Portland krautrock band Møtrik comes to the Bottom of the Hill
Acclaimed Portland, OR-based krautrock groove merchants Møtrik bring their propulsive sound to San Francisco Tuesday when they headline the Bottom of the Hill.
The band was formed in 2012 when guitarist Cord Amato (formerly of the Eugene post-rock band Her Number 13 and indie rockers Wow & Flutter) teamed with bassist/synth player Erik Golts, drummer Lee Ritter and keyboardist Dave Fulton (who was a member of longtime Portland electronic group Dweller at the Threshold) to create music built around the fixed 4/4 beat frequently employed by such influential German bands as Kraftwerk, Can and Neu!
The band's name is a nod to the music journalist term motorik that was used to describe the hypnotic fixed rhythms employed by those group, just one of a number of references Møtrik makes to those foundational German artists besides their music (the band features a safety cone in their logo that matches the image Kraftwerk used on its early albums in addition to using a safety cone as a stage prop).
Developing their sound in what Ritter described in an interview as "the petri dish of the Portland music scene," Møtrik started refining their songs and performing them live, quickly finding a local audience receptive to the metronomic pulse of their music. The band signed to Jealous Butcher Records and issued their eponymous debut in 2014 that showcased their well-crafted revival of '70s style krautrock.
The quartet's next effort, Safety Copy, would come out in 2017 and featured grittier guitar riffs that added punch to proceedings, while their 40-minute "EP" Artificial Head proved the band was equally adept at stretching out on extended shimmering explorations of synth drone in the style of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schultz with the side-long epic "Outer Reaches."
The band's most recent effort, MØØN: The Cosmic Electrics of MØTRIK, was released in 2021, presenting their most refined and tuneful sonic exploration of interstellar vistas yet. The band has also started creating videos that match the extraterrestrial sounds with appropriately otherworldly imagery. Producer and engineer Jonah Nolde has also since joined as a second guitarist.
As their reputation has grown, Møtrik has become a go-to support band for touring prog, psych-punk and space-rock acts when they visit Portland, including such notables as Thee Oh Sees, Träd Gräs Och Stenar, L'Eclair, and the Bay Area's own Once and Future Band as well as appearing at such music festivals as Oregon's popular Pickathon, Boise, Idaho's Treefort Music Fest, and Schellraiser in Nevada earlier this year.
The band has more recently issued the digital single "Køan" that includes a cover of "Girl U Want" by another admitted influence, Ohio synth subversives Devo as well as the brand new track "Elektrøn" that was mixed by John McEntire (Tortoise, Yo La Tengo), a hint at the group's forthcoming full-length likely to be issued next year. For this Tuesday night show at the Bottom of the Hill, Møtrik are joined by self-described "post-apocalyptic spaghetti western surf rock band" Hangtown. The San Francisco group started as a solo project by multi-instrumentalist Robb Grimes (guitarist local thrash-metal outfit Asada Messiah) several years ago to explore more cinematic sounds, eventually emerging with the debut album Tales from the Gun in 2022. DJ Sasquatch Borracho plays songs before and between bands.
Møtrik with Hangtown
Tuesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., $16-$18
Bottom of the Hill