Drummer Kenneth Kapstad joined Motorpsycho as a full member late in 2007.
Their new double-CD "Black Hole / Blank Canvas" was released 17th/20th march 2006 in Europe. The album has been getting generally positive reviews, proving the skills of the arguably most innovative Norwegian band of the last decade. Bent Sæther plays drums on this record, except on the track "You Loose", which is played by Jacco van Rooij who also played drums for the band on a short tour in spring 2006.
In activity since 1990, Motorpsycho have released 10 full length albums, as well as a number of EPs, a couple of live albums, and some side-project releases. Over the years, they moved from their initial mixture of metal, grunge and hardcore music, playing almost any kind of musical genre: indie, pop, psych rock, lo-fi, stoner, avantgarde, classic hard rock, acoustic, fusion, jazz rock and country rock as part of the The International Tussler Society.
2008 saw the release of the album, "Little Lucid Moments", containing 4 songs lasting between 11-21 minutes. The release was followed by a European tour in April and May 2008.
Early 2009, Motorpsycho recorded the Patrik Fitzgerald cover Punch with Jello Biafra from Dead Kennedys on vocals. Jello Biafra have, according to Norwegian broadcaster NRK been a fan of Motorpsycho for 16-17 years.
In the autumn of 2009 they released a vinyl-only record, Child of the Future and in January 2010 they released Heavy Metal Fruit, their first album with an outside producer.
On May 23 2016 it was announced on the band's website that Kenneth Kapstad will be leaving Motorpsycho after nine years with the band. The band did not announce a replacement, with supposed upcoming gigs in Brazil and a 40 show stint as the houseband in writer Carl Frode Tiller's play "Begynnelser" at Trøndelag Teater in Trondheim from September 2 2016.
However, on the second day of 2017 the fans could greet the long-awaited news of a replacement with delight. Swedish Trondheim resident Tomas Järmyr who has also played in acts such as Zu, Yodok, Yodok lll, Sunswitch and with Aidan Baker. He also studies at the music conservatory at NTNU – like Kapstad, Ståle Storløkken, Ola Kvernberg, Ketil Møster "and just about every decent musician we’ve worked with over the last decade before him" (quote Bent Sæther, January 2 2017). This piece of news was also supplemented with hints of an upcoming album in the fall of 2017. The album, titled "The Tower" was released on September 8th 2017.
Giftland
Motorpsycho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cos I don't even know myself today
You can't own me, and I don't think you ever could
Cos I don't even own myself these days
There's no point in trying
So you might as well quit
Fooling yourself this way
Poke around the embers, no Phoenix is hiding there
There's nothing left to steal from the giftland
This hollow deathwish void will never be filled by any other
Not knowing what you need,you'll never convey it
There's no point in trying
So you might as well quit
Fooling yourself this way
There's no point in trying
So you might as well quit
Fooling yourself this way
In the Giftland
Motorpsycho's song Giftland could be interpreted as a reflection on the elusiveness of identity and the futility of attempting to possess or understand someone else. The opening lines acknowledge the great complexity of human identity and the realization that no one can fully know and understand another person. The next set of lines highlight the singer's own confusion and lack of self-understanding. The repetition of the phrase "these days" emphasizes the idea that human identity is a constantly evolving and shifting concept that can be difficult to fully grasp.
The chorus, "There's no point in trying so you might as well quit fooling yourself this way" could be interpreted as a warning against the folly of attempting to control or understand others. The metaphor of "Poke around the embers, no Phoenix is hiding there" suggests that even when we try to dig beneath the surface of someone else's identity, we are unlikely to find any kind of deeper truth or essence, as if we were searching for a mythical bird that does not exist. The reference to the "giftland" could be interpreted as a metaphor for the unattainable ideal of perfect identity.
The final repetition of the chorus and final line "in the Giftland" leave the song on a somewhat ambiguous note, leaving it up to interpretation whether the "Giftland" is a place of hope or of despair in the search for understanding and identity.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know me, and I don't think you ever will
I don't think we'll ever really understand each other
Cos I don't even know myself today
I'm struggling with my own identity right now
You can't own me, and I don't think you ever could
I won't let anyone control me or my actions
Cos I don't even own myself these days
I feel like I've lost control over my own life
There's no point in trying
It's pointless to keep attempting something
So you might as well quit
It's better to just give up now
Fooling yourself this way
You're only lying to yourself about the situation
Poke around the embers, no Phoenix is hiding there
Don't bother looking for hope or rebirth in something that's already burnt out
There's nothing left to steal from the giftland
There's nothing of value left to take from this once-promising situation
This hollow deathwish void will never be filled by any other
Nothing else will ever be able to replace what's been lost or fulfill the same desire
Not knowing what you need,you'll never convey it
If you're unsure of what you want, you'll never be able to communicate it to others
In the Giftland
All of this applies to the specific situation being referred to as 'Giftland'
Contributed by Leo E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Christopher Norris
4:30 Great build. Love the deep bassline.
5:30 + 8:30 Just brilliant!
CaseySensitive
Even after all these years this song brings so much emotions alive inside me... wow.
Antonio Ramani
Amazing, sounds like Jane's Addiction leaving the sunny shores of LA and moving to Norway.
Ganikusha
Une merveille
indie music
great song!..great band! great years! O