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@JERO – I'm glad to hear you found your way into Magma. They are a band who, for me, extraordinary is a perfectly apt description. I first heard them about five or six years ago when a friend posted a live video of De Futura online. I was mesmerised and decided I had to hear more. I managed to get a very cheap copy of a double live album and listened to Theusz Hamtaahk. That night I could hardly sleep. I was tossing and turning, having feverish visions of dark, dank caves on alien planets and woke up sweating. Every time I closed my eyes, the wierd chanting in my head set off more uncomfortable subconscious reactions. After that I was hooked. What music could do this? Although I never had as visceral an experience again, I still have flashbacks and often find the music transporting me to unusual places. I have managed to see Magma three times since then and they are superb live – really worth checking out. They're back on tour later this year but I don't see any dates in NL. Perhaps you can make it to Brussels.
I also highly recommend checking out albums by a Magma offshoot called One Shot. They have many of the musical elements of Magma, but no vocals and somewhat more fusion oriented. They only released a few albums about ten years ago, but they are fantastic.
I don't know if you will be able to access it or not, but here is a brilliant video from last year of Bent getting down to Magma:
I'm sorry but I'm going to break the rules (because they're older than three years – the band, not the rules
) for this band I just discovered through a friend. Camera. They're a Krautrock band from Berlin – a bit like a 21st century Neu!. Though their latest, very upbeat, album is poppier than earlier material, it's still very very good. However, I recommend first listening to their debut Radiate! (released in 2012). https://camerawithin.bandcamp.com/album/radiate-2012@bionaut – Thanks for the CH recommendations. Funnily enough, the two albums you mentioned were the next two on my list anyway! Freaky. It must be a sign!
@bionaut – Your story seems unique to me. I can't imagine there are many people who get to know a band through only their audience recordings, without at some point (or first) getting into their studio albums. I assume you don't have any of their live albums either. However, I have an old school friend who has always prioritised seeing bands live over buying their records. The first gig I ever attended was with him – we were 13 years old at the time and his mum had managed to get us front row tickets to see 10cc at the Hammersmith Odeon. This was in 1975, so it seems you and I are the same age (57). This friend always saved his pocket money to go to gigs instead of buying albums. And continued the practice when he started work. By then he could afford both, but still prioritised gigs. If someone would ask him if he'd heard a band, or if he'd be interested in a new band, his first question was "when are they playing?" not "which albums should I listen to?"
I hope that, if you do start to listen to the albums, you continue to find in them the soul you feel in the live recordings. And I hope that one day you get the chance to see them live, whether in the States or by somehow making it to Europe. I'm sure you'll have plenty of psychonauts welcoming you with open arms.
Funny you should mention Colour Haze as about an hour before I read your post I bought the albums In Her Garden and Live Vol 1 Europa Tournee 2015 (and am listening to the first of those as I write this). I saw them a couple of years ago when they were supported by My Sleeping Karma, who were the band I wanted to see that night (I'd never heard of Colour Haze before then). CH were amazing, but I was not tempted to buy any albums. Then a couple of days ago I read a 5-star review for In Her Garden and after listening on Spotify yesterday, decided to buy it. But I wanted that live vibe too, so bought the Europa Tournee 2015 album too. And to top it off I decided to get a ticket to the Sunday of Desertfest (London), where both Colour Haze and Earthless (among others that I need to check out) will be playing. That's in May, a couple of weeks before I head to mainland Europe for couple of MP shows.
@TraktorBass. I guess you've been on there playing it over and over for the last 28 days then
@Vegard. A friend of mine, not knowing that MP had done a version of Theme de Yoyo, asked me last year if I was interested in seeing the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The only song of theirs that he knew was Theme de Yoyo! We went to the gig not really knowing what to expect except jazz, and it was incredible. Serious free improvisation over an hour and a half, with thematic changes and brilliant musicianship. And two double basses! But no Theme de Yoyo!
