Motorpsycho

Motorpsycho
Motorpsycho
	;
Background information
Origin	Trondheim, Norway
Genres	Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, Noise Rock
Years active	1989 - Present
Labels	Knallsyndikatet, Voices of Wonder, Stickman, Columbia, Rune Grammofon
Associated acts	All The Dead Pilots, Ryanbanden, Spidergawd, Sugarfoot, The Jürg Mager Trio, HGH, Meg Og Kammeraten Min, Møster!, Pestilence, Reflections In Cosmo, Merriwinkle, Minibus Pimps, Supersilent, African Pepperbirds, Animal Alpha, Dadafon, Gåte, Goat The Head, God Seed, Grand General, Origami Arktika, Origami Republika
Website	Motorpsycho Official
Band Logo

Motorpsycho are a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim. Their music can generally be defined as progressive or psychedelic rock, but they also mix in elements from alternative, jazz, post-rock, pop, country and many other musical styles. The members of the band are Bent Sæther (born 18 February 1969, bass/vocals), Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan (born 31 December 1969, guitar/vocals) and Tomas Järmyr (drums). Until March 2005, Håkon Gebhardt (born 21 June 1969) was the band's drummer. A press release concerning his departure can be found on the Unofficial website. From December 2007 to May 2016 Kenneth Kapstad was the drummer of the band, being replaced by Tomas Järmyr, who joined in early 2017.

Since forming in 1989, Motorpsycho have been a staple of Trondheim's rock scene, performing a wide range of musical styles and with consistent quality live shows to compliment the ever-evolving sound. They would be nominated for the Spellemannprisen Rock Award (Norway's version of a Grammy) thirteen times, winning four awards. Along with other awards and accolades, Motorpsycho would be inducted in the Rockheim Hall of Fame in 2017, nearly thirty years after forming.

Norwegian band Motorpsycho picked their name from the 1965 exploitation film of the same name, after watching the movie in a Russ Meyer triple feature. There was already a band named after Mudhoney and a band named after Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – the other two films on the triple feature – so they used the third film Motorpsycho.

History[]

Formed in the late 1980s as an alternative metal band (they picked their name after seeing the Russ Meyer film of the same name as part of a Russ Meyer triple bill – there was already a band named after Mudhoney and a band named after Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – the other two films on the bill), Motorpsycho soon developed a unique blend of grunge, heavy metal and indie rock, as well as incorporating the sonic noise experiments of associated member Deathprod. The hugely ambitious, progressive double album "Demon Box" (1993) followed a series of low-profile EPs and albums, earning the band a nomination for a Norwegian Grammy, and secured a loyal following in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as in Scandinavia.

The 1990s was an extremely productive era for the band, releasing new material almost every year, and enjoying critical acclaim for each album—if not the massive sales the music press kept predicting.

With the 2000 album "Let Them Eat Cake", Motorpsycho suddenly took huge steps away from their noisy hard rock roots, opting instead for a smoother, jazz-tinged approach to the songwriting and recording process. They kept this technique for the subsequent releases, Phanerothyme and It's A Love Cult.

The long-awaited double album Black Hole/Blank Canvas was released 17/20 March 2006 in Europe, but it was leaked on the internet before this date. The album has received great reviews, and it is considered one of their best albums ever, proving the skill of the arguably most innovative Norwegian band during the last decade. Today, their cult status and extremely loyal fans remains unmatched by any Norwegian band.

On 28 March 2008 Motorpsycho released an album entitled "Little Lucid Moments", and on 16 March 2008 a DVD containing music videos, live footage and documentaries entitled "Haircuts".

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the band released a vinyl-only album, "Child of the Future", recorded by Steve Albini at the beginning of August 2009.

In January 2010 Motorpsycho released the album "Heavy Metal Fruit", their first album featuring an external producer, Kåre Vestrheim, and also their third album in under two years.

In October 2011 the Dutch venue Effenaar released a limited edition live album exclusively on vinyl entitled "Strings Of Stroop – Motorpsycho Live At Effenaar". The album features four Motorpsycho tracks recorded during various Motorpsycho shows at Effenaar between 1999 and 2010. Only 500 copies were pressed and sold at the band's 14th show in the venue.

