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Ok so here goes the intro, Sondre called me 5 minutes ago, worried: “Am I coming off cocky? Am I really saying something? Do people understand irony when they read it?” Here at the Place offices, such a call doesn’t surprise us at all. We have been dealing with the Mortensen brothers for a while. Sounds like a recipe for a fun chat amongst friends doesn’t it? Luckily we managed to bring you this interview, which is worth the click even if you only come here for Nils Svensson’s lovely photographs. As for Sondre, does he come off cocky or is he just having a good time shooting the shit? You be the judge, it is hard to be yourself when there is a public that needs to be entertained. So even if you don’t like our words, stay for Sondre’s music. His cover of Bob Dylan’s: “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” is wonderful! Enjoy a bit of Mortensen magic and take this about as serious as you would a Puff Daddy 90’s Hip Hop video, You know with the shiny suits and all!

Interview & intro by Roland Hoogwater.

Music by Sondre Mortensen.

Photos by the talented Nils Svensson.

So, Sondre, it is no secret we are good friends but still tell me what’s up with you?

Hello, I have been rehabbing my foot, been going into nature on walks, and studying graphic design at a digital distance (laughs). It has been mostly about typography lately.

What do you think about our graphic design by Dialy Dialogue?

It is good (laughs). For my work though it has been tough learning at a distance, online. I feel like I don’t work well with it, the design part is fun but the distance is making me question my choices.

Well, that is the Mortensen way, think about it, do it, and then question it for a long time after (laughs).

True, I should stick with it. But skating is going well and that is making me think about my other things in life.

What do you mean going well? You can’t skate right now.

(laughs) Fuck, this is a great interview! I have been growing my hair out as well btw working on that Adelmo Jr. hair and I decided to bring the mustache back.

Looking fly!

Yeah, that is a Mortensen style though, my dad rocked it when he was still playing basketball professionally. The long curly hair with the ‘stache and some low top b-ball trainers. That was a strong look! lately, though it has been me carrying that tradition on. I am the weird one in the family! Just kidding.

Your brother is doing his habitat thing with the Gustav Tønnessen long hair tied up look.

He has a little man bun going for a while!

If you could change Amandus’ hair what would you change about it?

I would dye it pink! Going surfing with long pink hair. That would be sweet!

Ok, another question, how is the music going? What are you listening to?

Markus Kärnebro, and a lot of New Order, I have been listening back to a lot of music I used to listen to. Things like Suicide and Jonathan Richman of the Modern Lovers.

With or without the Modern Lovers? A friend of mine skated to Pablo Picasso (who was never called an asshole).

Great stuff, John Cale produced that! He is an underrated producer, did the Stooges, Happy Mondays, and many other great projects. I have been listening to Reverend Baron too!

But have you been making music as well?

Yeah, I have been working on Portraits of Laughter together with Logan Devlin for a while now. I still record on my own as well, messing around (laughs). Music is like a diary for me at times. Right now I have round about eight tracks that I don’t know what to do with.

Should we leak a track when this interview drops? Your Bob Dylan cover?

That would be fun!

By the way what has been happening in skating for you, can you talk about it yet?

Nice things, I got some boxes from different people but because I haven’t been able to skate it has been feeling kinda weird to have good things happen on that side of life.

Don’t stress about that too much, Jacob Hansson told me you have stuff filmed and you have some photos going with this interview. People will see it and be like, oh he has been out ripping, they don’t know when something has been done, they just know when it came out.

True.

Let’s talk some more about you, you have changed quite a lot over the years. From being very shy to working on yourself and opening up more. How would you think a Place X Malmö project like the one in 2017 would go down now?

It would be so different for me. I didn’t know I loved and needed skateboarding so much back then. Amandus would probably go at it the same but I would be way more productive. I also changed my skating, we used to only skate street, just Amandus and myself. Now I like to skate in all the parks in Malmö.

Not going to lie, I am proud of your progress, it was a good choice to work on the things you wanted to work on.

Life has been goooood! I have been noticing the change. I still have my ups and downs but I am doing great.

I think that trip to Tunisia is the first time we all saw the new Sondre.

Yeah, that was fun, first time on a trip without my brother. Which was strange and new. but I loved doing my thing and made a lot of good friends. Shout out to the Giraffe Crew!

You certainly did, Habibi! Malmö has been your home for a while now, but do you think you will stay in Sweden for most of your life, or will you move around in your life?

I like Sweden a lot but I feel like I am going to live in multiple cities. Malmö has been home for a while now but there is more to see out there. Maybe I will go back up north for a bit, or even another country I am excited to see where life takes me.

Could you take us back to your real hometown of Lulea? Simon Isaksson is from there too right?

He is! We grew up skating with Simon. We skated together a lot, I was always the young one. But when I mean growing up I don’t mean we met in kindergarten, he is from a different part of town. But it is so far back that I can’t remember when we even met. We filmed with him as well but he left town first and went to Barcelona and continued doing the same thing just skating. He made it!

I remember you guys met up at CPH open 2019 and talking for a while. Afterwards, you told me that Simon made it while “Sticking to the formula.”

(laughs) Yeah, true, he did! Basically, how we skated was, searching for spots, filming, and working out our ideas both silly and serious ideas. That is how we all grew up doing things and he stuck to it and made it!

It is especially funny to me because he created this aura, but when I saw him, he had the same up-north mannerisms you do. Talking sort of slow, scoping things out and keeping to himself.

Yeah, we are all freaks (laughs).

You recently popped up on the Frog skateboards Instagram, how did that feel!

Popped up on the billboard man. All my dreams came true (laughs)!

Feeling like DJ Khaled when he had the #1 song in the country?

Nah, more like Omar S when he went to pick up that fresh GTR, and the guy who sold it to him started to sing a song. Have you seen that video?

I have, good vibes but kinda weird vibes at the same time.

But being on an IG account isn’t much to talk about. Can you send me this interview after you have typed it out? I feel like I am talking way to much shit.

Sure! And you can take all of the fun stuff out and we can have a truly boring interview!

Yeah…..I just like the part where I said “Hello”, it is right at the start of the interview. we can just go with that part and leak the song. Ok..bye!