Him Kerosene

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Img_capt = Him Kerosene lineup in 1997
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Origin =flagicon|Sweden Luleå, Sweden
Genre = Alternative rock
Years_active = 1991-?
Label = Ampersand, Birdnest, Telegram, Chalksounds
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Past_members = Niklas Quintana
Nils Renberg
Kristofer Åström
Pelle Gunnerfeldt
Johan Forsling
Tomas Turunen
Anders Ekström

Him Kerosene was a Swedish 1990s alternative rock band founded in Luleå.

History

Him Kerosene started in 1991, at first playing pop music inspired by The Beatles and The Smiths, although the band would be known for a harder and more dynamic sound than that. The band's home town Luleå had plenty of rehearsal studios and several bands were around, with members from one band often contributing to another. This was especially clear in the case of Him Kerosene, which during its lifetime saw members from several other famous Swedish bands. Two of the members in the first lineup, Kristofer Åström and Pelle Gunnerfeldt, were from the prominent hardcore band Fireside and this increased media attention.

In 1995 local record company Ampersand Records released Him Kerosene's first album "Recorder". Bear Quartet members Johan Forsling and Mattias Alkberg contributed with some of the music and lyrics. Forsling also became a Him Kerosene member for a brief period, replacing Kristofer Åström as he and Pelle Gunnerfeldt left the band.

After releasing the EP "Caper" on Birdnest Records and playing at several festivals during 1996, Him Kerosene got a new record deal with Telegram Records. The single "Loser Outfit", the EP "Whatever Gets You By" and finally the album "Start. Stop." followed. At the time the band consisted of Niklas Quintana and Nils Renberg - the backbone of the band - together with two newer members: Tomas Turunen and Anders Ekström. Ekström was another proof that the music scene in Luleå was tight - he came from hardcore band Breach, where also Niklas Quintana had a past.

Sales figures were a disappointment and Telegram Records dropped the band. Him Kerosene released one more EP, "No Mend No Repair" on label Chalksounds, before finally splitting up. [cite web| url=http://www.nsd.se/artikel.aspx?artid=55715&cat=5&pageIndex=0&aid=c | title=Niklas Quintana interview (Swedish) |publisher= Norrländska Socialdemokraten| date=April 4,2007] Since then, band members have stayed in the music industry. For instance, Pelle Gunnerfeldt has produced music for The Hives and Kristofer Åström has pursued a solo career - both of them have also kept playing in Fireside. Niklas Quintana and Tomas Turunen went back to Breach, and later formed the band The End Will Be Kicks.

Discography

Him Kerosene played energetic, melodious high-tempo rock with hardcore influences. They once described their music as "punk for the working class". [cite web| url=http://hem.bredband.net/robcum/Musik/Traestock/him_kerosene.html | title=Traestocksfestivalen - Him Kerosene | year=1997]

Albums

Music videos

*Whatever Gets you By
*Raisins

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/19970204195528/http://www.cabal.se/birdnest/ampersand/himkerosene/ Him Kerosene homepage on archive.org, 1997]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/19970811155307/http://www.svd.se/svd/city/musik/him_kerosene.html Him Kerosene interview from Svenska Dagbladet (Swedish) on archive.org, 1997]
* [http://dagensskiva.com/2003/04/12/him-kerosene-recorder/ Retrospect review of "Recorder" (Swedish), dagensskiva.com, 2003]

References