On 10 February 2012 Motorpsycho released the double CD/LP effort "The Death Defying Unicorn" in collaboration with keyboardist Ståle Storløkken from the free improv group Supersilent. The album is a reworking of an instrumental suite commissioned by and performed at Moldejazz 2010. During 2011, Sæther produced lyrics for a sweeping narrative, thus making the album version a concept album. As in its initial performance, the band and Storløkken are augmented by contributions from Trondheimssolistene, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and violinist Ola Kvernberg. The core quartet performed the album in its entirety on every date during a March/April 2012 tour of Europe.

After the release and tour accompanying the "Unicorn", the band felt the need to return to more traditional, guitar-based grounds and with Reine Fiske as second guitarist, recorded two albums, Still Life With Eggplant (released in spring 2013) and Behind the Sun (released in March 2014). To coincide with the release of "Behind the Sun", Motorpsycho launched their first-ever official website.

In 2016 the band released the studio album "Here Be Monsters", which evolved from a piece of music they wrote for the Oslo Teknisk Museums birthday. The band played that special songs in the museum, with the help of Ståle Storløkken, and then decided to work on it in the studio.

In May 2016, after completing the European Here Be Monsters Tour, Kenneth Kapstad left Motorpsycho. Core members Sæther and Ryan spent the remainder of the year writing, rehearsing and performing a live score to the Carl Frode Tiller-written play "Begynnnelser" (eng. "Beginnings") in a 38-date autumn run at Trøndelag Teater.

In a 2 January 2017 news update on their official home page, the band announced Swedish drummer Tomas Järmyr to be the third permanent member of Motorpsycho. Together, they have recorded "The Tower" in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree (at the famous recording studio, Rancho De La Luna), which was released on September 8 the same year. That same year Motorpsycho would be inducted into the Rockheim Hall of Fame. Motorpsycho would remain active in the Norwegian rock scene, often featuring a wide range of collaborators among the core trio.

On 22 February 2021 it would be announced that Motorpsycho would release a new album entitled Kingdom of Oblivion on 16 April via Stickman Records.^[1]

Discography[]

Studio Albums[]

Lobotomizer (1991, Voices of Wonder)
8 Soothing Songs For Rut (1992, Voices of Wonder)
Demon Box (1993, Voices of Wonder)
Timothy's Monster (1994, Harvest; Stickman Records)
Blissard (1996, Stickman Records)
Angels and Daemons at Play (1997, Columbia)
Trust Us (1998, Stickman)
Let Them Eat Cake (2000, Columbia)
Phanerothyme (2001, Columbia)
Barracuda (2001, Stickman)
It's A Love Cult (2002, Stickman)
Black Hole/Black Canvas (2006, Stickman)
Little Lucid Moments (2008, Rune Grammofon)
Child of The Future (2009, Rune Grammofon)
Heavy Metal Fruit (2010, Rune Grammofon)
Still Life With Eggplant (2013, Stickman)
Behind The Sun (2014, Rune Grammofon)
The Motorpnakotic Fragments (2014, Motorpsycho Archives)
Here Be Monsters (2016, Rune Grammofon)
Here Be Monsters Vol. 2 (2016, Motorpsycho Archives)
The Tower (2017, Stickman)
The Crucible (2019, Stickman)
The Light Fantastic (2019, Self-Released)
The All Is One (2020, Rune Grammofon)
Kingdom of Oblivion (2021, Stickman Records)

Collaborations and Splits[]

Into The Sun (Split 7" with Hedge Hog) (1993, Helter Skelter)
The Tussler – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Album as Motorpsycho & Friends) (1994, DBut)
Mad Sun / Nobody Likes Me (Split 7" with Alice Cooper) (1996, Musical Tragedies)
Mot Riving (Split CD with Tre Små Kinesere) (1996, Harmonien)
Go To California (Split EP with The Soundtrack of Our Lives) (2001, Munster)
In The Fishtank 10 (Mini album with Jaga Jazzist Horns) (2003, In The Fishtank)
Laila Lou (Single as The International Tussler Society) (2004, Stickman)
Satan's Favourite Son (Single as The International Tussler Society) (2004, Stickman)
Motorpsycho presents The International Tussler Society (Album as The International Tussler Society) (2004, Stickman)
The Death Defying Unicorn (Collaboration with Ståle Storløkken) (2012, Stickman)
Stay Young / These Are Days (Split Single with Sugarfoot) (2014, Crispin Glover)
En Konsert For Folk Flest (Collaboration with Ståle Storløkken) (2015, Stickman)

Extended Plays[]

