Marc Strömberg is an illustrator and musician who grew up with the Umeå hardcore scene, one generation after Johannes. Marc recalls an era in which genre torchbearers from around the world such as Earth Crisis, Biohazard, The Locust, and Ignite trekked thousands of miles outside of a conventional tour routing to play in Umeå. The attraction Marc and others in his age group had to the movement was driven by a breadth of interest: hardcore music, veganism, animal rights activism and living a straight edge lifestyle. All the while supported by a safe infrastructure of drug and alcohol free youth centers, an education system that embraced musical pursuits, and nurturing musicians turned role models. As generations grew out of the Umeå hardcore scene, younger kids replaced them, arranging and promoting shows, putting out records and actively engaging critical facets of elevating a wider youthful music scene. We end on the decline of Umeå hardcore – which may be attributed to larger swings in the music industry. Marc argues new wave underground hardcore music is dominated by solo artists that are genre agnostic, less interested in band democracy, instead gravitating away from traditional album cycle structures. A growing Spotify playlist companion for this series – including Marc’s bands Håll Det Äkta and Lesra – can be found HERE. In Part III of this series Susanne Odell joins us to discuss the Umeå Hardcore Archive and Folkrörelsearkivet, its collection, and how she’s approached documenting the movement movement between 1989 to 2000. You’ll be able to listen to Part III from March 9th. Check out Part I of this series, featuring Johannes Persson of Cult of Luna, HERE. Find Marc Strömberg: Big Cartel Webshop/Gallery and Music Portal Facebook Instagram Hardcore and Soda Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes here!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify to help others find us! Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us! Episode Notes: