Reviews RLP2170
This 70-minute whopper is the result - a mighty triple-gatefold package to get your head round. Politically a little lost in the transition, the work flows from sonorous, organ-heavy textures to fully integrated rock songs, with the choir providing Ligeti-like atmosphere or a Bach-style melody. Deciphering lyrics is hard as a compound language has been created - Magma fans may appreciate both the argot and the drama of the work, particularly on cyclic jazz odyssey "Kebabels Tårn". Persevere and it does work though. "Imens, Ved Bipolarsirkelen" frames Storløkken as the Rick Wakeman of our generation, and on "Mammonumamikoma" and "Grandiosa", the MP machine will turn you on.
Prog (UK)
The power trio is rock´s archetype for stripped down musical muscle, but inherent in the power part is a hankering towards grandiosity. Such hankering is fulfilled in this collaboration between Motorpsycho and Ståle Storløkken, with support from Kammerkoret Aurum and Sheriffs Of Nothingness, by staging this one-off concert in Trondheim´s magnificent if foreboding Nidaros cathedral. The cathedral´s organ floods compositions like "Syv Dager På Ekofisk" but even in the grandest of Cathedrals all are equal in the eyes of God. The power trio riffs ground the likes of "Mammonumamikoma", and there´s a celebratory grandness to the rock-choral "Grandiosa", but the collaboration rises far above the mere dabblings of overreaching rock stars, banishing any fears or ghost memories of Deep Purple´s "Concerto For Group And Orchestra.
The Wire (UK)
Norways´s Motorosycho are no strangers to the grand gesture. In 2012 they collaborated with organist/composer Ståle Storløkken on "The Death Defying Unicorn" at Oslo´s Opera House. "Folk Flest" reunites them in their hometown Trondheim: augmented by strings and a choir for a work inspired by the concept of "most people" - "Folk Flest". Norway´s politicians bandy the term to gain support by appealing to the notion of most people. Motorpsycho rip this apart. This driving, intense and soaring piece is best appreciated as an entity apart from the psychedelically inclined Motorpsycho of late.
Mojo (UK)
For this "people"-themed cultural festival, Norway´s kaleidoscopic rock mavericks Motorpsycho, who have been blurring genres - metal, country, folk, jazz - for 25 years - have let their inner avant-garde composer out too. Collaborating with organist Ståle Storløkken, they´ve written (using, for the first time, their native tongue) for chamber choir backed by keys, strings, drums and guitar. A lushly sung recurring motif lends shape to the music, and skilfully arranged but sharp contrasts of tone, such as when the start of "Mammonumamikoma" crashes through delicate warbling with typical Motorpsycho grinding riffs, adding colour and texture.
Record Collector (UK)
A beautiful vinyl double album including a DVD and CD plus 24-page booklet, Motorpsycho´s "En Konsert For Folk Flest" (Rune Grammofon) documents a live Trondheim event. Magnificent prog/psychedelic invention.
HiFi World (UK)