At the turn of the year we find the MOTOR duo of Mr. No and Bryan Black both firmly in the driving seat of their metallic, rust-coated rocket car. Not content with laying waste to clubland last year with the monstrous ‘Stuka Stunt’ and ‘Sweatbox’ singles they are now set to release their debut album, Klunk, this spring. Preceded by the single and album opener ‘Black Powder’, MOTOR are bracing themselves for a head on crash into the spot light this year with extensive worldwide tours, a revved-up three piece live show and the dancefloor muscle to deliver where it hurts.
Mr. No comes from the industrial wastelands of Paris, and Bryan Black from Minneapolis yet being truly international they met and formed in the smoky basements of Camden, London where Mr. No was playing drums and Bryan was watching on in awe. Bryan Black was seminal pop star Prince’s sound designer and programmer at Paisley Park Studios in the late 90s before setting off to London to pursue his own musical projects whilst Mr. No arrived in London in 1989 with a mission to turn drummers into drum machines.
The duo have remixed the likes of Marilyn Manson, Throbbing Gristle and most recently, Depeche Mode as well as remixing the theme song for the final Godzilla film, Final Wars, in a collaboration with Felix Da Housecat. The MOTOR duo are also known for their work under the alias XLOVER whose album, Pleasure & Romance, was released on DJ Hell’s Gigolo Records last year and their multiple collaborations with Felix Da Housecat include co-writing tracks off his last LP Devin Dazzle & The Neon Fever as well as producing tracks for Princess Superstar and Japanese rock god Atsushi Sakurai.
After releasing a string of raw, bold and innovative singles including the massive ‘Sweatbox’, MOTOR now unleash their debut album, Klunk. Packed with dark menacing grooves, corrosive industrial drumming and the pioneering spirit of acid house, Klunk locks into a swirl of techno-strobed hedonism and doesn’t let go. Opening with the building synth hurricane of forthcoming new single ‘Black Powder’, MOTOR steer us into their murky bassline strewn world of sinister rhythms and menacing grooves. Next up the drug-fuelled psychosis of ‘Yak’ enquires if ‘You’ve got any gak?’ whilst the band’s second single release ‘Stuka Stunt’ swirls and stoops like a demented dive bomber on acid. ‘Killer’, featuring Candy Boxx, jacks its way through the MOTOR city landscape, ‘Botox’ rides roughshod on the back of twisted bass and ’MDXT-A’ is stripped to the bone MOTOR funk. Next up the dynamic duo hook up with legendary Nitzer Ebb vocalist, Douglas McCarthy for the demonic, industrial spiked groove of ‘1 X 1’ before the now ubiquitous ‘Sweatbox’ delivers the bands infamous death blow. ‘King Of USA’ drags the star-spangled banner through clubland’s dark underbelly, ‘Spazm’ twitches and buzzes like an electric saw out of control and the hard to find first single ‘Din 13’ crash lands back to earth in leathered-up jack boots. Finally, ‘En Trans’ drives us home with the sun beginning creep across our blacked out shades - drained and emotional but with the MOTOR still growling for action.
