Interview: InSammer

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

InSammer (Vika, vocals): I was into music since my childhood. I dance and sing all my life and I can’t imagine my life without music. My meeting with Dan was fateful and we still into doing music together. I don’t know what would I do besides music but I know that Dan is great at fishing and he could be the owner of a fisherman company.

What do you like to do when you’re not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

InSammer: When we are looking for some creativity, me and Dennis go to a small village in the north of Sweden to catch some inspiration. The beauty of nature in this cold northern part of Scandinavia give us ideas for many songs. Our drummer Nikita is a huge fan of flight simulators, our guitarist Oleg is reading a lot about cosmos, stars and astronomy.

How long has your band been around?

InSammer: We released our first album Numbers as Victims in 2014 and it’s a long way we walked since that time. Gigs, new albums and singles, it’s a cool time we enjoy.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

InSammer: We are from Stockholm, Sweden, it’s a cold and dark country with fantastic beauty of nature. Swedish music market is huge with many good bands like Sabaton, Meshuggah, InFlames, and others around. It’s kind of a challenge to make cool music when you’re on the market with high competitors’ activity. You need to be a better version of yourself to be demanded by fans.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

InSammer: The question about our band name with a misprint is one of the frequent. Actually, our guitarist Dennis is a fan of Robert Heinlein. And he remembered a quote from the book that accurately described our ideas when we started this project: “But there was winter in my heart and I was looking for the door to summer. If I sound like a man with an acute case of self-pity, you are correct. There must have been well over two billion people on this planet in worse shape than I was. Nevertheless, I was looking for the Door into Summer.” The idea was InSummer but Dennis was in a hurry before our first gig and sent to promoter our name with a misprint – InSammer. We laughed and then decided to leave it that way.

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

InSammer: The worst show was in Stockholm. I don’t remember the name of the venue but it was a small and darkened venue. We were playing a show and it was good at the beginning but the stage was small and Dennis smashed my forehead with a guitar. It was a total disaster. The best show was at

Vagos Metal Festival in Portugal. Many fans with fantastic energy, nice vibes around.

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?

InSammer: Any venue is good if people in the venue are headbanging and enjoy the show. We need to feel their energy from the stage. And yes, we want to play at the main stage of Download Festival for sure.

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?

InSammer: Some huge festival with many local bands with Korn and InSammer as headliners.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?

InSammer: You need to enjoy your music and your live shows. And take very seriously any content and product you create. To record and to release a single is a very complicated process and you need to achieve a high level in it. Take your music career professionally.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

InSammer: Music is an industry with many pitfalls. Play as many shows as you can as in a day everything can change – Covid-19 pandemic situation. Be hungry for releases and touring.