Millencolin

Millencolin
Millencolin at Conventum, Örebro, Sweden April 12, 2008.
Background information
Origin	Örebro, Sweden
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Burning Heart, Epitaph
Website	millencolin.com
Members
Nikola Šarčević Mathias Färm Erik Ohlsson Fredrik Larzon

Millencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band. The name Millencolin is derived from the skateboard trick "melancholy".^[1]

Biography

The original lineup, consisting of Sarcevic (vocals & bass), Ohlsson (guitar), and Färm (drums), released their first demo tape, Goofy, in early 1993.^[2] Soon afterwards, Larzon joined the band to play drums, allowing Färm to perform as the second guitarist.^[2] In the summer of 1993, they recorded a second demo tape, Melack.^[2] The band sent the tape to Burning Heart Records,^[2] a new record label formed earlier that year.^[3] They signed Millencolin to do a CD single, which culminated in the release of Use Your Nose in November 1993.^[2] Success of the single prompted Burning Heart to sign the band to release a full album. In July 1994, the band released Skauch,^[4] initially planned to be a single for their new album. However, the band decided to record four cover songs as well and released it as an EP instead.^[5] They put out their first major release, Tiny Tunes, in 1994. The recording and mixing of the album took two weeks. Legal trouble with Warner Brothers over the title and cover artwork of the album led the band to re-release it in 1996 under the name Same Old Tunes.

Millencolin continued to tour and in 1995 brought out their second full length album Life on a Plate. This coincided with Millencolin beginning to tour outside of Scandinavia. At the end of 1995, the US record company Epitaph wanted to release Life on a Plate in the US, and the band agreed. They then toured further afield, touring Japan, Australia, Brazil and Canada, and played as part of the 1997 Warped Tour.

Further albums For Monkeys and compilation The Melancholy Collection followed, but the band's popularity increased in 2000 with the release of Pennybridge Pioneers, an album with more of a rock influence than the band's previous skate punk sound. The recording took six weeks and they started their first major worldwide tour. Millencolin played in Wellington, New Zealand, followed by an Australian tour. This led to an early release of the album in Australia and New Zealand. Millencolin wrote on tour and brought out Home from Home in 2002. While it was not as well received as the previous effort, songs like "Happiness for Dogs" and "Afghan" showed a stronger and rockier sound which would greatly influence their next album Kingwood. In 2003 the band won the award for Best Swedish Rock.^[6]

Kingwood, released in March 2005, marked the band's return to a faster and more traditional punk rock sound, collaborating it with their recently founded rock sound, and completed a world tour in follow up of the album. The album debuted at #2 in the Swedish chart.^[7]

In mid 2007, lead guitarist Erik Ohlsson announced plans for a new full-length album, a follow up to their DVD Hi-8 Adventures and a new website, amongst other things.^{[citation needed]}

On October 22, 2007 the band entered the studio to start writing and recording songs for their seventh album Machine 15.^[8]

The band has hosted a skateboard contest at their own skatepark in Örebro, Sweden named the Millencolin Open. They say they started this annual contest because skateboarding is what brought them together and now they have the chance to make something good of their town and of skateboarding.

Sarcevic is currently promoting his second solo release Roll Roll and Flee, and Färm is currently promoting his new band Franky Lee.

In addition they will be playing a few festival dates across Europe, starting the August 26 and ending with the Fear & Fury festival in Bochum in early September.

Their new album is entitled Machine 15 and was released on April 7, 2008. The video for their first single "Detox" has since been released.

They wrote and released a single dedicated to their hometown football club Örebro SK titled Örebro in 2009. It was played in the stadium for the first time on May 11, 2009 in the home game vs Hammarby IF.

In 2010, they toured in Canada and South America, where they played Pennybridge Pioneers from start to finish. It was also announced they would be playing the 2011 Soundwave Festival in Australia.

Members

• Nikola Šarčević – bass guitar, lead vocals
• Mathias Färm – guitar, backing vocals
• Erik Ohlsson – guitar, backing vocals
• Fredrik Larzon – drums

Discography

Studio albums

• Tiny Tunes (1994) (re-released as Same Old Tunes in 1998)
• Life on a Plate (1995)
• For Monkeys (1997)
• Pennybridge Pioneers (2000)
• Home from Home (2002)
• Kingwood (2005)
• Machine 15 (2008)

Compilation albums

• The Melancholy Collection (1999)

Soundtrack albums

• Millencolin and the Hi-8 Adventures (1999)

EPs

• Use Your Nose (1993)
• Skauch (1994)
• Millencolin / Midtown (2001)

Singles

• "Da Strike" (1994)
• "The Story of My Life" (1995)
• "Move Your Car" (1996)
• "Lozin' Must" (1997)
• "Twenty Two" (1997)
• "Penguins & Polarbears" (2000)
• "Fox" (2000)
• "No Cigar" (2001)
• "Kemp" (2002)
• "Man or Mouse" (2002)
• "Battery Check" / "E20 Norr"(2003)
• "Ray" (2005)
• "Shut You Out" (2005)
• "Detox" (2008)
• "Broken World" (2008)
• "Örebro" (2009)^[9]

Demos

• Goofy (1993)
• Melack (1993)

Videography

1. Millencolin and the Hi-8 Adventures (1999)

References

1. ^ Ankeny, Jason; Corey Apar. "Millencolin Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p207241/biography. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Millencolin. "The Story of Our Band". Archived from the original on 2006-10-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20061022062840/http://www.millencolin.com/bio/story.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
3. ^ "Info/FAQ". Burning Heart Records. http://www.burningheart.com/info/. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
4. ^ "Millencolin - Skauch". Burning Heart Records. http://www.burningheart.com/bands/index.php?id=17. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
5. ^ Millencolin. "Skauch". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20070311220147/http://www.millencolin.com/bio/disco_skauch.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
6. ^ http://www.punkbands.com/news/1217/
7. ^ "Millencolin enter Swedish Album Chart at # 2". Burning Heart Records. http://www.burningheart.com/news/article.php?id=219. Retrieved May 27, 2006. 
8. ^ Millencolin. "Millencolin Official Website". http://www.millencolin.com/. Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
9. ^ Released as the new official song for Örebro SK at the football match between Örebro SK and AIK in Örebro 2009-07-05. As advertised in Nerikes Allehanda 2009-07-05.

External links

• Official website
• Millencolin at Burning Heart Records
• Millencolin at Epitaph Records