.
There were two cameras there which documented everything for our own sake... a memory to last a lifetime.
Were we to release a dvd, we’d have needed ten cameras.
That’s the unbelievable truth."

Q: Where can I find the Kent enclosure from Kent's Stockholm Stadion concert in June 2003?
A: You can download the enclosure as a pdf-file.
In order to open a pdf-file, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Q: Where can I find the tour enclosure from Turné 19?
A: You can download it as a pdf file here.

Q: What does Jocke sing in the extra verses in the live version of Mannen i den vita hatten (16 år senare)?
A: Jocke has only confirmed the first verse (here) and one line in another verse, but he probably sings the following lines (but in Swedish of course, you can click here to read it in Swedish). Jocke has also confirmed that he sang the two last verses at Hultsfred 2006.

A word-blind little cowboy
rules the world from a country
where the Christian white conservatives
and NRA go hand in hand
and we dance to their tune
fatten fat wonderchilds
with a big mac in front of the tv
like a true American

I am 40 years from death
According to today's statistics
It is a soothing thought
That we have such little time

And it's hard for me to show my feelings
when it's not about us
and I have never had an opinion
never carried any cross

And time softly crushes your resistance
It will melt away like snow
Until you hit your cane against the wall
That you built around your island

And all your friends
And your entire family
They walk swiftly towards the day
When they will no longer exist

But darling we will all one time die
Yes we will all one time die
Yes we will all one time die

And he who stares out from the mirror
It can't be me, can it?
When did I become so ugly and tired and old
So lonely, coward and weak
And you hate who you become
And despise who you were

Is there no God in the world
That can give you an answer
Except that we will all one time die
Yes we will all one time die
Yes we will all one time die

I hate the songs I've written
I hate everything I've ever said
and I hate who I've become
when I though I had control
I hate the clichés I've spread
on singing and dancing and liquor
Maybe one should commit suicide now
but I really like it in my suite
Darling, we will all one time die

So you took my hand in the crowd
and said darling everything is crap
and my cynical heart fickers
when the love of my life pulls its knife
You said: We'll go to heaven together, won't we?
but do the best of our time
and I hear the bells ringing
for the oldest pick up line in the world
You said: Darling we will all one time die

Yes we will all one time die
Yes we will all one time die
Yes we will all one time die


>> Kent and the Internet

Q: Do the kent members visit the forum?
A: Yes, they do. Joakim Berg, Martin Sköld and Sami Sirviö write in the forum sometimes. Go to this topic to find their posts.

Q: Is Kent on Twitter?*
A: Yes, the official Twitter for Kent is @KentTheBand. You can also follow Martin Sköld, Markus Mustonen and Martin Roos. News from kent.nu: @kentnu. Translations of Kent's tweets can be found here.

Q: Where's the guestbook?
A: The guestbook is gone. Now, both kent and their fans use the forum instead. But you can still read old posts from the guestbook.

Q: Where can I buy kent t-shirts?
You can buy kent merchandise at concerts, but also on the Hotstuff webpage. They ship worldwide.

Q: According to the rules I'm not allowed to talk about downloading, bootlegs and pirate copies in the kent forum. Is there another forum I can go to?
A: Timekill's forum allows this type of discussions.


>> Who is who?

Q: Who is Andreas Bovin?
A: Andreas Bovin plays guitar and synth at Kent's concerts.

Q: Who is Martin Roos?
A: Martin Roos was a member of Kent until 1995. He then quit the band and concentrated on his career at the record company BMG. He is now Kent's manager. Martin Roos was replaced by Harri Mänty as rhythm guitarist in 1996.

Q: Who is Thomas Bergqvist?
A: Thomas Bergqvist played in Jones & Giftet but he got fired when he was going to do his military service. The other band members didn't want to have a soldier in the band so Martin Roos replaced him.

Q: Who is Adam Berg?
A: Adam Berg is Joakim Berg's younger brother. He has directed many of Kent's music videos.

Q: Who is Jonas Linell?
A: Jonas Linell is Kent's main photographer. He has taken most of the pictures for the albums.

Q: Who is Peter Svensson?
A: Peter Svensson is a guitarist in another Swedish band, The Cardigans. He and Joakim Berg have also made a record together, Paus.

Q: Who is Johan Renck?
A: Johan Renck is also known as a performance artist under the name of Stakka Bo. He is a video director and has, among other things, made the video to Kärleken väntar.

Q: Who is Henrik Ismarker?*
A: Henrik Ismarker is the webmaster of Kent's official website http://www.kent.nu/

Q: Who is Nancy Danino?
A: Nancy Danino is a French artist who sings in Kent's song FF.

Q: Who is Titiyo?
A: Titiyo is a Swedish artist who sings together with Joakim Berg in Kent’s song Duett. She has also made an album, Come along, to which Joakim Berg and Peter Svensson wrote the songs.

Q: Who is Lisa Miskovsky?
A: Lisa Miskovsky is a Swedish artist whose albums Fallingwater and Changes Joakim Berg assisted in producing.
Go to her website.

Q: Who is Bruno K. Öijer?
A: Bruno K. Öijer is one of Kent's favourite poets. He read poems on stage before Kent entered it at Stockholm Stadion 6/6 2003.

Q: Who are Nille Perned, Martin "Nåid" Landquist, Zed, Magnus Frykberg, Martin Von Schmalensee, Heikki Kiviaho, Stefan Boman and Jon "Joshua" Schumann?
A: They are Kent's producers. You can see which producer has produced which record in the discography.

Q: Who is Max Brandt?*
A: Max Brandt is guitarrist at Kent's tours since 2007.


--------------------------------------------------------------
Who made Kent FAQ?
Kent FAQ was made by fans to the band: utomjording, Samlarn, 17 minuter and -lilla ego-.

We've tried to check that all facts are correct, but it's possible that we've made mistakes. Please let us know if you see any!

Translation to English was made by A Runnelid, coq rouge, Elliz, ericthirdrow and utomjording.

Thanks a lot to everyone who helps to keep the Kent FAQ updated!
Edited by - utomjording on 09 Jan 2007 21:12:13