@Vegard – the only reason I can see for Theme de Yoyo being at the top is that lots of fans of the Art Ensemble of Chicago original (or people somewhat familiar with it, or with one of the many other versions of the song) must have either played the MP version unintentionally or for comparison.
@JERO Noooooo. I'm actually not that type of prog fan. I did used to take in a lot of information off album covers but I was never that kind of what we call an anorak or trainspotter. And the information only ever served to help me connect musicians and producers etc. It was always what went in my ears that interested me first. The rest was just helpful in taking me to the next musical high. This was more so the case once I fell under the spell of the dreaded weed [shock, horror] :smoke:
@JERO I hope to do some expressing with you in Groningen in May
@JERO – Good question, but I have to laugh. You really do seem to have a hard-on for knocking the ‘proggies’ from ‘back in the day’.
It seems hardly three or four of your posts go by without taking a swipe at them Most of the types of musically emotional moments that you speak of happened to me years ago listening to other bands/artists – Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, CSN/CSNY, The Who, the Sex Pistols, Stevie Wonder, REM, PiL, the Waterboys, belting out the songs of other artists (and a few of my own) while hammering at my six-string acoustic, a very angry and cathartic period in 2002/3 listening to a lot of Eminem, and then a whole bunch of songs here and there from artists like Ani di Franco, Lauryn Hill, Tracey Thorn, Jane Siberry …
Probably the biggest emotional responses I’ve had to music though have come in the form of ecstatic highs from bands like Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Magma, Anekdoten, Solstice, and loads more – highs that come from riding the wave of the musical movement, letting my thinking and emotional self transcend into the music. I’ve had, of course, the same response to the other bands/artists listed above (Mitchell, Young, the Who, the Waterboys etc.), and from music that’s prompted me to dance – be it reggae, Bhangra, fusion, soul … From most music, in fact.
Motorpsycho, for me, in the 18 months that I’ve been listening to them, have in the vast majority evoked the latter response – ecstatic transcendence. If I were to pick out one song though, from which I could really pinpoint an emotional reaction, it’d have to be Upstairs/Downstairs. I don’t have any kids of my own, but my step-daughter had a son four years ago, and Snah’s delivery of the somewhat saccharine but still heart-tugging lyrics always prompt a little water in the eyes. Indeed, Snah’s fragile vocal delivery on its own is sometimes enough to move me that way.
@Bartok – Growing up in the suburbs of London I cannot imagine what it must have been like growing up in the same neighbourhood as a band like Motorpsycho. In London, everybody knows someone or knows someone who knows someone famous, and you can bump into well-known musicians all the time if you go to enough gigs or just walk down the right roads. For example, last year I walked past Carl Palmer who was out doing some shopping with his wife (I was wearing a Motorpsycho T-shirt). But there's no personal attachment to those things – a slight thrill, a boast, or name-dropping.
I hope this doesn't sound patronising, but it must be completly different in somewhere like Trondheim because of the personal feeling of being so physically and culturally close to those people and because in a way Motorpsycho, by what I understand, were one of, if not the, most important new rock band in Norway back then, putting Trondheim on the map. I imagine you and a whole bunch more young kids were very proud of that. This was a serious band, making amazing music and they were from your neighbourhood. So the relationship would have been completely different. I guess that would create a serious attachment to the music of that specific time. And yes,I agree, the music we listen to as teenagers or young adults really affects us in a special way. And for me, progresive rock was the thing. Yes was the band I fell in love with and after 1978 everything seemed to go downhill. Having said that, most people would agree, though there are those that still think the band are wonderful. I had years and years without listening to them, then about ten years ago picked up again, listened to what I had missed and started seeing them live again. They're nothing like what they used to be but the old music is still some of the very best I've ever heard and bits and pieces of what they've done in the intervening years has also been very good. But unlike Motorpsycho, they lost the magic. They slowed down, members came and went, they got rich and rested on their laurels. They lost the urgency.
