Festival We Are One brings Millencolin and three other melodic hardcore bands to Porto Alegre

While the music scene as a whole has been hurt by Covid-19, it’s no exaggeration to say that the punk and hardcore universe has taken an even more drastic hit than most other genres. After all, it is a scene that lives off its own audience, which exists and expands with little external support, based on the events and initiatives themselves. Although the worst of the pandemic, fortunately, is well behind us, several events continue to have a flavor of reunion – which is undoubtedly the case with the We Are One tour. Without taking place in Brazil since 2019, the itinerant festival will bring four important names in the style to Porto Alegre this Thursday, at the URB Stage (Rua Beirute, 45).

The main attractions are the Swedes from Millencolin and Satanic Surfers, two world exponents of the so-called skate punk – in addition to them, the festival brings the Americans from Cigar and 69 Enfermos, one of the prominent names in the Brazilian scene of the style. The house opens at 6 pm, and there are still tickets for sale, with prices starting at R$ 150.00, through the Bilheto website.

The tour was to have passed through the Capital in 2021, when it was already believed that the pandemic was leaving us alone – but scheduling and logistical problems caused We Are One to be postponed again and it would only happen now. It is only natural, therefore, that there is a lot of expectation around the shows – including among the Millencolin musicians, who are used to being very well received in Brazil and who have not visited our country for six years. “We’re really excited to finally be back. We’ve always considered Brazil to be one of the best places in the world to play, so we can’t wait”, says drummer Fredrik Larzon in conversation with JC.

The Swedish band will be promoting their latest album, SOS, released in 2019 and whose disclosure was cut in half due to the pandemic isolation. More than a new chance to present it to the fans, the band guarantees that several of the songs have awakened a strong reaction in recent shows. “We’re quite proud of this record, we consider it to be some of our best work to date. And most of the sounds hit hard live too, so you can expect a circle pit. more enthusiastic) bigger than ever!”

Formed in 1992, Millencolin brings the connection with the universe of skateboarding forever – the band’s name itself refers to a current maneuver among skaters. Another thing that never changed in the band is the formation: Nikola Sarcevic (vocals and bass), Mathias Farm (guitar) and Erik Ohlsson (guitar) are the founding members, and Larzon himself joined on drums shortly after the first demo, taking over the instead of Mathias himself, who switched from drumsticks to lead guitar. “The fact that we’ve known each other for practically all of our adult lives makes it easy for us to keep getting along. We know when to drop the ball or when someone in the band needs space” explains Larzon.

Which is not to say, of course, that things never change. Over time, the good-natured spirit of albums like Life on a plate (1995) and for monkeys (1997) gradually gained more serious contours, without losing the usual energy. It’s fair to say that SOS is one of the most politicized records of the quartet’s career, which, according to Larzon, is no coincidence. “Early in our career, we didn’t mix political themes with our music. I think we were too steeped in our own stuff, so to speak,” he admits. “As time went by, we started to write more about things that we feel connected to today. The current political and environmental winds really make you want to try to change things”, reflects the drummer .

If the world is demanding a more serious attitude, this does not mean that good humor and a light spirit have to be left behind. Which is especially true for a band that has always enjoyed life on the road. “We have plans to continue touring this year, and we will probably have some shows in 2024 as well”, he reveals. “We’re writing new music all the time and hope to have something new out very soon.”

In addition to Millencolin, the We Are One festival will feature another Swedish lineup, albeit with a Uruguayan touch: icons of melodic hardcore, Satanic Surfers has vocalist Rodrigo Alfaro, born in the neighboring country, as its only original member. Emerged in the late 1990s, the group returned with full force in 2014, after a period of hiatus, and their newest work, Back from Hellis from 2018. Another band that went into hibernation for some time, the North American trio Cigar released a small underground classic, Speed ​​is relative (1999), before taking 20 years off – the second CD, The Visitor, finally came out last year. Opening the night, Porto Alegre’s 69 Enfermos have stood out in the melodic hardcore / skate punk scene, with shows in 18 countries and participation in the main international festivals of the style.