Nikola Sarcevic (bass, vocals) and Mathias Färm (guitar, vocals) of Millencolin, chatted with us about how skating is part of their identity and foundation, and whether there’s a small possibility that aliens are responsible for their greatest hits. After the success of their recent album ‘True Brew’, it seems that everything is going really well for the Swedish skate-punks.
How have you found Slam Dunk so far – have people been welcoming?
Nikola: Oh yeah! OH YEAH!
Mathias: Oh yeah! We played Leeds yesterday and we’ve been here for one hour maybe. We haven’t seen much but it’s great to be back in England, it’s been a while.
So do you find that England is also a warm and welcoming place?
Nikola: I think England, as any other country, is a very separate market. For us, it’s been going up and down over the years. 10 years ago we did Brixton Academy. That was a different time.
Mathias: Yeah it’s getting bigger again, from what I reckon.
Is that off your recent album’s success?
Mathias: That was received well.
Are you happy that people still listen to skate-punk, and it’s not going to die anytime soon?
Nikola: Oh of course, I mean we haven’t been – like Mathias said – to England in a while but it seems like this is a good thing to do, and it seems like there’s a crowd for this kind of music. It’s very positive so far.
Do you guys still skate, and are you a part of that culture?
Mathias: I don’t skate the way I did twenty years ago but I still skateboard, and I’ll probably do that ’til I die.
Nikola: For us, that culture is where we come from, that’s how we got into music and for us it’s a starting point for us. That scene has a lot of similarities to music, it’s the same sort of vibe. You’re doing something creative and that stands out of the mainstream society. Skateboarding is an alternative sport, or thing to do, just like the music that we play.
Mathias: Skateboarding is an important part of my life, and I guess our life in a way, as that’s the reason why we started the band and it’s a very cool thing.
Of course, that’s where your name comes from right?
Mathias: Yes that’s right.
What other influences do you have, like from music, or even literature, or anything maybe?
Mathias: I guess just life!
Nikola: I mean of course, it could be something that you read or a movie you see, or something that people say on social media. It could be anything from life that inspires us to write a song. Most lyrics yes, but when it comes to music, since we’re the two guys writing the music, I think other music inspires us to write music.
Mathias: Most of the time when we come up with a song, it’s just something that pops up in our heads. You don’t really know where it’s from, it’s just….maybe from an alien life-form maybe? You never know. It just happens.
Do you believe in aliens?
Nikola: I try to be open minded, about everything. Including aliens, including other life-forms.
Back to musical influences, on earth, at Slam Dunk particularly, have there been any new bands you’ve caught onto?
Nikola: We’ve just been here yesterday but The Bronx, and Mariachi El Bronx, Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish have been the bands that we’ve checked out. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to discover bands.
So finally, are you looking forward to getting back to Sweden?
Mathias: Nah, not really haha. I mean everytime you get home it’s very nice, but it’s also very nice to be here and I’m very happy to be here, to do this. You have to appreciate the things that you have – it’s great to be back home but it’s great to be here.
Nikola: It’s like having your cake-
Mathias: And eating it too, that’s right!