The concerts are quickly sold out both in the capital and in the north. The fans are loyal and keep growing. Many of them should preferably wear white sailor hats that say things like “lasaron” or “pappa si pia”. Others fly with their own flags. And at some concerts, the band fry fish burgers on stage – which they also throw out to the audience. – It must be a bit strange for people who have not heard of us before, smiles the vocalist. Listen to the radio series “Fenomenet Moillrock” at the bottom of the article. Video: Simen Felix Omland / sTred – Didn’t have a choice The gang from Honningsvåg sings about ball horses, turnips, ladies, the periphery and that it “smelled of fesk”. The band is called Moillrock. They can thank a mother and an aunt for that. Because it was the duo who came with the clear message that the boys had to start a band. – So we really had no choice. It is Simen Fosse (31), vocalist in the band, who tells how it all started in 2007. – But that it would be at the level we have now, we had neither dreamed of nor planned it. – We didn’t know that there would be lots of money and ladies from starting a band, grins Simen Fosse in Moillrock. Photo: André Bendixen / news Peiser på Much has happened since the band from Honningsvåg was formed – in addition to the fact that they have become famous in their own town, a fishing village with just over two thousand inhabitants. The last few years have really taken off. The band “fires on”, as they themselves could have said. In the capital, Sentrum Scene became a breeze for the guys. The concert tickets were snapped up in less than three days. – It’s pretty crazy that we’ve managed to do it, says Simen. Yes, because how common is it that local bands manage to get such a hit? It certainly surprised the booking manager for Rockefeller, John Dee and Sentrum Scene in Oslo. Bo Terje Hustoft says that there are a number of local bands trying out in Oslo. Among these is Moillrock. Hustoft has noticed that they have done well on several stages. And that the band now sells out so quickly? – It is very rare that we experience that. And Moillrock is referred to as a phenomenon. Yes, even a cult. And that from different sides. Simen Fosse has recently moved back to Honningsvåg. There, he and the band make music from their brand new music studio. Photo: André Bendixen / news “We are from Honningsvåg” Kaisa Walsøe Håkonsen and Nelly Kaspersen Hansen are fourth graders in Honningsvåg. And they spare no expense when they sing one of their favorite band’s songs. “We are Moillrock. We are from Honningsvåg. Drink booze and talk shit. Thank you very much for us!” The song “Vi e Moillrock. Vi e fra Honningsvåg” is in second place in Rockman’s Top 100 Norwegian rock songs in 2022. Video: Andrè Bendixen / news Kaisa, with a pink band hat, has her own wall in her room with band posters, flags and drawings. She has one word to describe the band she likes so much: – Bainnskap! – It may be a bit loud for some, but otherwise I recommend it, she grins. It is not difficult to find more people who embrace Moillrock in Honningsvåg. Lukas Mikkelsen (15) is also a fan. On a scale from 1 to 10 for how much he likes Moillrock, he answers quickly and proudly: – 11! It’s cool to have professional people from the small place here. Pride is an important key word. According to hairdresser Tiril Olsen, we can also throw in a good dose of belonging. – Honningsvåg becomes cow-cow when it comes to concerts. It is this affinity. And she adds: Moillrock@ Oggasjakka 2022 – We are Moillrock, all of us. It’s like a cult, I feel. – They are a phenomenon. Last year, the rock band played a concert during the Bukta Festival in Tromsø. Crowds of sailor hats thronged the front of the stage. According to a reviewer in iTromsø, it completely took off, and he writes: “They are a phenomenon, Moillrock from Honningsvåg.” – Why did you mean that? – You got the impression that the whole of Honningsvåg was there. There are probably not many people in this country who have almost the entire population with them in that way, says Jørn Hagen. The head of one of the biggest music festivals in Finnmark, Torgeir Ekeland from Alta Live, thinks the same. He points to the sailor hats, T-shirts and flags with which followers uniform themselves. And they brag about how many concerts they get to attend each year. – It is almost a cult movement. Ekeland compares it to supporters of a football club. – They have achieved something that the vast majority of bands and pop artists dream of achieving. And he believes the band does more than just draw audiences to concerts. Because something is happening in the city by the North Cape. Torgeir Ekeland finds a Moillrock flag. He is considering raffling it off during this year’s Alta Live festival. Photo: André Bendixen / news Are young people moving to Honningsvåg? Ekeland actually has thoughts that the Moillrock phenomenon may have contributed to what is happening with housing in Honningsvåg. Nordkapp is one of the few municipalities in the north where several young people have returned in recent years. – They manage to create a new and young environment in Honningsvåg. It is very special that there is a rock band at the center of this, says Ekeland. – It only says a little about the status of popular culture in society. Ekeland is not alone in pointing to bolyst. In a humorous review of the band, Finnmarksposten writes the following: “It is almost impossible to get a home in Honningsvåg, and that is solely Simen Fosse’s fault. Not only is he forcibly moving the entire band to Honningsvåg, he plans to bring approx. a thousand others in the drag.” But what do the rock band themselves think? Honningsvåg is visited, among other things, by express routes, motorhomes, vigorous cyclists, cruise boats – and Moillrock enthusiasts. Photo: André Bendixen / news – We are all Moillrock Simen Fosse and several members of the band moved back to Honningsvåg last year after many years in Oslo. The band has recently opened its own music studio and is working on new songs. When Simen was growing up, there wasn’t an abundance of cultural offerings. But that has changed. He believes the band may have helped to highlight more opportunities in the north. – You can have a rich cultural life and social life, and not least have time to develop yourself up here, he says. And that can contribute to creating a sense of well-being. – I don’t think Moillrock should take credit for that, although we can certainly do it on a status on Facebook, he grins. But he believes that Moillrock has become something that has made different people meet and unite around a common cause. – And I think that is positive. – When I was growing up, there were not a lot of cultural offerings in Honningsvåg. But it is now, says Simen Fosse. Photo: André Bendixen / news Simen himself believes that the sense of community is the key to the band doing so well – and that it is referred to as a phenomenon. – Maybe people feel they are helping to build up the band. We are nothing if people don’t come to concerts or listen to our music. – “Vi e aille Moillrock”, as we have started to say, smiles the vocalist. Listen to the radio series “The Moillrock Phenomenon”
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The rock band Moillrock from Honningsvåg sells out concerts in Oslo and in the north – referred to as a phenomenon – Special