Maiden Voyage (Mini Album) (1990, Knallsyndikatet)
3 Songs For Rut (1992, Voices of Wonder)
Mountain (1993, Voices of Wonder)
Another Ugly (1993, Voices of Wonder)
Wearing Yr Smell (1994, Stickman)
Nerve Tattoo (1995, Columbia)
Manmower (1995, Columbia)
Starmelt (1997, Stickman)
Babyscooter (1997, Columbia)
Lovelight (1997, Columbia)
Have Spacesuit Will Travel (1997, Columbia)
Hey, Jane (1998, Stickman)
Ozone(1998, Stickman)
Walkin' With J (1999, Stickman)
The Other Fool (1999, Stickman)
Serpentine (2002, Stickman)
The California EP (2017, Motorpsycho Archives)
Terje Brekkstad’s Kosmiske Reise (Pts 1&2) (2019, Motorpsycho Archives)

Live Albums[]

This Is Motorpsycho (1995, Stickman)
Roadwork Vol. 1 (1999, Stickman)
Roadwork Vol. 2 (2000, Stickman)
Haircuts (2008, Stickman)
Roadwork Vol. 3 (2008, Rune Grammofon)
Roadwork Vol. 4 (2011, Rune Grammofon)
Strings Of Stroop Live At Effenaar (2011, Self-Released)
A Boxful of Demons (2018, C+C Records, Falck Forlag)
Roadwork Vol. 5 (2018, Rune Grammofon)
Cloudwalkers (2020, Devil's Child Records)

Members[]

Current Lineup[]

Bent Sæther – Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Drums, Vocals (1989 - Present)
Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan - Guitar, Keyboards, Mandolin, Violin, Bass, Vocals (1989 - Present)
Tomas Järmyr - Drums (2017 - Present)

Past Members[]

Kjell Runar "Killer" Jenssen – Drums (1989 - 1991)
Håkon Gebhardt – Drums, Banjo, Guitar, Vocals (1991 - 2005)
Helge "Deathprod" Sten - Theremin, Electronics (1992 - 2002, 2007, 2015, 2019)
Lars Lien - Keyboards, Vocals (1993 - 1996, 2004)
Morten "Lolly" Fagervik - Drums, Guitar, Keyboards (1994 - 1996)
Kenneth Kapstad - Drums, Keyboards, Vocals (2007 - 2016)

Notable Collaborators[]

Matt Burt - Vocals, Poetry (1993, 1996)
Kjell Karlsen - Steel Guitar, Vocals (1994, 2004)
Øyvind Brandtsegg - Marimba Lumina, Programming (1994, 2006)
Ole Henrik "Ohm" Moe - Violin, Saw, Piano (1996 - 2000, 2013)
Baard Slagsvold - Keyboards, Vocals (1999 - 2003)
Jacco van Rooij - Drums (2006)
Pekka Stokke - Live Visuals (2006 - ?)
Ståle Storløkken - Keyboards (2010 - 2012, 2014)
Reine Fiske - Guitar, Keyboards (2012 - 2014, 2018 - ?)
Ola Kvernberg - Violin (2012 - 2013, 2018 - ?)
Kristoffer Lo - Keyboards, Trumpet (2017 - ?)
Lars Horntveth - Guitar, Flute, Keyboards (2001, 2018 - ?)
Ole Paus - Guitar, Vocals (2019 - ?)

Accolades[]

1993: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album Demon Box
1994: Spellemannprisen in the class Best album cover, for the album Timothy's Monster
1996: Spellemannprisen in the class Rock, for the album Blissard
1997: Spellemannprisen in the class Hard rock, for the album Angels and Daemons at Play
1999: Gammleng Award in the class Pop/Rock
2000: Spellemannprisen in the class Rock, for the album Let Them Eat Cake
2001: Alarm Award in the class Rock for the album Let Them Eat Cake
2001: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album Phanerothyme
2003: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Åpen klasse, for the album In The Fishtank (With Jaga Jazzist Horns).
2008: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album Little Lucid Moments
2009: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album Child of the Future
2010: Edvard Prize for the album Child of the Future
2010: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album Heavy Metal Fruit
2012: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album The Death-Defying Unicorn
2012: Trondheim Municipality Cultur Prize
2013: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album Still Life With Eggplant
2015: Nord-Trøndelag County Cultur Prize
2017: Spellemannprisen nominated in the class Rock, for the album The Tower
2017: Rockheim Hall of Fame inductees

External Links[]

References[]

↑ The Obelisk

[1] The Obelisk

[1]