Millencolin

Biography

Millencolin is a Swedish punk rock band that was formed on 12 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".

History

The original lineup, consisting of Šarčević (vocals and bass), Ohlsson (guitar), and Färm (drums), released their first demo tape, Goofy, in early 1993. Soon afterwards, Larzon joined the band to play drums, allowing Färm to perform as the second guitarist. In the summer of 1993, they recorded a second demo tape, Melack. The band sent the tape to Burning Heart Records, a new record label formed earlier that year. They signed Millencolin to do a CD single, which culminated in the release of Use Your Nose in November 1993. Success of the single prompted Burning Heart to sign the band to release a full album. In July 1994, the band released Skauch, 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. 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 1998 under the name Same Old Tunes×Same Old Tunes28 October 1994 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Mr. Clean2:422Chiquita Chaser2:403Disney Time3:414Domestic Subway1:385Fazil’s Friend1:536Leona2:227House of Blend2:578Da Strike3:019Mystic Reptile2:4610Dance Craze2:0111The Einstein Crew2:5812Take It or Leave It2:44.
Millencolin continued to tour and in 1995 brought out their second full-length album, Life on a Plate×Life on a Plate11 October 1995 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Bullion2:002Olympic2:563Move Your Car2:074Killercrush2:285Friends ’til the End2:326The Story of My Life2:337Jellygoose2:358Replay2:179Vulcan Ears2:0710Dr. Jackal & Mr. Hide2:2511Softworld2:5612Buzzer2:2313Ace Frehley0:0514Airhead2:55. 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.

Pennybridge Pioneers and mainstream success

Further albums For Monkeys×For Monkeys20 April 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Puzzle2:382Lozin’ Must2:133Random I Am2:404Boring Planet2:075Monkey Boogie2:266Twenty Two2:567Black Gold2:318Trendy Winds2:459Otis2:5210Light’s Out2:3011Entrance at Rudebrook2:1412Low Life2:40 and compilation The Melancholy Collection×The Melancholy Collection29 July 1999 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 22 tracks1In a Room2:572Pain2:213Shake Me2:154Melack2:135Nosepicker3:386Use Your Nose1:377Flippin’ Beans2:358Yellow Dog2:589Knowledge1:3210A Whole Lot Less1:5511Coolidge2:2312That’s Up to Me2:0013A Bit of Muslin1:5714Melancholy Protection1:2615Shake Me (live)2:1116Niap2:3817Every Breath You Take2:07189 to 53:0119Dragster2:0420An Elf and His Zippo1:5621Israelites2:2622Vixen1:50 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/ska punk sound. The recording took six weeks, following which they began their first major worldwide tour with initial dates in Wellington, New Zealand and Australia. This led to an early release of the album in Australia and New Zealand. Whilst on tour, Millencolin wrote and released Home from Home in 2002. In 2003, the band received the Best Swedish Rock award from the Swedish Hit Awards.
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 No. 2 in the Swedish chart.
On 22 October 2007, the band entered the studio and started writing and recording songs for their seventh album Machine 15×Machine 154 April 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Machine 152:292Done Is Done3:503Detox3:374Vicious Circle4:115Broken World3:086Come On3:397Centerpiece0:108Who’s Laughing Now3:069Brand New Game3:2810Ducks & Drakes3:1811Turnkey Paradise3:1412Route One3:3013Danger For Stranger2:5814Saved By Hell3:3815End Piece1:32Disc 21No Cigar3:472Bullion1:573Man Or Mouse3:064Material Boy2:075Duckpond2:486Kemp4:18.
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.
Šarčević released his second solo album entitled Roll Roll and Flee, whilst Färm promoted his side project Franky Lee.
They wrote and released a single dedicated to their hometown football club Örebro SK titled "Örebro×Örebro2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Örebro4:57" in 2009. It was played in the clubs' stadium, Eyravallen for the first time on 11 May 2009 in the home game against Hammarby Fotboll.
Throughout 2010, they toured in Canada and South America, where they played Pennybridge Pioneers in its entirety. They also played the 2011 Soundwave Festival in Australia.

Millencolin 20 Year Festival

In 2012, Millencolin held their own festival to celebrate 20 years as a band. The "Millencolin 20 Year Festival" was a two-day open-air festival at Brunnsparken, Örebro, Sweden on the 8 and 9 June 2012. Millencolin closed both nights by doing two exclusive sets from the band's entire 20-year long career with different songs each night. In addition to Millencolin, several other international and national bands also played on stage. A temporary festival site was built, including a huge catering tent with food and drinks. In addition, WESC presented a skate contest, which also featured several pro skaters. There was also a camp for festival-goers, five minutes away from the festival and complete with its own waterpark.
The band had announced on Facebook earlier that a limited edition "yellow bird" toy would be available at the festival, but due to a delay in production the sale of these items was only possible on future tours. A limited edition (500 copies only) vinyl release of "Carry You" single, from the compilation album The Melancholy Connection×The Melancholy Connection25 May 2012 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Carry You3:282Out From Nowhere3:313Absolute Zero2:444Mind the Mice3:325The Downhill Walk2:276E20 Norr3:257Bull by the Horns2:588Junkie for Success3:079Dinner Dog1:4810Ratboy’s Masterplan2:1611Phony Tony2:5912Queen’s Gambit2:4113Bowmore3:5214Into the Maze3:29, was available for sale at the festival.

Members

Nikola Šarčević – lead vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar (1992–present)
Mathias Färm – guitar (1993–present), backing vocals (1999–present), drums (1992–1993)
Erik Ohlsson – guitar (1992–present), backing vocals (1999–present)
Fredrik Larzon – drums (1993–present), backing vocals (1999–2000)

Studio albums

Tiny Tunes (1994)
Life on a Plate (1995)
For Monkeys (1997)
Pennybridge Pioneers (2000)
Home from Home (2002)
Kingwood (2005)
Machine 15 (2008)
True Brew (2015)
SOS (2019)