Covenant (band)
Encyclopedia
Covenant is a band from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 whose music comprises a mixture between electropop and electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...

. The band is composed of Eskil Simonsson, Daniel Myer and Joakim Montelius. They have been releasing their music since the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

.

History

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 and several of its subgenres became a preferred musical style
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...

 among Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an underground culture
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...

. It gained favor initially within major cities and eventually trickled into the continent's more socially secluded regions. This new wave of music was discovered at different instances by a group of young friends living among the shadows of Helsingborg
Helsingborg Municipality
Helsingborg Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Helsingborg, which is Sweden's eighth largest city...

, a scenic municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in western Sweden. Eskil Simonsson, Joakim Montelius, and Clas Nachmanson, three teenagers with mutual, youthful curiosities for science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, and matters of existence
Existence
In common usage, existence is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. In academic philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, being contrasted with essence, which specifies different forms of existence as well as different identity...

, were enthralled by the unique presentation and the emotional content offered through the music, specifically by that of bands such as Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

, The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...

, and by EBM pioneers Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...

 and Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb is a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris , Douglas McCarthy , and David Gooday .-Band name:...

.

The friends carried this fascination with them to university life in Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...

, a municipality lying approximately 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) southeast of Helsingborg. In between their academic endeavors and discussions of worldly affairs, they assembled a small recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

 in Nachmanson's bedroom and began to experiment with their own musical compositions. In 1989, the name "Covenant" was selected for the group—a name derived from the unspoken, spiritual bond the trio professes to share.

As Covenant, the three produced their first publicly-released track, "The Replicant", by invitation of Swedish record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 Memento Materia
Memento Materia
Memento Materia is a Swedish record label focusing on synth-, electro- and futurepop, although it also released some EBM in the 1990s. Its first release was in January 1992, and the label had put out 87 releases...

. "The Replicant" was released on a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 in 1992, and the track thrilled label executives, prompting them to ask for a full album. In 1994, the group compiled enough songs to release the album, which became Dreams of a Cryotank
Dreams of a Cryotank
Dreams of a Cryotank is Covenant's debut full-length album. It was released in December 1994 by Memento Materia. For all USA releases, the tracklist was altered slightly...

. Dreams was well received by critics and fans alike, and with its success, the boyhood friends decided to take their musical efforts more seriously. They upgraded and added more equipment, relocated their studio, and committed to tour.

In 1995, Covenant performed at a festival in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 upon the request of Off-Beat Records. The band impressed Off-Beat's attending A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 representative, who signed them to a record deal the following day. Excited by the prospect of broader exposure, the crew eased further away from their educational pursuits and devoted themselves to completing a new album, 1996's Sequencer.

With Sequencer, the band sought to improve upon the weaknesses they found in Dreams by combining sequencing
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

, diverse melodies, and commanding lyrics. It became an instant classic among many observers, some of whom boldly declared it "the best electro
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

 album of the decade." It would go on to be re-released a number of times throughout the world and remains a club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

 favorite in many settings.

Later in the year, San Francisco-based record label 21st Circuitry
21st Circuitry
21st Circuitry was a record label based in San Francisco, United States that was founded in early 1991 and released electro-industrial, industrial rock and similar styles of music. Bands that were signed to or distributed material through the label included Covenant, Unit:187, Hate Dept., Xorcist,...

 agreed to distribute Covenant's albums in the United States, expanding the band's reach in the process. As results, the group created the Theremin EP in 1997 specifically for an American release and started to accept tour dates throughout the US and Canada.

The trio's third full-length album, Europa
Europa (album)
Europa is Covenant's third full length album. It was released on May 26, 1998, by 21st Circuitry.-Track listing:#"Tension" #"Leviathan" #"2D" #"Wind of the North" #"Riot" #"I Am" #"Final Man [version]"...

, debuted in 1998. Europa carried Covenant's aggressive, often distorted brand of music into the beat-driven realm of synth pop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

, marking the beginning of a gradual evolution in the band's collective sound. Also in 1998, they sued the Norwegian black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

/Industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...

 band The Kovenant
The Kovenant
The Kovenant is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo/Hamar. The band originally formed as Covenant in 1993, but in 1999 were forced to change their name to The Kovenant due to a dispute with a Swedish electronic band of the same name....

 (then known as Covenant) for the rights to the name "Covenant", arguing that they had the name first. The Norwegian band changed their name, relenting and allowing both bands to go on with as few problems as necessary.

