MARTINA AXÉN

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Martina Axén helped form the all-female quartet Drain STH (known as Drain S.T.H. in the United States) with longtime friend and band mate, guitarist Flavia Canel. Before Drain STH, Axén and Canel had been in many other bands together, most notable among them being the punk band, Livin' Sacrifice.

As Drain STH progressed and grew, it developed a very hard rock sound. Then, the group’s music began to drift towards the more pop/mainstream side of the spectrum. Citing artistic differences, Axén (who wrote much of the band’s music and performed back-up vocals) left with Canel and vocalist Malin Ekholm. With the addition of bassist Anna Kjellberg, Rag Doll was formed.

But Rag Doll was short lived. In contrast, Drain STH was seeing new popularity and interest, which led Axén to return. The band opted for a truncated name, Drain, but it wasn’t long before the band folded all together.

After the end of Drain, Axén and Kjellberg briefly created a band called Superfix, but never toured or released any albums. Axén went on to replace Tobey Torres and sing for Snake River Conspiracy, but she quit in 2006 to pursue solo work from her home in Los Angeles, California.