Rivals

Biography

Kensington is a rock band from Utrecht, The Netherlands. The band was formed in 2005 and has released two EPs and three albums since then. Their first album Borders was released in 2010. Its follow-up, Vultures, came out in 2012. In the summer of 2014, they released their third album Rivals. Current band members: Eloi Youssef - vocals, guitar, keys Casper Starreveld - guitar, vocals, keys Jan Haker - bass, keys, backing vocals Niles Vandenberg - drums The band formed in 2006 with Casper Starre...

Kensington is a rock band from Utrecht, The Netherlands. The band was formed in 2005 and has released two EPs and three albums since then. Their first album Borders was released in 2010. Its follow-up, Vultures, came out in 2012. In the summer of 2014, they released their third album Rivals.
Current band members:
Eloi Youssef - vocals, guitar, keys
Casper Starreveld - guitar, vocals, keys
Jan Haker - bass, keys, backing vocals
Niles Vandenberg - drums

The band formed in 2006 with Casper Starreveld on lead vocals, and with original drummer Lucas Lenselink, after the dissolution of the band Quad. In the same year they released their first single "An Introduction To...", followed by their self-titled first EP in 2007, which featured guitarist Eloi Youssef as co-lead vocalist for the first time.

Drummer Lucas Lenselink decided to leave the band in 2008, and was succeeded by Niles Vandenberg. In the same year the band released their "Youth" EP, which gained them their first country wide airplay. The band's sudden success lead to the release of Kensington's first album, "Borders", which was released in 2010. The album was the first to have Eloi Youssef sing all of the lead vocals, with Casper Sterreveld handling the backing vocals.

There’s no such thing as a key to success, but recording your debut Borders in Kaiser Chiefs’ studio in Leeds, getting it mastered by John Davis (U2, Arctic Monkeys, Snow Patrol) and sharing the stage with the likes of Razorlight, My Chemical Romance and The Wombats, definitely make up for a good start. In 2011 this success is starting to pay off.

After playing the Eurosonic/Noorderslag festival in January 2011, (popular music magazine OOR: “One of the best bands of the Netherlands”) things started rolling for Kensington. The band performs in prime-time TV talk show ‘De Wereld Draait Door’ and embarks on a headlining No Borders tour throughout Holland. They sell out venues such as Paradiso (Amsterdam), Rotown (Rotterdam) and Tivoli (Utrecht), and a concert review by 3VOOR12 (leading online music magazine) speaks of “international standards”.

With their single Let Go, which was recorded in Berlin and mastered in New York, the band’s ascent continues. Radio 3FM (one of the largest Dutch radio stations) starts playing the song the day after the band returns from the studio and the song quickly reaches ‘3FM Megahit’ status, resulting in heavy airplay. A second headlining tour is announced along with a long list of summer festivals. Furthermore, the band is nominated for 'Best newcomer' at the 3FM Awards 2011. In two years time, Kensington have established themselves in the Dutch music scene.

In 2012 the band released their second album, Vultures, and played as headliner on many Dutch festivals that year and in 2013. In the summer of 2014 third album Rivals. Shortly after, they announced a European tour with over 20 dates in several countries. The finish of the tour will be in the Ziggo Dome. The first show sold out in eleven hours which made the band decide to add a second show as well. The second gig sold out as well, confirming Kensington's status as one of the biggest dutch acts.

DISCOGRAPHY:
2006 - An Introduction To... (EP)
2007 - Kensington (EP)
2008 - Youth (EP)
2010 - Borders
2012 - Vultures
2014 - Rivals Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.