Motorpsycho is a band from Trondheim in Norway, formed in 1989. Their music… Read Full Bio ↴Motorpsycho is a band from Trondheim in Norway, formed in 1989. Their music can generally be defined as psychedelic rock, but they also mix in elements from metal, jazz, rock, noise, pop and many other musical styles. The members of the band are Bent Sæther (bass/vocals) and Hans Magnus Ryan (guitar/vocals). Håkon Gebhardt (drums) left the band in March 2005 to concentrate on solo projects (as Gebhardt) and his other band HGH.
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.

Vanishing Point
Motorpsycho Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

spawned - by the clashing of day and night
dawn - seeing beauty for the first time
thorn - in the side of the bourgeois mind
born - to be one,to be of my kind
light - and I shine in the
light - and I'm home in the
light - and it's clear in the
light - and I fade in the night

glow - in the glow I am big as life
flow - in the flow I cut like a knife
speed - at this speed I am god amongst men
wheel - 'hind the wheel I have found my zen
light - and I shine in the
light - and I'm home in the
light - and it's clear in the
light - and I fade in the
light - and I shine in the
light - and I'm home in the

light - and it's clear in the
light - and I fade in the night

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Motorpsycho's song "Vanishing Point" evoke the feeling of a transcendent experience that one might have through driving, or perhaps more broadly, through being in motion. The first stanza highlights the sense of being born into a particular identity or community, and the tension that might exist between that individual's perspective and the dominant ideology of society ("thorn in the side of the bourgeois mind"). However, this tension is resolved through the experience of being in motion, as the individual becomes "big as life" and soars above the constraints of their daily life. The second stanza celebrates the feeling of speed and power that comes with driving, and implies that it can lead to a sense of enlightenment and peace ("I have found my zen"). The repetition of the phrase "in the light" suggests that this experience is marked by both clarity and transcendence, while the final line ("and I fade in the night") acknowledges that the experience must eventually come to an end.

Overall, "Vanishing Point" seems to explore the idea that movement and motion can offer a sense of freedom and transcendence beyond the limits of social structures and individual identity. Through the metaphor of driving, the song suggests that there is something inherently liberating in being in motion, and implies that this experience can lead to a greater understanding of oneself and the world.

Line by Line Meaning

spawned - by the clashing of day and night
I was created by the merging of light and darkness

dawn - seeing beauty for the first time
The dawn brings new beauty to my life

thorn - in the side of the bourgeois mind
I am a nuisance to the upper class way of thinking

born - to be one,to be of my kind
I was born to be unique, one of a kind

light - and I shine in the
I radiate brightness all around me

light - and I'm home in the
I feel at ease in the presence of light

light - and it's clear in the
I am able to see things more clearly in the light

light - and I fade in the night
My presence dims as darkness surrounds me

glow - in the glow I am big as life
In the bright light, I feel larger than life

flow - in the flow I cut like a knife
When I am in motion, I am sharp and precise

speed - at this speed I am god amongst men
When I move quickly, I feel superior to others