FEATURE STORIES

Mullberget - music and community

It's Friday night and we've made our way to Mullberget to see what's happening in Skellefteå's own music factory. It has 18 rooms for music making, recording studios, a concert hall and space for theater and film. It's one of the city's most vibrant cultural hubs - and right now, the pulse is higher than it's been in a long time.

Jonathan Norén Brännström, business developer at Kulturföreningen Mullberget and head of the Trästock Festival External link, opens in new window., which Mullberget also organizes, meets up. Jonathan has been playing music since he was a teenager and started hanging out here at the age of 16 when he played in a band. Since then, he's never really had a break from music - always some project going on.

Now, as an employee, much of his life is tied to Mullberget, but it's a choice he's happy to have made. He's worked here since 2020, joining in the middle of a chaotic pandemic and now seeing the business change for the better.

- "In many places around Sweden, you get a key to a rehearsal room and then you're on your own. Here we have always had a presence, we can influence the community, get people to find connections and pull together gigs. It makes a difference," he says.

In the years following the pandemic, interest in Mullberget has exploded. Right now, the association has over 200 active members.

- "We've seen a wave of bands still rolling in. There is an incredible breadth among the active members, from 15-year-olds who have just started playing to experienced musicians in their 70s. I think it's great to be able to meet across generations and come together around a common interest. It can be a challenge because different groups have different needs, but that's also what makes Mullberget so unique," says Jonathan.

- "Sometimes we have people here who barely know how to turn on an amplifier, others are extremely skilled, and everyone is welcome. It's this mix that makes it exciting to be here," he adds.

We make our way through the building and meet the band The Fatal Walk in one of the rehearsal rooms. Lars Sorsén, Melker Maximus Jonsson, Elton Aimoson, Erik Mårtensson and Gabriel Brunnegård are in the band, and they have different backgrounds in music. The oxygen is poor in the rehearsal room, and you can sense a certain teenage deafness - but the boys are rich in their presence. The band was formed spontaneously one day in town.

- We were just walking and talking, and suddenly I said: "It would be fun to have a band", says Lars. "Yeah, but let's do it," Melker countered.

And now here we are.

- We all have different musical roots," says Lars. "Some of us played saxophone at school, others have parents who are die-hard aesthetes. We kind of grew up with ukuleles in the house and music has always been there.

They describe their music as "heavy fucking metal" but laugh and add that they sometimes call it "alternative folk jazz" just to confuse people. Mullberget means a lot to the group of friends.

- "If we didn't have this, we'd be sitting in my garage, and we'd probably have stopped by now," says Lars.

They've just put down their instruments and are buzzing with musical adrenaline from their heavy, fucking metal, and the words just keep coming.

- Metal is better than therapy, someone says.

- "Half of the year is dark and gloomy, so it's nice to have a place where you can play," says another.

- The E4 junction in the middle of town raises my blood pressure a few notches, here I can relax.

And they are far from alone.

- "It's kind of full everywhere with new bands. We got a place pretty quickly, but now there's a queue for the rehearsal rooms," says Gabriel.

New bands are popping up all the time - and the band names tell us that there's a lot of punk and heavy music being hammered out here: Uncontained Hatred, Kärlek & Slagsmål, Acurio, Röda Naglar, Dödstrött... the list just keeps growing.

For decades, Mullberget has been a gathering place for Skellefteå's young musicians. Here, countless bands have been started, guitars strung, amplifiers turned up - in short, here everyone has had the chance to develop. We are about to leave Mullberget for this time and it is clear that it is a place where creativity never stands still - it is a music movement that is growing.

Jonathan sees Mullberget as an important force in the future, that Mullberget is more than an association venue and continues to be that guiding force that does that little extra for the young people.

- "We can get better at building bridges between different groups, helping people find gigs, maybe even teaching young musicians how to apply for grants and make a budget for their and the association's events," says Jonathan.

And The Fatal Walk has already started dreaming of bigger audiences, bigger stages.

- Sara Kulturhus next? We've never had the chance yet, hahaha, says frontman Gabriel.

- When we played at Brunnsteatern we were so good that there was a fight and the police came, everyone says to each other and remembers back.

- It was still a bit powerful.

The Fatal Walk has its own dreams and is already on the way to realizing them.

- To become a musician. That's what you dream of," says Gabriel.

Mullberget gives them a chance to get there.

Text: Daniel Bergeman

Photo: Tilda Olofsgård