Motorpsycho

This article refers to the Norwegian rock band. For the Russ Meyer film see Motorpsycho (film).

Motorpsycho
Motorpsycho playing live at Studenten, Steinkjer, 2008-04-18
Background information
Origin	Norway
Genres	Hard rock, Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Indie rock
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Rune Grammofon (2008-present) Stickman Records (1994-present) Sony Norway (1994-2007, Norway only) Voices of Wonder (1990-1993)
Members
Hans Magnus Ryan Bent Sæther Kenneth Kapstad
Past members
Håkon Gebhardt Helge Sten Lars Lien Morten Fagervik Kjell Runar Jenssen

Motorpsycho is a band from Trondheim, Norway. Their music can generally be defined as psychedelic rock, but they also mix in elements from metal, jazz, rock, pop and many other musical styles. The members of the band are Bent Sæther (b. February 18, 1969, bass/vocals), Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan (b. December 31, 1969, guitar/vocals) and Kenneth Kapstad (b. April 20, 1979 drums). Until March 2005, Håkon Gebhardt (b. June 21, 1969, drums) was also an integral part of the band. A press release concerning his departure is published at the unofficial homepage. In December 2007 it was announced that former Gåte drummer Kenneth Kapstad was the new drummer in the band as well as an official band member.

Formed in the late eighties 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 indierock, 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 nineties 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 March 28, 2008, Motorpsycho released an album entitled "Little Lucid Moments" and on March 16, 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. [1][2]

In January 2010, Motorpsycho released a new album entitled "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.

Line up

Current line-up

• Bent Sæther — lead vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (since 1989)
• Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan — lead guitars, vocals, keyboards, violin, bass (since 1989)
• Kenneth Kapstad — drums, keyboards, vocals (since 2007)

Previous members

• Kjell Runar "Killer" Jenssen — drums (1989–1991)
• Håkon Gebhardt — drums, vocals, banjo, guitar (1991–2005)
• Helge "Deathprod" Sten — theremin, various electronics, audio virus (1992–1994; frequent guest and producer 1994–2002, 2007)
• Lars Lien — keyboards, vocals (1994)
• Morten "Lolly" Fagervik — rhythm guitar, keyboards (1994–1996)

Major collaborators

• Ole Henrik "Ohm" Moe — violin, saw, piano (1996–1998)
• Baard Slagsvold — keyboards, vocals (1999–2003)
• Jacco van Rooij — drums (live, 2006)
• Øyvind Brandtsegg — Marimba Lumina and ImproSculpt programming (live, 2006)
• Pekka Stokke — visuals (live, 2006–)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Lobotomizer (1991)	released as LP and CD
8 Soothing Songs For Rut (1992)	released as mini-LP (then called "Soothe") and CD (adding two tracks from the "3 Songs for Rut" single)
Demon Box (1993)	released as double LP and CD (omitting three songs due to space limitations)
Timothy's Monster (1994)	released as triple LP box and double CD, re-released in 2010 as 4CD-box
Blissard (1996)	released as double LP and CD
Angels and Daemons at Play (1997)	released as double LP, CD (omitting two songs) and three separate CD-EPs ("Babyscooter", "Have Spacesuit Will Travel" and "Lovelight")
Trust Us (1998)	released as double LP and double CD
Let Them Eat Cake (2000)	released as LP and CD
Phanerothyme (2001)	released as LP and CD
It's A Love Cult (2002)	released as double LP and CD
Black Hole/Blank Canvas (2006)	released as double LP, double CD and double CD with 2 track bonus single
Little Lucid Moments (2008)	released as double LP and CD
Child of the Future (2009)	released as LP
Heavy Metal Fruit (2010)	released as double LP and CD

as Motorpsycho & Friends

The Tussler - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1994)

released as CD (1994), double 10" (1996) and remastered CD/double LP (2003)

as The International Tussler Society

Motorpsycho presents The International Tussler Society (2004)

released as double LP and CD, both came with bonus DVD

• Satans Favourite Son (Promo-single, 2004)
• Laila Lou (Promo-single, 2004)

Live albums (Roadworks)

• Roadwork Vol. 1 – Heavy metal iz a poze, hardt rock iz a leifschteil: live in Europe 1998 (1999)
• Roadwork Vol. 2 – The MotorSourceMassacre: Motorpsycho, The Source and Deathprod live at Kongsberg Jazzfestival 1995 (2001)
• Roadwork Vol. 3 – The Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse (included in the double DVD release "Haircuts", 2008)
• Roadwork Vol. 4 – Intrepid Skronk (2011)
• Strings Of Stroop - Motorpsycho Live At Effenaar (limited edition vinyl, 2011)

Collaborations

• Into The Sun (Split 7"/CD-single with Hedge Hog, 1993)
• In the Fishtank 10 (Mini-album with Jaga Jazzist Horns, 2003)
• Go To California (Split-EP with The Soundtrack of Our Lives, 2001)

EPs, Singles

• Maiden Voyage (Demo, 1990)
• Soothe (EP, 1992)
• 3 Songs for Rut (Single, 1992)
• Mountain (EP, 1993)
• Another Ugly EP (1993)
• Wearing Yr Smell EP (1994)
• Nerve Tattoo (EP, 1996)
• Manmower (EP, 1996)
• Sinful, Windborne (Single, 1996)
• Babyscooter (EP, 1997)
• Have Spacesuit, Will Travel (EP, 1997)
• Lovelight (EP, 1997)
• Starmelt (EP, 1997)
• Ozone (EP, 1998)
• Hey Jane (EP, 1998)
• The Other Fool (EP, 2000)
• Walkin' with J (EP, 2000)
• Barracuda EP (EP, 2001)
• The Slow Phaseout (Promo-single, 2001)
• Go To California (Promo-single, 2001)
• Serpentine (EP, 2002)
• Hyena (Promo-single, 2006)
• X-3 (Single, 2010)
• The Visitant (Single, 2010)

External links

• motorpsycho.fix.no A Motorpsycho fansite in English with lyrics, tabs, biography, links and general information
• Motorpsycho MySpace

See also

• The International Tussler Society
• Deathprod
• Jaga Jazzist