A sacred relationship.
Vladislav Parshin speaks of slowness as a method, of the minimalist sound that defines Motorama after 15 years and the almost inexplicable bond that the Russian band built with Mexico.
Motorama is the project of Vladislav Parshina Russian musician who has turned melodic and minimalist post punk into a recognizable signature throughout the world. Although they perform live as a band, in the studio it is a solo project: Parshin He writes and records each instrument on his own, constructing repetitive, stripped-down arrangements with the help of loopers and grooveboxes. After more than two decades of career and a 15-year relationship with the Mexican public, Motorama reaches the highest point of that relationship: on October 1st they appear at the National Auditoriumin what will be the longest concert of his career.
Indie Rocks!: I want to start with the study part. I know that they released an album in 2023 and I read in an interview that you already had some songs ready or semi-ready for a new album. Any news on a new Motorama album?
Motorama: It’s a work in progress, we’re not putting pressure on ourselves to get to anything on time. We don’t work with labels anymore, so we are free to take the time to make a good collection of songs without rushing moves. Normally our albums are a collection of songs connected to the timeline in which they were written, and now it’s best to just put the best ones together. I have no dates or plans. Maybe the launch will be next year, but time will tell. I’m not sure.
GO!: I like that. I think the best things in life take time, they have to cook in the oven for a while. What is your song-making process like? How does one start, what comes to your mind?
M: I write the songs myself and record all the instruments myself, so the band is usually just for touring. In general it is a solo project. I start with a guitar, a keyboard, or something electronic like synth arpeggios. Depends. When I get bored with one type of song starter, I go to another. Use grooveboxesPorta Studios, many loopers. I enjoy using loopers most of all. That’s why many songs are super simple, and that’s what I like: minimalist arrangements and repetitive harmonies. I think that’s because of the loopers.
GO!: And the live part, how do you translate these compositions to the concert? What are the differences and preparations?
M: Now we play as a trio. my wife Irina He plays a melodic guitar, but at the same time he can play synthesizers, any type of solos, arpeggios or chords, and the bass. But now we have a bass programmed, and that gave us a lot of freedom to use two guitars. For example, I can play chords and she takes care of the melodies. It’s easier to prepare songs for concerts like this.
I have nothing against drum machines playing along with the drummer, with live drums. I like it, and I like bands that use that kind of thing, when there’s some drum machine or laptop percussion and at the same time there’s another layer of drums. I like that kind of stuff. And at the same time it’s very simple in terms of arrangements for us. We are not a band that uses many musicians at the same time, nor complicated patterns.
GO!: Speaking about your career and Motorama over more than 20 years, what has changed from the beginning of the band until today, that you are an experienced musician who has toured many countries?
M: Most of the changes are connected with touring, I think, because we started as a small band playing in venues children, sleeping in apartments and friends’ houses. We were discovering this world of touring, and I think that’s the main change. Now we try to play fewer concerts, but we want them to happen the way we want them to. We don’t need to tour as a young band as often anymore. And we can choose: this place is interesting, let’s touch here; this one is boring, the sound is not that good.
But for music, for composition, the main thing is still that I’m looking for something that can surprise myself when I create music. It’s a little more difficult, because I already tried many types of things in music. I’ve already tried this type of rhythms, this type of harmonies. I don’t want to repeat myself. But still there is the so-called sound of Motorama, that sound that people talk about. I want to maintain it, but I also try to do something different, in terms of arrangements, in terms of singing. I tried singing in a higher pitch, and now I’m going back to a lower pitch, because it was quite difficult. It has been like 20 years of different experimentations.
GO!: Motorama and Mexico have a great relationship. They have a lot of fans here, people go crazy when they play. The first time they played here was over 10 years ago, and now they’re back in a matter of weeks. What is, from your point of view, the connection between Motorama and Mexico?
M: I think it’s even more than 10 years. We played for the first time in 2011, I think the first show was in 2011. So it’s almost 15 years. It’s 15 years, in fact. We start playing in venues small for a handful of people, but it was still super fun to play for anyone in a country that is so far from Russia. It was a miracle that it happened. And overall, our relationship is a treasure for me and the band members. It’s something I can’t logically describe. I don’t understand what happened to us and to our listeners in Mexico. They just discovered us somehow. And that is something very special for us. This relationship is a sacred relationship, I should say. I think it’s sacred. With the Mexicans. We have sacred relationships with all the bands and artists in the world. And I think it’s beautiful.
GO!: It’s beautiful to see them growing here. Last year they were one of the main events of the Hipnosis Festival. Now they are going to play in one of the venues important in Mexico. What do you have planned for this particular concert? Any surprises? How is the setlist constructed?
M: I don’t want to say too many aspects of the concert, but I have to say that it is going to be, I think, the longest concert we have ever played in terms of duration. There are almost 30 songs. We never played concerts this long in our career. We try to put together different songs from all the albums and also the singles. They are not going to be just the most recent songs, they are going to be different songs from the entire career of Motorama. It’s going to be a big concert.
I hope he venue be good in terms of sound, make it fun for people. We are a little scared to touch something so big, it’s like an experiment for us. This little band DIY bedroom arriving at a theater that does concerts for super big artists. But I hope it’s interesting for listeners, first of all. Have you been there?
GO!: Yes, I have been many times. I think it’s one of the best venues of the city. It’s big, but the audio is very good. Everyone can see perfectly, no matter if you are in front or behind. For its size, it is perfect.
M: Great, thanks for your comment on it. venue.
GO!: For someone who wants to join your discography, what song would you recommend they start listening to Motorama with?
M: Good question. Maybe the most recent songs, any of the latest, or maybe “Heavy Wave” for a start. But I could choose about 10 different songs. I like some of the singles that didn’t come out on the albums, like “Today and Everyday.” Or the most recent song, “KRS”, which is also a good one. It’s one of the recent ones.
GO!: If someone is going to the concert for the first time, what mentality would you recommend they go with?
M: I think it can be suitable for any type of mindset, actually. But it’s better not to come super drunk, I think. Although we will be happy to see any type of mentality in the public.
GO!: And the last one: if you could describe Motorama in just three words, what would they be?
M: Very good. It’s going to be motorik, like the battery, you know, motorik battery. It’s going to be melody. And let’s say hope.
