Panpanics was a band I found by ”mistake”, contacted them and they sent their CD that came out a couple of years ago, here is the interview that took place in September 2025.

Tell us a little about the group's origins, members, previous bands and when you started playing... yes you know the common story?

Matte: Me and Lars had a band back in the 80's, Animal Bizarre that played post-punk. Then a number of other short-lived bands and projects that are not worth mentioning here during the 80s and 90s. Lars and I found our way back to each other at a gig with Imperial State Electric (as an audience haha) a few years ago where we decided to start a joint punkband again. Then I have Matte several other bands/projects at the moment: Helldivers who play Action rock where also Jon and Matti are involved, Baarhus who performs Postpunk/Darkwave and my one man band Svartsint who plays Black Metal.

Jon: Played drums since childhood, played everything from punk/metal to covers and surf rock. Some of the bands are Total Tarmtömning, Dirty Dixxx and Lady Stardust & the crew to name a few. I got to know Matte through playing with Matte in Helldivers, through that, so then became Panpanics. But the conductor will have to answer the rest... Anyone who cared what Philty Animal thought??

Matti: I've moved around a lot and played with all sorts of people, lived in Stockholm for a number of years and played with Salvation Star Brigade together with Peter London (Crashdïet) until I ended up in Sundsvall again and after many ifs and buts I met Matte and Jon and started playing in Helldivers, and nowadays The PanPanics of course, also plays with the Anarchopunk band Only Resist

 Lars: Started playing with friends in the late 70's, was involved in forming Animal Bizarre, then a long period without music before the Panpanics, also has a one-man project, Mr. Lard Ahlmighty who plays Punk/Powerpop/rock.

Your punk is a style which came out a long time ago, what made you play this type of music?

Matte: Me and Lars write most of the songs and we don't know any other punkstyle haha. But everyone in the band shapes the songs in the rehearsal and someone else can also come up with riffs and ideas. I hardly listen to today's punk but the one that came 76-83 is the best with some competition from 90 ́s but I can not write such songs really even though it is good. Jon would surely like to play more as Skitsystem and Matti as French hardcore haha.

You do two covers on your record Punk sounds best on Crappy speakers and it's a Blitz and an Exploited-song, why did it become these? Didn't you have more of your own songs?

Matte: It's part of my punk heritage from the past but everyone in the band likes them. Jon came up with Dead cities as a suggestion and Matti with Razors in the night. We wanted to do a couple of covers with UK82 style simply because it's so damn good.

I read your texts and am struck that they are very easy to understand, is that how you want texts, not wrapped in a lot of fluff but more straight to the point!

Matte: I write the lyrics and when I write punklyrics I want them to be direct.

Tell us a little about the following songs

-No way out

–Pervert in Disguise

-Pandemic scare(I think I sense a certain vaccine skepticism there)

Matte: I would actually like to answer that it is up to the viewer to interpret but I can make an exception since the texts are so direct anyway.

No way out is about the anxiety of living that sometimes everyone gets when you get stuck in the black and see no way out. Luckily for me at least, it's very rarely and usually triggered by something from the outside.

Pervert in disguise is a song about how appearances can be deceiving, you can never really know what is hiding when no one else is looking and that in a lot of cases society's legal system still cannot prove these evils and people go free even though they shouldn't, mainly when it comes to crimes against children.

Pandemic Scare, if you watch our lyrics video at the end, you'll see the main reason for the song's lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlNMKH5MDIo&list=RDdlNMKH5MDIo&start_radio=1

To sum up: The pharmaceutical companies saw a great chance to capitalize on the panic that was whipped up and governments were not slow to lie spoon with these.

You have never thought about singing in Swedish or how is it?

Matte: Yes, the next EP will be in Swedish. We will start rehearsing it in the autumn.

You have released a CD, will there be any more physical releases? Or just digitally(I hope not)

Matte: Should be a vinyl in that case haha.

Isn't it important to get the records out as physical releases or is there no one buying?

Matte: We are so "small" that most of the listeners are probably spread out digitally. And then it costs money too... But if someone wants to release us on vinyl, we won't say no

Do you buy a lot of records yourself?

Matte: 3-4 vinyl a month

Lars: Bought quite a lot of records in the 70s, 80s and 90s, now kind of nothing.

Matti: I collected vinyl records for a while, but around 2008 I had my collection stolen in connection with a burglary. The mere thought that some jack pounder has sold everything I've collected for 20 years for a couple of thousand makes me give up and unfortunately I'm what I call a "Spotify punk". sad but true

First, last and most expensive record you ever bought?

Matte: The first record was a Rolling Stones when I was like 8-9 but for some reason I happened to choose their absolute fluffiest record "Their Satanic Majesties Request" and didn't like it at all, thought it would be songs like Satisfaction, Gimme shelter etc. The latest album was Darkane "Layers of Lies" (Swedish thrash/death) and the most expensive must be one of my Norwegian black metal records from the 90's.

Lars: Unclear, but probably someone with Sweet, the latest a 78-rpm, "Flottarkärlek" with Snoddas and the most expensive I have no idea about.

Wouldn't it be best if all bands and artists withdrew from all streaming services like Spotify etc to make a little more money on physical material?

