Covenant (band)

Covenant
Covenant performing live at Amphi Festival in 2011
Background information
Origin	Helsingborg, Sweden
Genres	Electro Synthpop Electronic body music Industrial music Futurepop
Years active	1986–present
Labels	21st Circuitry, dependent, Memento Materia, Metropolis, Off-Beat, Sony Ka2, SubSpace
Website	www.covenant.se
Members	Eskil Simonsson Joakim Montelius Andreas Catjar (touring member) Daniel Jonasson (touring member)
Past members	Clas Nachmanson Daniel Myer

Covenant is an electronic band formed in 1986 in Helsingborg, Sweden. The band is currently composed of Eskil Simonsson and Joakim Montelius (born 22 August 1969) alongside touring members Andreas Catjar and Daniel Jonasson from Dupont.

Their music comprises a mixture between synthpop and electronic body music. They have been releasing music since the early 1990s.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, electronic music and several of its subgenres became a preferred musical style among European underground culture. It gained favor initially within major cities and eventually trickled into the continent's more secluded regions. This new wave of music was discovered at different instances by a group of friends living in Helsingborg, a scenic town in south western Sweden. Eskil Simonsson, Joakim Montelius and Clas Nachmanson, three teenagers with mutual, youthful curiosities for science, philosophy, and matters of existence, were all enthralled by the unique presentation and the emotional content of the music, specifically by that of bands such as Kraftwerk, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb.

The friends carried this fascination with them to university life in the historic town of Lund, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Helsingborg. In between their academic endeavors and discussions of worldly affairs, they assembled a small recording studio 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 professed to share.

As Covenant, the three produced their first publicly released track, "The Replicant", by invitation of Swedish record label Memento Materia. "The Replicant" was released on a compilation album 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 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.