Covenant spent 1999 touring, changing record labels, and on the preparation of another album. Off-Beat Records went out of business, and dependent was created by former Off Beat employees. Together with a few selected former Off-Beat acts, Covenant joined Dependent. In addition, Covenant was signed with SubSpace Communications in Sweden, effectively ending their tenure with Memento Materia. Meanwhile, 21st Circuitry Records ceased operations, leading the three to find a new home in America with Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....

 (Metropolis had bought the rights to the 21st Circuitry back catalogue). Shortly thereafter, the band's first three albums and the Theremin EP were re-issued in the US under the Metropolis label.

United States of Mind
United States of Mind (album)
United States of Mind is Covenant's fourth full-length album, released in March 2000.-Overview:The album's content finds the band united in a much more mainstream state of mind than any of their previous outings...

was released in 2000, and with it, Covenant's tendencies strayed further into synth pop. A stand-alone single called Der Leiermann, sung to the tune of the album track Like Tears in Rain, was a version of the German Art song
Art song
An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the genre of such songs....

 of the same name, sung entirely in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 (every other Covenant song has English lyrics).
This song originally was a poem from Wilhelm Müller, which has been set to music by Franz Schubert as part of the poem cycle "Die Winterreise".

A live album, Synergy, was released later in the year; it featured tracks from the band's first four albums played in concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

. The group continued with 2002's Northern Light, which they portrayed as having a more somber, colder sound in comparison to their earlier offerings. In another transition between labels, the European release of Northern Light was handled by Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....

's Ka2 division rather than Dependent or Subspace.

While they continue to produce music together, Montelius and Simonsson have since taken up residence in separate countries; Montelius resides in Barcelona, Spain, and Simonsson lives in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany. Nachmanson remains in Helsingborg.

Covenant released its sixth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

, Skyshaper
Skyshaper
Skyshaper is Covenant's sixth studio album. It was released in Europe by Synthetic Symphony / SPV on 2006 March 3 and in the United States by Metropolis Records on 2006 March 7....

, in March 2006 to an overall positive reception. The band toured Europe prior to the album's release and toured the United States beginning in September 2006.

In March 2007, Covenant announced that Nachmanson would not be touring with the band in 2007. His replacement will be Daniel Myer of Haujobb
Haujobb
Haujobb is a German musical project whose output has ranged drastically within the electronic music spectrum, from electro-industrial to IDM and techno...

. In an interview with Side-Line magazine Covenant's Joakim Montelius says he is not sure if Clas will still continue with Covenant.

In October 2007, Covenant released the road movie "In Transit" on DVD. It contains material from the world tour undertaken in support of the album "Skyshaper" and documents the band's travels in Europe, North America, South America and across Russia for a period of 18 months. The band confirmed Clas' departure on the DVD documentary.

In January 2011, Covenant released their seventh studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

, Modern Ruin
Modern Ruin (album)
Modern Ruin is Covenant's seventh studio album. It was released on 17 January 2011 in Europe by Synthetic Symphony / SPV and on 8 February 2011 in North America by Metropolis Records....

.

Current members

  • Eskil Simonsson – lead vocals, lead composition
    Musical composition
    Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

    , engineering
    Audio engineering
    An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

    , lyrics
    Lyrics
    Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

    , production
    Record producer
    A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

    , synths
    Synthesizer
    A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

  • Joakim Montelius – lead lyrics, composition, production, synths, additional vocals
  • Daniel Myer – engineering, production, synths, additional vocals (began touring in 2007, now writing and working in the studio)

Former members

  • Clas Nachmanson – engineering, production, synths, additional vocals (left in 2007)

Studio albums

  • Dreams of a Cryotank
    Dreams of a Cryotank
    Dreams of a Cryotank is Covenant's debut full-length album. It was released in December 1994 by Memento Materia. For all USA releases, the tracklist was altered slightly...

    (December 1994)
  • Sequencer (May 1996; March 1997, 2nd ed.; July 1999, US version)
  • Europa
    Europa (album)
    Europa is Covenant's third full length album. It was released on May 26, 1998, by 21st Circuitry.-Track listing:#"Tension" #"Leviathan" #"2D" #"Wind of the North" #"Riot" #"I Am" #"Final Man [version]"...

    (April 1998)
  • United States of Mind
    United States of Mind (album)
    United States of Mind is Covenant's fourth full-length album, released in March 2000.-Overview:The album's content finds the band united in a much more mainstream state of mind than any of their previous outings...

    (February 2000)
  • Northern Light (October 2002)
  • Skyshaper
    Skyshaper
    Skyshaper is Covenant's sixth studio album. It was released in Europe by Synthetic Symphony / SPV on 2006 March 3 and in the United States by Metropolis Records on 2006 March 7....

