Ekhidna

Listen on Presto Music. Free thirty day trial. Find out more.

All this leaves Mollestad the guitar player freer to propel her massive riffs over a sea of sounds, as on ‘A Stone’s Throw’ or to climax over and again on the rage of ‘Antilone’… One Mutha of... — Jazzwise, July 2020, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 12th Jun 2020
Catalogue No: RCD2215
Label: Rune Grammofon
Length: 39 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

7th August 2020

Hedvig Mollestad: No Friends But The Mountains

Work length1:56

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Hedvig Mollestad

Hedvig Mollestad: A Stone’s Throw

Work length7:07

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

Hedvig Mollestad

Hedvig Mollestad: Antilone

Work length10:12

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

Hedvig Mollestad

Hedvig Mollestad: Slightly Lighter

Work length3:02

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Hedvig Mollestad

Hedvig Mollestad: Ekhidna

Work length9:06

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

Hedvig Mollestad

Hedvig Mollestad: One Leaf Left

Work length7:53

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

Hedvig Mollestad

About
Reviews
Explore

About

Recording of the Week, Hedvig Mollestad - Ekhidna

7th August 2020

Hedvig Mollestad’s latest studio offering is jazz-rock fusion, with an emphasis on the rock. With a selection of dynamic pieces and fierce energy, there’s both awesome riffs and deep complexity to be found in Mollestad’s music.

Widely praised from Rolling Stone to Downbeat, Mojo to Wire and Jazzwise; electrifying guitarist Hedvig Mollestad hits us with a multifaceted and dynamic progressive jazzrock monster high on fierce riffs, rich textures, vibrant solos and strong melody lines.

In May 2018 Hedvig received an invitation from Vossajazz - the much loved annual festival established in 1973 - to write the commission work for 2019. This came at the right time, she had been thinking about writing for a bigger group than the trio, and this would be a good opportunity. To make it suitable for album release the full festival version was edited, sharpened and recorded from scratch in Amper Tone studio in Oslo. In addition to Hedvig on guitar, the line-up includes powerhouse drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9) and percussionist Ole Mofjell, the youngest member, but with solid experience from the European improvisation scene. Keyboard duties are handled by Marte Eberson, probably most known from her five years with Highasakite, and Erlend Slettevoll (The Core and supergroup Grand General, Rune Grammofon 2013). Hedvig first met trumpeter Susana Santos Silva in Mats Gustafsson´s NU-ensemble. Ekhidna is a figure from Greek mythology; half woman, half snake. Hevig is keen to stress that it´s not a concept album as such, but loosely tied to themes of human struggle and being a mother in times when our increasing inability to live in harmony with nature paints a bleak picture.

Reviews

July 2020

All this leaves Mollestad the guitar player freer to propel her massive riffs over a sea of sounds, as on ‘A Stone’s Throw’ or to climax over and again on the rage of ‘Antilone’… One Mutha of an album.

September 2020

Ekhidna is meant to be played good and loud through speakers, but it’s also an album that rewards close listening through headphones.

Joshua Lee

While Mollestad’s melodic sensibilities are strong, she also excels in writing purely raw riffs; the track ‘A Stone’s Throw’ has hints of modern psychedelia like Earthless via jazzy syncopation and fusion chops, though where Mollestad’s music differentiates itself is by eschewing the straight 4/4 beats and lack of chord progressions, bringing less predictable rhythms and deeper harmonic colour to the sound.

Ekhidna

Downloads

Contents

Recording of the Week, Hedvig Mollestad - Ekhidna

Download queue