For her 2nd solo record aside from her rock trio, guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen expands her orchestration to an octet, adding jazz-rock elements while balancing scorching playing with lyrical and open passages, as she pays tribute to Arne Nordheim's 1979 composition for Shakespeare's "The Tempest", and for her own experiences of furious weather in her home town of Ålesund.
"Hedvig Mollestad must surely be one of the hardest working musicians on the Norwegian music scene at the moment, with Tempest Revisited being her third album in a mere 18 months, all at a consistently high artistic level. Her first solo album, Ekhidna (2020), received a Spellemannpris (Norwegian Grammy), appeared on several jazz and rock best of the year lists and got her into Downbeat's "25 for the future" selection.
Tempest Revisited draws lines back to 1998 and the very beginning of Rune Grammofon. This was the year we released Electric, the collected electronic works of Arne Nordheim, one of Norway's greatest composers. It was also the year when parts of The Tempest, possibly his most cherished and well-known work, was chosen to be performed at the opening of Parken, the new cultural house in Ålesund, birthplace of Hedvig Mollestad.
To celebrate 20 years, the culture house was ready for a new storm, and the first name that came to them was Hedvig, a local artist that was already making waves on the international scene with her power-trio. Hedvig took inspiration from the front of the house, adorned with Nordheim's score for "The Tempest", at the same time making a direct connection to the sometime heavy weather conditions of this coastal area in the northwest part of Norway.
One could say it's a big paradox that over all this might be Hedvig's most lyrical and less aggressive collection of music. On the other hand it's quite a dynamic record, lots of light and shade and enough sonic parts at work to evoke the elements, the mighty Gran Cassa drum only one of them. The music included here was adapted from the initial performance in 2018 and produced by Hedvig in the studio the following year for this album release. The musicians included are old friends Marte Eberson from the Ekhidna band, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad from her trio and Trond Frønes (Red Kite) on bass as well as a horn section of three.
Yet another triumph in a more than impressive discography."-Rune Grammofon
"Tempest Revisited" is a not so stormy tribute to Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen's hometown Ålesund. The album draws lines back to 1998, the very beginning of Mollestad's cooperation with the label Rune Grammofon. In the same year, "The Tempest", the most cherished and well-known work of Arne Nordheim, one of Norway's greatest composers, was chosen to be performed at the opening of Parken, the new cultural house in Ålesund, and Rune Grammofon released "Electric", a collection of Nordheim electronic works.
Twenty years later Parken's manager Hans Pareliussen commissioned Mollestad to compose a work celebrating the culture house 20th anniversary. Mollestad was inspired by the front of the culture house, adorned with Nordheim's score for "The Tempest", and connected her composition to the heavy weather conditions of this coastal area in the northwest part of Norway.
"Tempest Revisited" was first performed at Parken cultural house in November 2018 and the album adapts the music from the initial performance and was recorded in the studio the following year. The musicians are old friends of Mollestad - keyboards and vibes player Marte Eberson, of Highasakite, who played on Mollestad's "Ekhidna" (Rune Grammofon, 2020), drummer Ivar Loe Bjørnstad from her power trio, bassist Trond Frønes from Red Kite, as well as three sax players, including Martin Myhre Olsen of Wako and Hegge.
Despite its title, "Tempest Revisited" is Mollestad's less aggressive and most lyrical album to date. The titles of the five pieces evoke the elements, but Mollestad focused here on dynamic and layered band work and decided not to rely on the infectious heavy guitar riffs so identified with her, except briefly on "Winds Approaching" on the last "High Hair", where she joins the sax choir. She builds the tension and drama patiently and opts for a cathartic coda only on "High Hair". She arranges this composition as a continuous prog-rock meets fusion suite, with the vintage analog synths and keyboards, but, still, with inspiring yet reserved solos of Mollestad. Her exquisite guitar work on "418 (Stairs In Storms)" brings to mind the early solo albums of Terje Rypdal for ECM. Mollestad proves on "Tempest Revisited" that she is not only one of the hardest working musicians in the Norwegian scene but also one of the most original ones."-Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts