Motorpsycho is a Norwegian rock band from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

. Their music can generally be defined as

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, but they also mix in elements from alternative,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

and many other musical styles. The members of the band are

Bent Sæther Bent Sæther (born 18 February 1969 in Oslo, Norway) is the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the Norwegian psychedelic rock band Motorpsycho from the start in 1989. Background Sæther grew up in an apartment complex in Ammerud before movi ...

(born 18 February 1969,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

), Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan (born 31 December 1969,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

) and Tomas Järmyr (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

). Until March 2005,

Håkon Gebhardt Håkon Gebhardt (born 21 June 1969 in Trondheim, Norway) is a Norwegian musician, multi-instrumentalist and record producer living in Trondheim. Career Gebhardt developed his musical interests when he attended the Music program at Kong ...

(born 21 June 1969) was the band's drummer. From December 2007 to May 2016 Kenneth Kapstad was the drummer of the band, being replaced by Tomas Järmyr, who joined in early 2017.

Biography

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 Deathprod is the musical pseudonym used by Norwegian artist Helge Sten for his ambient music project. He is married to Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrød. Biography Sten began creating music under this name starting in 1991, culminating with a ...

. 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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as well as in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. 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 ''Phanerothyme'' is the ninth full-length studio album by the Norwegian band Motorpsycho. It was released through Stickman Records (Europe) and Sony (Norway). It was also released in Japan through P-Vine. Track listing #"Bedroom Eyes" – 2:1 ...

'' and '' It's A Love Cult''. The double album ''

Black Hole/Blank Canvas ''Black Hole/Blank Canvas'' is the eleventh full-length studio album by the Norwegian band Motorpsycho. It is the first after long-time drummer Håkon Gebhardt left the band in spring 2005. The other two members, Hans Magnus Ryan and Bent Sæther ...

'' was released 17/20 March 2006 in Europe. The album received great reviews. On 28 March 2008 Motorpsycho released an album entitled ''

Little Lucid Moments ''Little Lucid Moments'' is the twelfth full-length studio album by the Norwegian band Motorpsycho that was released on March 31, 2008, by Rune Grammofon Records in Scandinavia, the UK, the United States and France and on March 28, 2008, by Sti ...

'', 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 Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

at the beginning of August 2009. In January 2010 Motorpsycho released the album ''

Heavy Metal Fruit ''Heavy Metal Fruit'' is the fourteenth full-length studio album by the Norwegian band Motorpsycho, released on January 18, 2010, via Rune Grammofon and Stickman Records. It was released on CD and vinyl and is their third album over the course of ...

'', 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 Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1964 it has r ...

2010. During 2011,

Sæther Sæther is a Norway, Norwegian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrine Sæther (born 1964), Norwegian actress * Bjarne Berg-Sæther (1919–2009), Norwegian politician for the Labour Party * Gjøran Sæther (born 1982), Norwegia ...

produced lyrics for a sweeping narrative, thus making the album version a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

. 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
www.motorpsycho.no
After years of institutionalising the band in Norway, Motorpsycho were inducted at Rockheim, Norway's rock music hall of fame, in a TV broadcast ceremony.''Interview with Snah''
Entertaim.net, received May 16, 2016 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 Carl Frode Tiller (born 4 January 1970 in Namsos) is a Norwegian author, historian and musician. His works are in Nynorsk (lit. "New Norwegian"), one of the two official Norwegian standard languages. Tiller made his literary debut in 2001 with t ...

-written play ''Begynnnelser'' (eng. ''Beginnings'') in a 38-date autumn run at

Trøndelag Teater Trøndelag Teater is a large theater in the city of Trondheim, in Trøndelag county, Norway. Trøndelag Teater stages large-scale dance and musical performances. History Originally built in 1816, the theater is the oldest stage in Scandinavia ...

. In a January 2, 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.