    (March 2006)
  • Modern Ruin
    Modern Ruin (album)
    Modern Ruin is Covenant's seventh studio album. It was released on 17 January 2011 in Europe by Synthetic Symphony / SPV and on 8 February 2011 in North America by Metropolis Records....

    (January 2011)

Live albums

  • Synergy (November 2000)
  • In Transit
    In Transit (Covenant album)
    In Transit is Covenant's second live album, released fall 2007. "Available as a CD and DVD, the releases showcase Covenant’s ability to defy all genre labels by their memorable stage show and outstanding compositions." -Track listing:# Intro 1:58...

    (October 2007)

Singles and EPs

  • Figurehead (October 1995)
  • Stalker (December 1996)
  • Theremin EP (1997)
  • Final Man (February 1998)
  • Euro EP (October 1998)
  • It's Alright (November 1999)
A single which was released on vinyl record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 and limited to 500 copies.
  • Tour De Force (December 1999)
  • Dead Stars (February 2000)
  • Der Leiermann (February 2000)
Released simultaneously with the Dead Stars single in Germany.
  • Travelogue (February 2000)
Included in the United States of Mind box set.
  • Call The Ships To Port (August 2002)
  • Bullet (January 2003)
  • Ritual Noise (January 2006)
  • Brave New World (September 2006)
  • Lightbringer (feat. Necro Facility) (October 2010)

Theremin

Theremin is an EP released by Covenant in 1997 by the American label 21st Circuitry
21st Circuitry
21st Circuitry was a record label based in San Francisco, United States that was founded in early 1991 and released electro-industrial, industrial rock and similar styles of music. Bands that were signed to or distributed material through the label included Covenant, Unit:187, Hate Dept., Xorcist,...

. It compiled tracks which were, for the most part, previously unavailable in the US. It was re-released by Metropolis
Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....

 in July 1999.

Track listing
  1. Theremin [club version] [4:31]
  2. Figurehead [plain] [4:45]
  3. Speed [club version] [5:47]
  4. Voices [optocoded] [4:44]
  5. Void [doac version] [4:34]
  6. Theremin [us remix] [5:47]
  7. Speed [optodecoded] [4:43]

  • Track 1 was previously released on the German and American releases of Dreams of a Cryotank
    Dreams of a Cryotank
    Dreams of a Cryotank is Covenant's debut full-length album. It was released in December 1994 by Memento Materia. For all USA releases, the tracklist was altered slightly...

    .
  • Tracks 2, 3, 4, and 7 were previously released on the Figurehead EP.
  • Track 5 was previously released on the Swedish and German releases of Dreams of a Cryotank.
  • Track 6 was new to this release.

Other releases

  • United States of Mind
    United States of Mind (album)
    United States of Mind is Covenant's fourth full-length album, released in March 2000.-Overview:The album's content finds the band united in a much more mainstream state of mind than any of their previous outings...

    Limited Box (February 2000)
A boxset which included United States of Mind and the Travelogue single.
  • Synergy Limited Box (November 2000)
A boxset which included Synergy, a booklet with live pictures and lyrics for every released Covenant song, a band interview on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 cassette tape, a "Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary (cocktail)
A Bloody Mary is a popular cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices or flavorings such as Worcestershire sauce, Peri-Peri Sauce, Tabasco sauce, beef consomme or bouillon, horseradish, celery, olive, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and celery salt...

" recipe, and seven live recorded tracks; limited to 4000 copies.
  • Bullet DVD (January 2003)
A DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 featuring a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for the song "Bullet" along with making of footage.
  • Project Gotham Racing 4
    Project Gotham Racing 4
    Project Gotham Racing 4 is the fourth title in the main Project Gotham Racing series, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios.-Development history:...

    Soundtrack (November 2005)
The band contributed the Skyshaper track "20 Hz" to a compilation which included other rock and electronic artists (listed here).
  • Festival Soundtrack (2001)
Playing at a concert visited by one of the main characters
  • Wir sind die Nacht
    We Are the Night (film)
    We Are the Night is a 2010 German vampire thriller film directed by Dennis Gansel, starring Karoline Herfurth and Nina Hoss. The film deals with a young woman who gets bitten by a female vampire and drawn into her world. She falls in love with a young police officer who investigates a murder case...

    Soundtrack (2001)
Music for a club scene (released also on the limited edition of their 2011 album Modern Ruin)

Music videos

  • "Stalker" (1996)
  • "Call the Ships to Port" (2002)
  • "Bullet" (2002)
  • "Happy Man" (2006)

External links

  • Official Covenant Site
  • Official Covenant at MySpace
    MySpace
    Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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