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Kensington Road - Stories from within

Kensington Road is a German band, who has released their debut album a few weeks ago and because of the fact, that it is a pretty good indie-record, we decided to make an short interview with them. Singer and band leader Stefan Tomek answered my questions in an interview via email.



How are you and what do you do these days?
We just promote our new album A STORY FROM SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN and prepare ourselves for upcoming gigs this summer. That means a lot of rehearsing but it´s good stress.

Who is part of K-Road?
Stefan Tomek – vocals/guitar , Michael Pfrenger – keys, Felix Kruse – drums, René Lindstedt – git/vocals und Kosh – bass/vocals

Who has got the biggest influence on the song writing and the arrangement?
There are three phases of songwriting. At first Stefan writes the lyrics and the songs, after this Stefan and Thomas work together to make the arrangements better and after this we all meet in our rehearsal room to develop the song further and finish it.

Your sound is very American. Which bands do you look up to and by what artists are you influenced?
There are a lot of bands we like, but it is less about influences of a special band, more the influences of some kind of sounds. We like to play vintage instruments (old and original instruments) with their own charm and special sound. We like it, but it also means you have to use all your muscle power to drag a 100 pound keyboard cursing.
In America there is an old tradition of songwriting and there we see some of our influences.

In what kind of genre would you put your music?
One reviewer said, that we build a bridge between indie pop and college rock - that is quite correct.

Your album was released a few weeks ago, how is the response to A STORY FROM SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN?
We are very proud because of the positive reviews we get and feel that we are going the right way with our stuff. The fans like this record, too. A lot of them were waiting a long time for this record and they are happy to put it in their stereo. And the audience is growing constantly.
In our opinion we can be very satisfied with this start.

Do you want international success or why do you sing in English?
No, it is not about getting famous in the whole world, but of course we are not against some success. But for us the songwriting is important, then comes the rest. And Stefan writes in English because it feels good for him. And native speakers as well as our German fans give us a positive feedback. So we don´t have to hide as a German band. There are many great German lyrics and bands – we sing in English, because it feels best for us.



In your arrangements you use beside the “normal” tools also different instruments like organs and violins etc. Where do you get the ideas?
In the rehearsal room and in the studio- it is important for us to have a diverse sound and keyboards are an important part of our songs.

How is the work with your label and your producer and what´s their share in the creation of A STORY FROM SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN?
Some of the songs have existed for a long time and the arrangements were pretty much done when we entered the studio. Our producer Kai Schwerdtfeger captured it nicely in his Echlane Studios and he also brought in some new ideas – we really got along optimally and now we even are close friends. We really enjoyed working in such a great environment and so we could almost call Kai the sixth member of the band.

I give you some different German musicians and you rate them (scale 1- 10).
Rammstein
Element of Crime
Polarkreis 18
Gisbert zu Knyphausen
Ton Steine Scherben
Rekorder
Grönemeyer
Wir sind Helden
The Alma Church Choir
Kensington Road

It is difficult for us to rate bands and artist with a point system – especially because these bands are so different and we all have very different preferences concerning those bands.

When are you going to go on tour?
The latest news and best information can always be found on our website www.kensingtonroad.de. There are always new dates coming… And we hope to have played everywhere in Germany within the next 12 months.

Your conclusion for the first half of the year?
Very good beginning – we´re looking forward to everything that comes our way - and there are more things possible.

Thank you very much for this interview and good luck!
Thanks to you for your support - hope we meet live in concert!



Author: Holger Hofmann, photos: Kensington Road
Date: 2009-07-20

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