Line up

Current line up

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

s, keyboards,

(since 1989) * Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan – lead guitars, vocals, keyboards,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, bass (since 1989) *Tomas Järmyr –

(since 2017)

Previous members

*Kjell Runar "Killer" Jenssen – drums (1989–1991) *

– drums, vocals,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, guitar (1991–2005) * Helge "Deathprod" Sten –

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

, various electronics, audio virus (1992–1994; frequent guest and producer 1994–2002, 2007, 2015, 2019) *Lars Lien – keyboards, vocals (1993-1996, 2004; infrequent guest) *Morten "Lolly" Fagervik – drums, rhythm guitar, keyboards (1994–1996) * Kenneth Kapstad – drums, keyboards, vocals (2007-2016)

Major collaborators

*Matt Burt - voice, poetry (1993, 1996) * Kjell Karlsen - steel guitar, vocals (1994, 2004) * Øyvind Brandtsegg – Marimba Lumina and ImproSculpt programming (1994; live, 2006) *Ole Henrik "Ohm" Moe – violin, saw,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

(1996–2000, 2013) *

Baard Slagsvold Baard Henrik Slagsvold (born 31 August 1963 in Elverum, Norway) is a Norwegian pop and jazz musician (vocals, piano, double bass and drums), and are particularly known as the bassist and singer in the pop trio Tre Små Kinesere (1989–2005). ...

– keyboards, vocals (1999–2003) *Jacco van Rooij – drums (live, 2006) *Pekka Stokke – visuals (live, 2006- ) * Ståle Storløkken – keyboards (2010–2012, 2014) * Reine Fiske – guitar, keyboards (2012–2014, 2018- ) * Ola Kvernberg - violin (2012-2013, 2018-) *

Kristoffer Lo Kristoffer Lo (born 19 February 1985 in Moss, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (tuba, flugabone, guitar, keyboards) and composer. Biography Lo has redefined the use of tuba and its role in band. From its traditional role as the low-end i ...

- keyboards, trumpet (2017- ) * Lars Horntveth - guitar, flute, keyboards (2001, 2018- ) * Ole Paus - guitar, vocals (2019- ) *TrondheimSolistene *Trondheim Jazzorkester

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/10/1989 till:31/12/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Custom value:purple legend:Keyboards Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1990 LineData = at:01/04/1991 color:black layer:back at:08/05/1992 color:black layer:back at:01/02/1993 color:black layer:back at:06/08/1994 color:black layer:back at:16/02/1996 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1997 color:black layer:back at:04/03/1998 color:black layer:back at:01/02/2000 color:black layer:back at:03/09/2001 color:black layer:back at:30/09/2002 color:black layer:back at:17/03/2006 color:black layer:back at:28/03/2008 color:black layer:back at:07/08/2009 color:black layer:back at:18/01/2010 color:black layer:back at:10/02/2012 color:black layer:back at:12/04/2013 color:black layer:back at:07/03/2014 color:black layer:back at:12/02/2016 color:black layer:back at:08/09/2017 color:black layer:back at:15/02/2019 color:black layer:back at:28/08/2020 color:black layer:back at:16/04/2021 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Bent text:"Bent Sæther" bar:Snah text:"Hans Magnus Ryan" bar:Helge text:"Helge Sten" bar:Lars text:"Lars Lien" bar:Lolly text:"Morten Fagervik" bar:Killer text:"Kjell Runar Jensen" bar:Geb text:"Håkon Gebhardt" bar:Jacco text:"Jacco van Rooij" bar:Ken text:"Kenneth Kapstad" bar:Tomas text:"Tomas Järmyr" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Bent from:01/10/1989 till:end color:Bass bar:Bent from:01/10/1989 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Snah from:01/10/1989 till:end color:Guitar bar:Snah from:01/10/1989 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Killer from:01/10/1989 till:01/09/1991 color:Drums bar:Geb from:01/09/1991 till:01/03/2005 color:Drums bar:Geb from:01/09/1991 till:01/03/2005 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Helge from:01/10/1992 till:01/03/1994 color:Custom bar:Lars from:01/03/1994 till:01/08/1994 color:Custom bar:Lars from:01/03/1994 till:01/08/1994 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Lolly from:02/08/1994 till:30/12/1995 color:Guitar width:3 bar:Lolly from:02/08/1994 till:30/12/1995 color:Custom bar:Jacco from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Drums bar:Ken from:01/01/2007 till:11/05/2016 color:Drums bar:Ken from:01/01/2007 till:11/05/2016 color:Custom width:3 bar:Tomas from:02/01/2017 till:end color:Drums bar:Tomas from:02/01/2017 till:end color:Custom width:3

