Cyberoptix Tie Lab

Some great press for the upcoming MOTOR show this Friday night:

The South End
Motor cruises into town
Jean Johnson
A&E Editor

London-based electro-punk group Motor’s first release, “Klunk,” hit shelves Tuesday. And they’ll be hitting up the Motor City’s Oslo Friday, August 4, when ongoing events “Vault” and “Sex & Sedition” cross-breed into one debaucherous affair - “Blood and Oil.”

Detroit is one of only four stops for the group, which consists of Bryan Black and Mr. No, before they tour with Kraftwerk and Nitzer Ebb. But Motor has worked with other notable artists. The duo created remixes for Depeche Mode, Marilyn Manson, Felix da House Cat, Throbbing Gristle, T. Raumschmiere and Peaches. The two used to be a part of the group Xlover.

Their new name isn’t homage to Detroit, though. “When we were making the music, it was machine like,” Black said. “It chugged along like a motor relentlessly.”

What’s Motor’s sound? “It’s pretty abrasive, yet strangely compelling,” Black said. “We don’t try to deafen the audience. It’s crafty, but not over the top.”

“It’s difficult to classify them as ‘techno,’” said Micheal Doyle – Burnlab’s director and who, with Bethany Shorb, makes up Dethlab, who will also be playing the show. “Because there are a lot of pop elements to their song structures, and they’re not some faceless producers hunched behind laptops.”

Motor’s live set is comprised of Black on keyboards, Mr. No on drums, and Hugo Menendez, XLover member, on keys and effects. The three all contribute to the show’s vocals.

“Motor is like a punk band that makes club music,” Doyle said. “Only the club they make music for is some seedy after-hours in a spaceport in a lawless corner of the galaxy.”

Although Black never mentioned Jabba the Hut’s lair, he agreed on the punk tip.

“We are doing something different by putting punk back into techno music,” Black said. “The albums title “‘Klunk’ is meant to describe the sound when metal hits metal.”

“Klunk” is a hybrid of minimal techno, acid house, gnarz and punk. The drums have a definite punk influence and sometimes gets a little housey, especially when the occasional high-hat is thrown into the mix. The textures on the mid and high registers are crisp, glitchy, distorted and occasionally hypnotic – adding to the album’s complexity.

Most of the tracks are instrumentals, however some include vocals. And with vocals ranging from naughty whispers to screams, these hooks balance on complicated textures, but also show the duo preventing pigeon holing with their diverse tracks.

“It’s one of my favorite records of the year so far,” said Doyle. “The craftsmanship, the song writing, the palette of sounds ... all wrapped up in a strong visual package, with a punk rock attitude and great sense of humor.”

Regarding his previous experience with Detroit, Black said, “It was a bit of a ghost town. I’m looking forward to seeing it again, though.”

But Motor and Deathlab aren’t the only cool cats playing the shindig.

“The pairing of artists between Ghostly and Dethlab for this night couldn’t have been better,” Doyle said. “We’re very excited to see Brian Aneurysm, and love his work for Spectral (Sound). He’s one of the more aggressive sounding artists on the label.

“Ryan Elliott is one of our favorite DJs anywhere, and is very adept at making the right selections for any given environment. Ryan has already told me he is excited to play some harder sounding records that he doesn’t usually have the opportunity to play. I think he’s going to blow people’s heads off.”

Oslo is located at 1456 Woodward Ave., Detroit. The show starts at 10 p.m., and is 18 and up. Cover is $10. [ See PDF of article ]

MOTOR in this week's Metro Times:

Friday, August 4th at Oslo: Few electronic groups of late have pushed the pedal as hard and fast as Motor, a duo made up of Bryan Black and Olivier Grasset. Since 2003, the London-based pair has released original material, done blue-chip remixes - including tracks by Depeche Mode, Throbbing Gristle, Marilyn Manson and T. Raumschmiere - and launched such side projects as XLover, Drugbeat and the Sick. Their newly released full-length, Klunk, is being hailed as a high-speed industrial techno vs. acid electro-house masterpiece. Some of the world's darkest and loudest club spaces have been playing the single, "Black Powder," for months. (An aside to Prince fans: When back home in Minneapolis, Bryan Black did sound design for the tiny dancer at Paisley Park studios.) Motor roars into the Motor City this Friday. Also appearing: Austrian-cum-Texan Brian Aneurysm. The show is a special combo edition of Vault and Sex & Sedition, and features DJ support from Ghostly's Ryan Elliott and Dethlab DJs. At Oslo, 1456 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-963-0300; $10.