I think I hear a bit of that in your comments, the idea that maybe MP lost the urgency that was so important to what they were in the 90s. I think the difference though is maybe that they found a way to keep their approach immediate and personal. I gather they turned down moving to Oslo, and getting involved with bigger labels or promoters. They appear mostly to have stayed tight with their roots and the people from that period. And they appear still to be very much a part of the Trondheimian cultural tapestry. I like that.
Have you read Geb's chapter in Supersonic Scientists? I love the fact that he's so down to earth about his departure from the band and all the things he says about why he really didn't want to write the chapter and to have to go back and listen to BH/BC. It's a great view from the inside/outside about where he thought the band was going, what it had become.
It's funny that you say the winks and nods probably started with LTEC because the first one I noticed was PPP (Ms Mitchell in the bathroom) on AADAP. And I have wondered if on DB Tuesday Morning was a wink to the Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning (though musically it's Coventry Boy that's the distillation of Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale and I'll Be Your Mirror), Babylon a nod to the Ruts' Babylon's Burning, and Sheer Profundity a reference to David Crosby's ironic exclamation on CSNY's 4 Way Street just before he begins the song Triad (I think anyone who knew that album would make the link, whether MP intended it or not). All that stuff just seems to be a part of their DNA to me, but then again, I wasn't there at the beginning and I've never had the luck to read or hear anything direct from the horse's mouth on the matter. So most of those thoughts on DB are just my own speculation.
I find it intersting that it's their "unofficial" collaborative material that you appreciate more. Especially DDU and Konsert, both of which, one of my friends who introduced me to the band doesn't like so much because they're "too prog" for him!!
It's fantastic to hear where you're coming from, your personal experience over the years and that you still see in them the things that made them great during those early days even if the music doesn't have the same effect or appears to be somewhat distant from then.
Thanks.
Sounds from the Dark Side
Finally it’s time to say something about “Motorpsychodeliaâ€. So prog nerds and metalheads, unite.
I reckon that SftDS readers must have heard about Motorpsycho by now. If you haven’t, same on you! The Norwegian prog-psych rockers have been around since 1989 and released more than 20 full albums, a dozen EP’s and a handful of live albums. Bent Sæther and his boys still go strong everywhere they go. The nice thing about Motorpsycho is that you never know what you’re going to get. Indie rock, alternative metal, jazz, sympho or noise, they’ve done it al.
Timothy’s Monster (1995), Let Them Eat Cake (2000), Barracuda (2001), the first two volumes of the Roadwork live series and especially In The Fishtank 10 (2003) with Jaga Jazzist Horns belong to my personal highlights. Hereafter I lost track of the band in the mid-2000s only to briefly pick them up again in 2012 with The Death Defying Unicorn on which Norwegian jazz legend Ståle Storløkken plays a major part. Two years Motorpsycho got my full attention again after they released the versatile double album The Tower. This album never got a proper review here (my bad) so let’s just say the recently released The Crucible is our second chance to say some words about this monumental band.
The Tower was a return to form for Motorpsycho. Under influence of a new drummer, Tomas Järmyr, the band once again explored their more diverse alternative rock roots without forgetting the more proggy experiment in the second part. Where The Tower ends The Crucible starts. With 3 lengthy tracks Sæther et al takes us deeper into the world of 70s progressive rock.
‘Psychotzar’ is the hinge between both albums. With a gong, strong riffs and various rootsy guitar solos this track extents the atmosphere from The Tower onto this new record. Yet, after about 3 minutes tension builds due to Järmyr’s heavier drumming and Sæther’s meandering vocals. This eventually leads to a compelling sounding track that at some points even is a bit bombastic like Led Zeppelin. As expected Motorpsycho wouldn’t be Motorpsycho if they played out this track in linear fashion. The sting of ‘Psychotzar’ is its tail. Here a throat gripping horror-like guitar riff serves as a dark ending.
