One of the leading lights of the international psychobilly scene, Kim Nekroman is a Danish singer, bassist, guitarist, and songwriter who is a member of two popular acts, Nekromantix and HorrorPops. The consistent thread in his music is his fondness for taking the tropes of first-era rock & roll and giving them a twist that's both distorted and playful, with his slap-bass work in Nekromantix and his twangy/buzzy guitar figures in HorrorPops both upending the conventions of 1950s rock while still showing sincere love for the format. His work with Nekromantix is best appreciated on 2007's Life Is a Grave I Dig It!, HorrorPops hit their stride with 2005's Bring It On!, and he signed on with the 69 Cats for their 2021 opus Seven Year Itch.

Born Dan Gaarde, Kim Nekroman's life in music began in 1989, after he ended an eight-year hitch in the Royal Danish Navy. Free to travel as he pleased, Nekroman made the rounds of European psychobilly festivals, and decided since he liked the music, it would make more sense to join a band and get paid to go to shows rather than paying out of pocket to get in. He joined a rockabilly band as a drummer, but after three months he decided drumming wasn't for him, so he bought an upright bass and taught himself to play. After a few months, he felt comfortable enough with the instrument to start playing out, and he formed the Nekromantix, playing a coffin-shaped bass that became his visual trademark. After months of rehearsals and a pair of local gigs, they booked an appearance at a music festival in Germany, and they were so well-received they were offered a deal with Tombstone Records, releasing their debut album, Hellbound, before the year was out. The second Nekromantix album, Curse of the Coffin, appeared in 1991, and with extensive touring in Europe and the United Kingdom, the group developed a loyal audience on the international psychobilly scene.

In 1996, Nekromantix were appearing at a festival in Cologne, Germany when Nekroman met Patricia Day, another Danish musician who was appearing with her punk rock band, Peanut Pump Gun. They discovered they liked many of the same bands, and also liked one another so they formed a band, HorrorPops, with Nekroman on guitar and Day on upright bass, and started writing and demo'ing songs. In 2001, Tim Armstrong of Rancid, a longtime fan of Nekromantix, signed the band to a deal with his Epitaph-distributed Hellcat label, and 2002's Return of the Loving Dead was Nekromantix's first album for the label (and their first album issued in the United States). As Nekroman devoted more time to HorrorPops, they developed their own fan base in the psychobilly underground, and Hellcat signed them too, bringing out their debut album Hell Yeah! in 2004. Nekromantix also delivered an album in 2004, Dead Girls Don't Cry, most of which was recorded in California after Nekroman and Day emigrated to Los Angeles and got married. Between his two bands, Nekroman had a busy schedule of touring and recording to keep him occupied, but he found time to sit on sessions with like-minded artists. He played guitar on 2006's My Riot, a solo project by Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret, and took part in the sessions for 2021's Seven Year Itch, the second LP from the all-star psychobilly act the 69 Cats, which also featured Danny B. Harvey (ex-Rockats guitarist), Jyrki 69 (frontman with the 69 Eyes), and Rat Scabies (drummer with U.K. punk heroes the Damned). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi