Credit: Stefan Kruse 2024
Danish Rock n’ Riot Grrrl A Mess confronts gender perceptions, and sex with a head-on approach, channeling the rebellious spirit of #metoo in modern society and early ’90s indie punk and power pop. Described by Visions Magazine (GER) as “feministic power pop driven by raw guitar riffs.”.
Imagine if The Breeders bred Wet Leg and left the upbringing to Pussy Riot.
A Mess’ debut album ‘WOMAN – NO MAN’ compilates her two acclaimed EPs (2021, 2024). It stirs substantial attention on her mix of political activism and upbeat and pop-punk indie sound. The US music blog Girl at the Rock Show describes it as “intriguing and exciting (…) I haven’t heard anything like this before. A Mess is a truly brilliant listen”.
‘Happy’ and ‘Gender Traitor’ and ‘We Gonna Fight’ are gaining traction with steady rotation on German and Danish Radio. The reviews are coming in from all over the world with 5-stars from GAFFA (DK), 8.2/10 Girl at Rock Show (US), Musikreview.de highly recommend the album with 11/15 points and dazzling recommendations from OXFANZINE (GER), Visions (GER) and Loud Women (UK) just to mention a few.
2024 kicks off with IMPALAS (The European Independent Record Association) nomination as one of the 100 artists to watch in Europe. She has been selected for WAVES VIENNA (2024) and embarks on European tours after a series of critically acclaimed live performances, at SPOT Festival (DK), Smukfest (DK), and headlining the Swiss Nordklang Festival and playing 6 tours in DE, AT, CH and CZ. She is known for her powerful and energetic live performances.
Dorte Hartmann, the visionary behind A Mess, leads this dynamic two-piece with vocals/guitar, accompanied by drums played by Per Gerhard Jørgensen. She has received the Danish Arts Council grant in 2023.
______________________________________
What’s been said about A Mess
“A Mess „Woman / No Man“ feiert die Notwendigkeit von Dreck im Pop gleichermaßen, wie es die Relevanz von Glitzer im Punk unterstreicht.” (Musikreview.de 2024)
“A defiant and much-needed voice” (GAFFA 2024)
“…Eine modern Variante des feministischen Powerpop, wie sie heute nu selten zu hören ist. Die songs sind abwechslungsreich und haben trozt die poppigen Grinstimmung immer genug Power, um dich mitzureissen.”(Oxfanzine 2024).
Press/Reviews/Radio highlights
- 3 singles A-rotation Danish National Radio P6, + 15 college radio rotations Germany.
- One-pager article Oxfanzine (Juli 2024)
- 1 debut album + 2 EPS out since 2021.
Review highlights: 2 x 5 stars GAFFA (DK), 7/10 Oxfanzine, 11/15 Musikreview.de, 4/5 InHard Magazine and many more. - Der Spiegel, NBHAP, Visions recommendations.
Collaborations
Pussy Riot on music video (April 2024).
Festivals/live highlights
- Waves Vienna 2024 (AT)
- Nordklang Festival 2023 (CH)
- SPOT Festival 2022 (DK)
- Smukfest 2022 (DK)
- 6 tours in GAS + CZ + 60 shows
- 3 tours Scandinavia + 50 shows