‘Lux Aeterna’s’ is an ode to Bent Sæther mother who died 6 months ago. In contrast to ‘Psychotzar’ the lead in brings some air in the first minutes, although in a sorrowful manner. Some light guitar play, horns and keyboard intertwine with Sæther’s singing here, thus accentuating the sad beginning. Under pressure of further surging horns the song slowly progresses into a apotheosis that is suddenly interrupted by a piano which is quickly followed by an intoxicating whirlwind of jazzrock. After the restless midsection Sæther intervenes and eventually gives room to a cinematic saxophone solo that leads in a placid fade out.
With 20 minutes on the clock the title track makes up half of the album when it comes to playing time. The melodious beginning directly reminds of prog acts of old like King Crimson and Yes. Again Järmyr shows he’s an asset to the lineup by showcasing various impressive drum variations during the first few minutes. The band changes gear once more. This time by means of a light Pink Floyd-ish guitar interlude. Hereafter Sæther takes over with a few clear verses and as guitars riffs grow heavier the build up starts again. Now the band slaps us around with an unwavering industrial-strength like midsection full of noise. Just like on ‘Lux Aeterna’ the contrast is huge only this time it’s gloomier. Also the repetitiveness makes it the most powerful track on the album. After a few short tempo changes Motorpsycho combines the melodious opening with harsher structures of the track, this time leaving aside the noise we heard on the midsection. In the end I can only conclude that ‘The Crucible’ sets out like classic a progrock poem with a wonderful feeling for detail and structuring.
You could say The Crucible is a worthy ending for The Tower. Yet The Crucible also is strong enough the carry the weight of being a full album on its own. For this you have to understand it as progrock album without a predominant catchy side. Naturally Motorpsycho doesn’t deliver progrock just the fit the genre. The Crucible is Motorpsycho’s statement telling us that they will keep on pushing forward the standards they set for themselves thirty years ago by incorporating their own unique twists. Consequently Motorpsycho’s work still is and will be relevant factor to look out for.
https://soundsfromthedarkside.com/2019/02/20/motorpsycho-the-crucible/#more-5794
Translated from Spanish.
What is the reason for this new interest born again in what the Norwegian Motorpsycho do? It is not that in these 30 years his fans have left them, but it is undeniable that his mass of followers has increased considerably. A change of sound? It's hard to say with a band that poses each album as a challenge not to repeat itself, but if we have to blame someone for this new "success" we should look at their drummer Tomas Järmyr.
Already in his previous "The Tower" he showed us how versatile it can be, how his percussion can totally change the recurring offering of Norwegians, and how, with only a few months of playing with them, he has managed to create a sound vision that he liked so much to the old followers as the newcomers, even if they lean towards a more "popero" side of Motorpsycho.
Now that Tomas is more at ease and can be more released next to Bent and Snah is when we really see all his ability as a musician, and I sincerely believe that is why this "The Crucible" shows us a more progressive than psychedelic side of Motorpsycho , without having to take exclusively to King Crimson or Yes. There are 3 songs and 40 minutes where the band goes straight to the point, while trying to give depth to the technical side.
Never better said, songs like "Psychotzar" are epic adventures of guitar solos, a lot of mellotron and cowbells in the drums that start softly and go writhing as the song progresses. We see how Järmyr is gradually increasing the intensity of their batteries, raising the tension until it explodes in a progression of guitar chords that feel like a punch in the stomach .
That said it must be said that the most "rare" and experimental part of the album comes in the following two songs, "Lux Aeterna" and "The Crucible" , where vertigo is more palpable in the crossing of pianos, saxophone, different rhythmic patterns and a mix by the sound engineer that makes everything excellent in this apparent chaos, and where the voices have a weight presence in the melodies without being guided by the guitar lines . If something is composed the second part is of contrasts.
They can hardly overcome this masterpiece in the near future, a rather pretentious work that has gone perfectly after finding the perfect piece that they needed. It will be very hard to survive the expectations from now on, but for the moment we live the present and flip it.
https://goetiamedia.com/review-motorpsycho-the-crucible-la-banda-en-lo-mas-alto-de-su-juego/
