Hedvig Mollestad + MC Yallah & Debmaster + DJ Nefertiti

Hedvig Mollestad's WEEJUNS

In recent years, Mollestad has consolidated her position as a powerful composer and guitarist in her genre - and beyond. She has won the Norwegian Grammy in Open Class two years in a row for her solo releases, and Weejuns is her latest project: A sparkling trio with Ståle Storløkken, a bauta through his work with Terje Rypdal, Supersilent and Elephant9, and Ole Mofjell, one of the foremost young drummers on the European improv stage, and also in Mollestad's Ekhidna. Weejuns' concert at the Munch Museum in April showed a whole new side of Mollestad and her music - the principles of long, composed stretches have been thrown away, and we are left with an open door to a huge universe of sparkling interactions and picturesque structures, a feeling of weightlessness where the time aspect is shaken, where the musicians gather in a great trilogy, and meet in powerful unison sessions. Under the surface, however, you find mighty riffs that can be associated with the rift between the 60s and 70s, from the Bitches Brew and Mahavishnu era. The work was a commissioned work for Kongsberg Jazz Festival 2022, and is entitled KALABALIKK - originally a Swedish word via Turkish that describes crowds in a crowd, but which in recent times has turned its meaning towards riots or riots in a crowd. Resistance, anarchy, community! Kalabalikk!

Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen – guitar
Ståle storløkken – organ and synth
Ole Mofjell – drums
Joffe Myrvold – lights and video
Espen Høydalsvik - sound

MC Yallah & Debmaster

MC Yallah has been part of the East African underground hip-hop scene for nearly 20 years. She is known for her high energy performances and her bright, colorful aesthetic.

Yallah Gaudencia Mbidde was born in Kenya and grew up in Uganda, where she turned to rap and soon made a name for herself. Her lyrics draw inspiration from real-life experiences, social observations with the bullshit filter turned on. What really sets MC Yallah apart, and which shines through on her 2019 EP, Kubali, is her signature style: a rapid, tightly controlled flow delivered in one or more of four languages - Kiswahili, Luganda, English and Luo. It was featured on Mixmag's album of the decade list.

Recently, she has done collaborations with Duma, Mdou Moctar, Eomac and DJ Scotch Rolex on the 2021 album Tewari, which was featured on end of year lists in The Quietus and The Wire. In 2022 she will release her new album on the central Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes. The lyrical lioness is now touring worldwide and this autumn, she is ready for Oslo World.

DJ Nefertiti

DJ Nefertiti has become an Oslo World veteran in recent years. She has hosted her own club nights and dj’ed before concerts and in connection with several other festival events. When she began dj’ing in 2009 her mission was to bring arabic and african genres, such as afrohouse, kwaito, highlife and kizomba, to Oslos dance floors. This kind of music was, at the time, lacking from the club circuit, but it was warmly received. DJ Nefertiti has played at The Villa, Internasjonalen, Turkish Delight and Jaeger, among other places. The dance floors have been packed from the beginning. Over the last ten years, the music she plays has become more common in Oslos clubs - people know more about it, and seem eager to learn. DJ Nefertiti points out the increased availability as the main cause behind this change. But a huge part of the credit goes to ambassadors such as her, spreading the word, night after night.