Rotor

Rotor
Rotor.
Background information
Origin	Berlin, Germany
Genres	Stoner Rock
Years active	1998 - present
Labels	Elektrohasch Schallplatten, B.E.A.P., Nois-O-Lution
Website	Official Page

Rotor (Sometimes stylized as RotoR) are a stoner rock band from Berlin, Germany. Active since 1998, the band has had five albums of mostly instrumental music released and have toured all over Europe. Initially a trio, the band currently functions as a quartet.

The vast majority of the band's performances have happened in Germany though on occasion they have managed to branch out to other countries such as The Netherlands, The United States, England and Italy among others.

History

Beginnings and Self-Titled Record (1998 - 2002)

Rotor began sometime in the middle of 1998 initially as a trio, with their first live performance on 19 December at Das Weite Theater in Berlin. From there the band would perform more frequent shows in the Berlin area. On 20 May 2000 the band would put out their first recorded output in the form of a split with The Stillborn (H.A.L.9000 / Highwway of Love) on B.E.A.P., the release show at Supamolly. From there the band would perform their first shows outside of Berlin, building towards recording a self-titled album. The band's first ever show outside of Germany would be at the fifth edition of Roadburn Festival on 22 March at 013 in Tillburg in 2001.

The band's first album, titled Rotor, was released in 2001 via Monster Zero and setting course for their instrumental rock sound heavily based in groove and psych. A vinyl edition of the self-titled would come in the next year along with an appearance at Stoned From The Underground.

2 & 3 (2003 - 2009)

Rotor would begin 2003 by releasing their second album (and first via Elektrohasch Schallplatter) on 24 March 2003 at Rosis in Berlin, the album simply known as 2. From there the band would follow with their first proper tour entitled Between Evil and Peace 2003, a full 16-date tour of Germany. This trend would continue with a string of shows in 2004 and a tour with Darediablo throughout Germany the next year along with a second Between Evil and Peace tour in 2005 with Stonedudes and Drive-By Shooting (Including a special tour 10" for the tour itself). 2006 would see the touring cycles slow as the band would release their third album 3 on 21 May 2006 at Bastard Im Prater in Berlin along with a string of festival shows.

2007 would see the band's return to Roadburn Festival and their first tour of Europe alongside Coogan's Bluff (Though mainly shows in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands). 2008 saw the band's first appearance in Italy at Duna Jam and the band celebrating their tenth anniversary show at the Columbia Club on 15 November while going into 2009 the band began work on their fourth studio album along with embarking on their first (and only) United State tour with Stinking Lizaveta.

4 (2010 - 2014)

In secret Rotor had released their fourth album 4 at Linse in Berlin on 29 May 2010, the album itself gaining widespread acclaim among stoner rock critics and circles. The band would perform a host of festivals in 2010 along with return appearances to Italy and their first show in Belgium. 2011 would lead the band on a tour of Europe alongside Colour Haze and Sungrazer in what was titled Up In Smoke Vol. 1 and a second tour of Europe later that year entitled Brainbanger's Ball Vol. 1. A live album for their appearance at Festsaal Kreuzberg saw release in 2011 as well.

The band would start 2012 with their first ever appearance in the UK as one of the performers at DesertFest London. From there Rotor's live activity would slow for the next few years to concentrate on a new record, mainly only making appearances at festivals (and performing live only once in 2013 and 2014). On 20 May 2014 it would be announced that the band would now be a quartet.

Fünf and Sechs (2015 - Present)

2015 would begin a new era for the band, now performing as a quartet and announcing a fifth album was nearing completion. Now signed to Nois-O-Lution the band would release Fünf on 25 September 2015, with a tour following the next month throughout Germany and the Netherlands. The album itself gained significant praise among stoner rock critics. The next two years would see the band in a host of live festival appearances such as DesertFest London, DesertFest Berlin, Lake on Fire Festival and Freak Valley Festival among others. The band's sixth album, titled Sechs, would be released on 12 October 2018 with a tour in support that November.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Rotor (2001, Monster Zero)
• 2 (2003, Elektrohasch Schallplatten)
• 3 (2006, Elektrohasch Schallplatten)
• 4 (2010, Elektrohasch Schallplatten)
• Fünf (2015, Nois-O-Lution)
• Sechs (2018, Nois-O-Lution)
• Ihre Grossten Erfolge (2019, Nois-O-Lution)

Live Albums

• Festsaal Kreuzberg (2011, Elektrohasch Schallplatten)

Split Releases

• H.A.L.9000 / Highway Of Love (With The Stillborn) (2000, B.E.A.P.)
• Limited Tour Single (With Stonedudes and Drive By Shooting) (2003, B.E.A.P.)
• Between Evil And Peace Tour 2005 (With Stonedudes and Drive By Shooting) (2005, Nasoni)

Members

• Milan Pfützenreuter - Drums (1998 - Present)
• Tim Mentzel - Guitar (1998 - Present)
• Marco Baale - Bass (1998 - Present)
• Martin Fischer - Guitar (2014 - Present)

Tours

• Between Evil and Peace Tour 2003 (Germany) (2003)
• Just Instruments Tour (With Darediablo) (Germany) (2004)
• Between Evil and Peace 2005 (With Stonedudes and Drive By Shooting) (Germany) (2005)
• Rotor / Coogans Bluff (With Coogans Bluff) (Europe) (2007)
• Rotor / Stinking Lizaveta USA Tour 2009 (With Stinking Lizaveta) (USA) (2009)
• Up In Smoke Vol. 1 Roadtour (With Colour Haze and Sungrazer) (Europe) (2011)
• Brainbangers Ball Vol. 1 (With Seven That Spells, Neume) (Europe) (2011)
• Rotor V Tour (Germany / Netherlands) (2015)
• Sechs European Tour (2018)

External Links

• Gig History