Women of Rock: Hedvig Mollestad’s 5 Female Groups You Need to Hear Right Now! (Part 3)

Part 3 of Women of Rock, and we’re glad you’re here! This particular installment offers up 5 more awesome female musicians to follow, all graciously suggested by Hedvig Mollestad who fronts Norwegian group Hedvig Mollestad Trio, a band known for their careful melding of heavy rock and jazz Huge thanks to Hedvig for sharing some insight about the rad femmes she listens to. Read on to find out about five bands/musicians that’ll make you feel the rock from the ends of your hair down to your toes. In the words of Janis Joplin, “rock on out!”

01. MoE (Oslo, Norway | Noise Rock / Noisy Punk influenced Rock)

– The Norwegian band MoE is known for mixing their minimalistic compositions with alternative and experimental approaches that fails to fit in the rock genre. With countless collaborations exceeding the borders of rock and noise, MoE seeks the absolute presence in the execution of the music. Loud and violently, they molest their instruments and brings the listener closer to a healthy insanity. Their recent activity includes touring in Mexico, Japan, Europe and South East Asia, seeking new collaborations with experimental scenes all over the planet to expand the music. MoE continues working in an unpredictable, noisy and dark landscape, with a broad musical hunger. Countless artists and bands have made a big impact on their musical lives. But first and foremost it’s the life of alternative music that provides the passion of MoE. Over the years MoE have collaborated with musicians such as Okkyung Lee, Lasse Marhaug and John Hegre.

www.moepages.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/moepages

02. ONTZ (Oslo, Norway | Alternative Pop / Rusty Pop)

– The Norwegian duo Ontz consists of the brains and muscles of Mai Elise Solberg and Bjarne Christian Gustavsen. They create experimental electronic music with pounding beats, airy spaces, dynamic depth and melodic sophistication; they are strange, beautiful and powerful, and their latest album Overgrowth is a true pearl!

www.soundcloud.com/ontz
www.facebook.com/ONTZ-175763539137359
www.twitter.com/Ontzmusic

03. Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Gospel / Jazz / Blues / Rock / Rhythm and Blues)

– I simply love this woman. A pioneer of mid-20th-century music, she attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and rhythmic accompaniment that was a precursor of rock and roll.

www.imdb.com/name/nm0857093/

04. Caterina Valente (Italy | Jazz / Bossa Nova / Chanson / Showtunes / Schlager)

– A mean Italian jazz/bossa-guitarist first introduced to me through a recording I had with Chet Baker, and my first female role model. Unfortunately, no videos for this tune, but the guitar playing here combined with her singing and bakers swirling trumpet — a soundtrack to my childhood.

www.caterinavalente.com
www.facebook.com/caterina.valente.official

05. Sandra Kolstad (Oslo, Norway | Pop / Experimental / Electronic)

– Sandra Kolstad makes electronic pop music that’s danceable, explosive and extravagant. An established star in Norway, she’s playlist and national newspaper material on her home turf, and has often been described as “Norway’s queen of electronic pop.” She was nominated at Oslo’s by: Larm festival for a new internationally-breaking artist, and early responses to her new album (Nothing Lasts) Forever suggest this was as much a premonition as a prediction. Known for her highly visual performances, Kolstad is a classically trained pianist with big ambitions for music’s live potential; as well as her expressive, joyful dancing and swathed in kaleidescopic projected lights, as well as accompaniment from drummer Kyrre Bjørkås who masters the noble art of drumming standing up, and skwee producer Sprutbass who is playing bass with Sandra.

www.sandrakolstad.com
www.facebook.com/sandrakolstadmusic
www.facebook.com/moepages

*Be sure to also check out:
– Women of Rock: 5 Female Groups You Need to Hear Right Now! (Part 1)
– Women of Rock: 5 Female Groups You Need to Hear Right Now! (Part 2)
– Women of Rock: 5 Female Groups You Need to Hear Right Now! (Part 4)