I got their Ep from Mats at Massproduktion and was knocked out right away. ill jill must be interviewed and now it's done....February 2026

Live Pictures: Thomas Björling  Group pictures: Lia Jacobi

Tell us a little about, when and why you were formed and started playing together?

-We started by coincident, like all good things in life. We have all played music in various styles for a very long time, but never before together. In the fall of 2023 Olle and Lia played a gig together and decided they should continue doing that in one form or another. This then developed into ill jill when they met Lisa and then Ida. First gig was at Pipeline in Sundsvall autumn 2024 together with the bands Trallskruv and Varnagel.

Tell us a little about each member of the group, name, what everyone plays, age, work and something really shady about each person?

-Lia - Leading vocals, Lisa - bass + leading vocals, Ida - guitar + chorus, Olle - drums. We all work in culture or education in one form or another. Olle is a world class beer brewer and Ida’s life goal is to some time return to being a dinosaur.

A guy and three girls, poor guy or?

-That might have been the case if Olle was an eight year old with a fear of girl germs or a Sweden Democrat.

You come from Sundsvall, there has been a pretty rich punk and rock life over the years, some favorites from the city over the years?

-Rasta Hunden, Vacum, Hårdgnissel, KRUNCH, Massmedia, Sympathy Season

How is the music life there now?

-Sundsvall has an amazing regrowth of new youth bands in different genres, they are really skilled.

So do you release a record on the legendary Massproduktion, how is the feeling?

-Amazing. It has always been a goal to release a record on the Massproduktion label. It means the world to us having a record company that support our visions and philosophy.

Was it important to get it out physically?

-Yes! A physical product activates more senses and also gives a focus to these particular songs, it's not just something that can be quickly skipped in a digital flow but requires a more active action. It also gives the opportunity to convey a larger story when you add graphic design to the experience.

Queercore-punk?

-= To broaden the perspective to include persons and stories that stand outside of prevailing dominant norms. To question power structures based on gender and traditions. To highlight that too many are marginalized and forgotten in a world that is once again becoming more and more conservative and exclusionary.

Do you spell it ill jill or Ill Jill and where does the name come from?

-Only small letters in a world where BIG letters determine the fate of the world. The name actually arose from a purely aesthetic play with letters. But then, of course, it could have a deeper meaning if one wants to… 

Your texts touch, is it important to have texts that are about something important or could you write a text about something blaha blaha?

-For us, music is more than an escape from reality, which is why meaningful lyrics are absolutely essential. When you stand on stage, you have a certain responsibility for what you convey to the audience.

Tell us a little about the lyrics on the EP?

-The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory. But we can say that Puke and Banshee Cry are based on personal experiences, while Screaming Inside and Sirens are reactions to world events.

What influences the most, is it politics, life or what is it that makes you write the lyrics that you do?

-The most important thing is to make the invisible visible, inspiration is often drawn from everyday observations of reality.

On Puke, you've even managed to get a Sex Pistols ending with the final clip even?

-Hmm, guess we haven't listened to that band enough to know what that means.

My body is mine to decide... good title and a meaningful sentence....was it very painful before you came up with the title?

-Not at all. That pretty much sums up the spirit of the entire EP. We are once again living in a time where more and more people believe they have access to, and the right to decide over, the bodies and identities of others.

Is the next project an LP now then?

-Yes! We are writing a lot of new material, Stay tuned!

You have no thoughts of singing in Swedish?

-Not really. Why limit ourselves to one country and one language when what we write about is universal. But of course, we try not to put limits on creativity, so if an idea for a Swedish text comes up, we could very well make a Swedish song.

Punk is a pretty broad concept, what does punk mean to you?

-Freedom

Good punkbands in Sweden? Abroad?

-Lambrini Girls, Panic Shack, Delilah Bon, The Pill, Krigsstigen, Twat Union, Cheap Perfume, The Assissinators, Gatuplan, Crash Nomada, Mögel and more. There are so many good bands…

While we are still talking politics, what do you think about the election later this year, we will get rid of the Tidö parties?

-The Liberals will probably have to leave the Riksdag for lack of votes and hopefully the Christian Democrats will not get enough support votes, so then the Tidö side will not get enough votes to continue sitting in the Riksdag.

Are you yourself politically active or is it enough to be so through the music?

-We think music is a good platform.

Why do you think that SD for example is not so big in the big cities, are we more intelligent there or what is the reason for it, are people more narrow-minded in smaller cities/communities?

-People are definitely not more narrow-minded in smaller towns, however, it is very easy to target advertising these days and the Sweden Democrats has taken advantage of this by spreading scaremongering about the other parties.

When you play live, do you do some covers then, if you have done it....which songs?

-One song, ”Baby” by Panic Schack

How many songs do you have at all?

-About ten so far

When you play live, what kind of people comes?

-Since we are still relatively new as a band in this constellation, many people don't yet know what we sound like, so it's usually a very mixed audience. That's good!

25.Ten favoriterecords all time?

-10 best albums are hard to list, but some really good ones are: Delilah Bon ”Evil Hateful Female”, Pink Champagne ”Kärlek eller ingenting”, The Assassinators ”Sigt efter hjertet”, Ramones ”Brain Drain”, Garbage ”No Gods No Masters”, Marmozets ”The Weird and Wonderful Marmosets”, Agust D ”D-Day”

The album that makes ill jill sound like it does?

-There is no single album or musical style that we base our music on. We try to have a fairly broad sound and not to close the doors to new influences or sources of inspiration. We are four people with very varied musical backgrounds, which we see as a strength and gives a varied sound. We simply sound like our collective life experiences.

The album that always has to be on the tour bus or before you go on stage

-Always Lambrini Girls' "Lads, Lads, Lads" on the PA before we go on stage.

Do you buy a lot of records nowadays?

-Only the ones that really matter.

How do you listen to music yourself, is it CD, vinyl, cassette, digital or how do you listen? 

-Record player + digital

Your opinion about  Spotify?

-It is of course terrible that money comes before decency, consideration and humanity, as in so many large companies all over the world. As long as they have such big dominance among listeners, it is important that the content/music does not consist only of controlled, targeted and one-sided content that does not in any way arouse opposition. It is important that messages/music/lyrics that do not correspond to market forces or prevailing conservative norms can be highlighted and hopefully work towards some small change for the better in someone. It is of course also good practice to encourage listeners to buy music directly from artists and to push for other streaming services.

Futureplans for the band?

-As previously said, we are writing songs for an LP and are of course looking for more gigs. Hopefully this is just the beginning!

Something to add?

-Thanks for the interview. Always nice to be able to develop your thoughts in more ways than just lyrics.