Honors

Spellemannsprisen

Spellemannprisen is often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English. It is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. As of 2020, Motorpsycho have received 14 nominations, with four wins. * Spellemannprisen 1993 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''Demon Box'' * Spellemannprisen 1994 in the class Best album cover, for the album ''Timothy's Monster'' created by Kim Hiorthøy * Spellemannprisen 1996 in the class Rock, for the album ''Blissard'' * Spellemannprisen 1997 in the class Hard rock, for the album ''Angels and Daemons at Play'' * Spellemannprisen 2000 in the class Rock, for the album ''Let Them Eat Cake'' * Spellemannprisen 2001 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''Phanerothyme'' * Spellemannprisen 2003 nominated in the class Åpen klasse, for the album ''In The Fishtank'' (With Jaga Jazzist Horns). * Spellemannprisen 2008 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''Little Lucid Moments'' *

Spellemannprisen 2009 Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizat ...

nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''Child of the Future'' * Spellemannprisen 2010 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''Heavy Metal Fruit'' * Spellemannprisen 2012 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''The Death-Defying Unicorn'' * Spellemannprisen 2013 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''Still Life With Eggplant'' * Spellemannprisen 2017 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''The Tower'' * Spellemannprisen 2020 nominated in the class Rock, for the album ''The All Is One''

Other

*1999: Gammleng Award in the class Pop/Rock *2001: Alarm Award in the class Rock for the album ''Let Them Eat Cake'' *2010:

Edvard Prize The Edvard Prize is a Norwegian music award in given by TONO, copyright organization for musicians and composers. The award, which was first awarded in 1998, is awarded annually and can only be awarded to members of the organization. The goal is ...

for the album ''Child of the Future'' *2012:

Municipality Cultur Prize *2015:

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

County Cultur Prize *2017: Rockheim Hall of Fame inductees

Discography

Albums

As Motorpsycho & Friends

As Motorpsycho & Ståle Storløkken

As The International Tussler Society

*2004: "Satans Favourite Son" (Promo-single) *2004: "Laila Lou" (Promo-single)

Live albums

Collaborations

Compilations

EPs

Singles

*1992: 3 Songs for Rut *1996: Sinful, Windborne *2001: The Slow Phaseout (Promo single) *2001: Go To California (Promo single) *2006: Hyena (Promo-single) *2010: X-3 *2010: The Visitant *2014: Toys (Included with select copies of August edition of Trondheim magazine "Gatemagasinet Sorgenfri") *2015: Psychonaut/Toys *2016: Spin, Spin, Spin *2020: X-mastime Is Here! *2021: Ulv! Ulv!

Singles and music videos

* ''Have Fun'' (1992) * ''Sheer Profundity'' (1993) * ''Nothing To Say'' (1993) * ''Another Ugly Tune'' (1994) * ''Wearing Yr Smell'' (1994) * ''Feel'' (1994) * ''Now It's Time To Skate'' (1994) * ''Watersound'' (1994) * ''Mad Sun'' (1996) * ''Manmower'' (1996) * ''Sinful, Wind-Borne'' (1996) * ''The Nerve Tattoo'' (1996) * ''Starmelt/Lovelight'' (1997) * ''Hey, Jane'' (1998) * ''The Other Fool'' (2000) * ''Walkin' With J'' (2000) * ''Go To California'' (2000) * ''The Slow Phaseout'' (2001) * ''Serpentine'' (2002) * ''Victim of Rock'' (2014) * ''On a Plate'' (2014) * ''Spin, Spin, Spin'' (2016) * ''Intrepid Explorer'' (2018)

References

External links

Official Motorpsycho website (since 11-02-2014)Motorpsycho fansite in English with lyrics, tabs, biography, links and general informationMotorpsycho MySpace
{{Authority control Norwegian hard rock musical groups Norwegian progressive rock groups Norwegian alternative rock groups Norwegian psychedelic rock music groups Norwegian rock music groups Spellemannprisen winners Musical groups established in 1989 1989 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Trondheim Harvest Records artists Rune Grammofon artists