New album, new luck? This does not apply to Norway's permanent rock sensation Motorpsycho. Actually, it doesn't matter which song from which album they play - what's important is this special motor-psycho feeling that lasts long after the last note has faded away. Influences of the 60's, 70's and 90's, Beach Boys, Deep Purple, Hendrix, John Coltrane, Miles Davis - all this piles up in their sound for 30 years to a single outcry. Guitarist Hans Magnus Ryan and bassist Bent Sæther have been with us from the beginning. The drummers changed drums several times, but each time they contributed a lot to the sound of the band. A few days after her anniversary performance in Oslo in December 2018, Sæther is ready for a talk on the occasion of the new album "The Crucible".
eclipsed: Many bands have a discography, motor psychologists have a universe.
Bent Sæther: That's what 30 years of rock band make of us. Surely it doesn't matter which of our albums a song comes from. It's about understanding the whole thing and the joy of being there. I feel that way about Frank Zappa myself. I can hear every one of his albums. Neil Young, Coltrane and Grateful Dead are other examples. We have always oriented ourselves towards bands and artists who have left behind a complete oeuvre. With 30 years on our backs, we'll probably reach this level now, too.
eclipsed: But you have a much greater continuity and reliability than most of the listed acts, which had quite ups and downs.
Sæther: It's just another time. We don't have the same drug culture they do. You can't compare that. We have a profession. In Germany it's probably called a skilled worker.
eclipsed: You like yourselves more as craftsmen than as artists?
Sæther: Music also demands craftsmanship. And we can probably say that we understand our craft. But that's only half the rent. You need to be inspired, you need taste and a knack for doing the right thing at the right time. That's where art comes in. Maybe not all people value as much as we do. You have to be comfortable with what you're doing. We have the luck and the confidence to go wherever we want. Our fans demand that of us.
