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Motorpsycho
Motorpsycho playing live at Studenten, Steinkjer, 2008-04-18
Background information
Origin	Trondheim, Norway
Genres	Psychedelic rock, indie rock, alternative rock, progressive rock, hard rock, noise 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
Past members	Håkon Gebhardt Helge Sten Lars Lien Morten Fagervik Kjell Runar Jenssen Kenneth Kapstad Tomas Järmyr
Website	Motorpsycho official Website Motorpsycho unofficial Website

Motorpsycho is a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim.^[1] 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 stable members of the band are Bent Sæther (born 18 February 1969, bass/vocals) and Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan (born 31 December 1969, guitar/vocals). From 1992 to March 2005, Håkon Gebhardt (born 21 June 1969) was the band's drummer.^[2] From December 2007 to May 2016 Kenneth Kapstad was the drummer of the band, being replaced by Tomas Järmyr, who joined in early 2017. Järmyr left the band in January 2023.^[3]

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. 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. They released new material almost every year and enjoyed critical acclaim for each album—though 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.

Drummer Hakon Gebhardt left the band in 2003. The double album Black Hole/Blank Canvas was released 17/20 March 2006 in Europe, with Bent Saether playing drums. The album received great reviews.

On 28 March 2008 Motorpsycho released an album entitled Little Lucid Moments, with new drummer Kenneth Kapstad, 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, 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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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 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.

On January 8, 2023, Järmyr left the band.^[3]

Line up

Current line up

• Bent Sæther – lead vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1989– )
• Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan – lead guitars, vocals, keyboards, mandolin, violin, bass (1989– )

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, 2015, 2019)
• Lars Lien – keyboards, vocals (1993–1996, 2004; infrequent guest)
• Morten "Lolly" Fagervik – rhythm guitar, keyboards, drums (1994–1996, 2004)
• Kenneth Kapstad – drums, keyboards, vocals (2007–2016)
• Tomas Järmyr – drums (2017–2023)^[5]

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 (1996–2000, 2013)
• Baard Slagsvold – 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, 2018–2022)
• Kristoffer Lo – keyboards, flugabone, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (live, 2017)
• Lars Horntveth – guitar, flute, keyboards (2001–2002, 2018—2020)
• Ole Paus – guitar, vocals (2019—2020; died 2023)
• Olaf Olsen – drums (live, 2023)
• Ingvald André Vassbø – drums (live, 2023– )
• TrondheimSolistene
• Trondheim Jazzorkester

Timeline

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 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 for the album Child of the Future^[6]
• 2012: Trondheim Municipality Cultur Prize
• 2015: Nord-Trøndelag County Cultur Prize
• 2017: Rockheim Hall of Fame inductees

Discography

Albums