Matte: Can't Spotify and others make sure that it gets much better paid per song instead. But of course, in the ideal world, physical formats are preferable any day of the week. But if we only released physically, no one would find us unless we toured wildly to market ourselves. I'm torn apart, you discover so many new bands on Spotify and Youtube that you would otherwise never hear.

Lars: Agree with Matte on that question.

Panpanics, where does this odd name come from?

Matte: We were formed during the pandemic and panpanic is a new word that means living in fear of pandemics. The word (The) Panpanics does not exist, but it is a made-up noun.

Superb album title with "Punk sounds best on crappy speakers", who came this nice title from? Matte:

Me and my son Tim who by the way played in Rännstensorkestern (please listen to them) sat and buzzed one afternoon and we came to the conclusion that punk sounds the rawest out of speakers haha. No fucking hifi but hard and raw sound...

What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifestyle or only a style of music?

Matte: For me, it's something that has been around since my teenage years when you had various hairstyles and strange clothes haha. But punk for me is a little fuck off, I do what I want, both musically and in life. Punk doesn't have to have a message, it can just mean that you play simple, raw rock without hairs, take rock back to the basics simply like Ramones or The Damned. The Clash made punk political and the Swedish punk inherited in a lot of the proggers opinions from the seventies but punk can just as well be Stoogesdist and I don't care-lyrics. I'm the Worlds forgotten boy type. But of course, sometimes you want to kick something/someone via a text.... It's up to everyone to write exactly the text they want, first rule there is no rule haha...

Lars: A full answer from Matte, which I sign up to.

How do you think it is to live in Sweden right now, politically, expensive food costs etc etc?

Matte: There are much worse countries to live in...

Lars: A bit too right-wing right now, but as I said, there are worse countries to live in.

What inspires the lyrics?

Matte: Things from everyday life, events in the world, personal experiences.

How do you make songs, is it only one who does them or do you jam together in the rehearsal room?

Matte: Most of the songs I have written and then shown to the band as basically ready, some song has Lars done, some is based on some riff from Matti, some has come as a song idea from me but then grown together in the rehearsal with input on arr from everyone. There are small things in every song that someone came up with in the rehearsal while we played.

Is there any really good bands in Sweden right now that you want to mention, regardless of genre?

Matte: Of contemporary music I listen almost exclusively to metal in different forms and there are lots of good newer bands so I can name a few: In Aphelion, Istapp, Pain, Deathstars, Hardcore Superstar, The Halo Effect and others gothenburgdeathbands, Alfahanne. Among ordinary rock bands, The Hellacopters are kings. Of today's new punk bands it is bad but a band I have stuck to a little bit is called Inga Anor. Disfear is always good :-)

Tell us a little about the following albums and what you think about it today.

-First record you bought or got?

Matte: The first thing I got as a little boy was probably a Sweet single "Teenage Rampage". I still love Sweet and what they did in the seventies.

Lars: Christmas Present, Sweet, Desolation Boulevard

-The album that changed your life?

Matte: Sex Pistols-Never mind the bollocks

Lars: Never mind the bollocks

Matti: Ramones "Rocket to Russia"

-Last album you bought? Matte: As mentioned earlier, Darkane-Layers of lies

Lars: No idea, the last purchase was a 78-rpm.

-The album you are ashamed of?

Matte: I'm not ashamed of anything.

Lars: Nothing

Matti: Kent "Vapen och ammunition"

-The album that makes Panpanics sound like you do?

Matte: Never mind the bollocks and The Damned's first...

Lars: Agree with Matte

-The album that always has to be on the tour bus?

Matte: Now we don't tour but In Flames-Whoracle is a pulse raiser.

Jon: Ingemar Nordström Saxparty 22

Lars: Ramones It's Alive

-The album that you would have liked to have played on?

Matte: Never mind the bollocks

Lars: One of the Ramones 3 first.

Is there a lot of interviews, is it boring?

Matte: Haha no no we are not that famous...

What is the most common and boring question?

Matte: We're so happy someone wants to interview us.

What is the strangest thing that has happened during your music career, I mean when you have played live, backstage or on your way to a gig or similar?

Matte: Had a chaos gig in the nineties where the whole band was drunk. We were thrown off the stage after 1.5 songs...

 If you had to describe yourself in three words... Who would it be?

Matte: No fucking hassle.

What is the strangest band musically that you have shared the stage with?

Matte: The Panpanics haven't played live yet, we're a pure rehearse product ;-)

Do you think music can change someone's life, I mean lyrics etc? Do you have any song that has made you change your mindset?

Matte: The power of music is great, extremely great if you want to give yourself in. How it affects the person who is susceptible is highly individual. There are a lot of punk songs you listened to as a teenager that made you grow as a person, believe in yourself, stand up for yourself and others...

Playing music, is it a good way to get out frustration and become an even better person?

-Matte: Yes

Lars: Absolutely

Futureplans with the band?

Matte: Let's see if we can scare together an EP this fall...

Future plans with your life otherwise?

Matte: You only have one life, make sure to make something sensible out of it all

Words of wisdom?

Matte: See previous answer...

Something to add?

Mom: Have been buzzing enough... But to everyone who reads this, follow us on Spotify and check out our videos on the tube