Hurra Torpedo – rocking out with whitegoods
March 22nd, 2013
Last week, we blogged about a washing machine being destroyed to the music of Autechre. And as promised at the end of that blog, this week we’re continuing our exploration of the world of appliance-based music with a look at Norwegian band, Hurra Torpedo.
Left to right – Aslag Guttormsgaard, Kristopher Schau, and Egil Hegerberg
According to their site at label Duplex Records (Google-translated from Norwegian – native speakers, please correct any research mistakes!), Hurra Torpedo formed in the early 1990s, and was made up of Egil Hegerberg (vocals and guitar), Kristopher Schau (vocals and stove and chest freezer percussion), and Aslag Guttormsgaard (vocals and stove/cement press percussion).
Every band has a gimmick, except Pearl Jam, whose gimmick is having no gimmick. Hurra Torpedo’s gimmicks included their ill-fitting blue tracksuits, hirsute grooming, and off-key, near-monotone vocals. And of course, using kitchen appliances instead of traditional percussion instruments.
Schau and Guttormsgaard reportedly discovered the “vast sonic potential” of appliances while recording a demo for another band. Fortunately, rapid urbanisation in the late 80’s and early 90’s meant that it wasn’t difficult to find abandoned chest freezers, ovens and washing machines abandoned on the outskirts of Oslo, making this choice much less expensive than investing in drumkits.
The band’s first gig was supporting American thrash metal band Sacred Reich at a gig in Alaska in 1993, and they soon became popular in the area, signing a contract with Smut Records in 1994 for an advance of US$1. This led to the limited release (500 copies) of a 7” record, entitled Stockholm.
In 1995, the band received what would eventually become their big break. On Norwegian sketch comedy TV show Lille Lørdag (“Little Saturday” – the Scandinavian nickname for Wednesday, which was when the show aired), Hurra Torpedo performed a cover of the 1983 Bonnie Tyler power ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart in their signature style.
Here’s the clip:
Is there any real surprise that when this clip was uploaded to the Internet in 2005, it became a viral hit?
This success led to the band releasing an EP featuring the cover in 2005, followed by an album entitled Kollossus of Makedonia in 2006, and a live concert DVD in 2010.
In late 2005, the Ford motor company produced a viral ad campaign for the Ford Fusion car in the form of a mockumentary movie entitled The Crushing Blow, chronicling Hurra Torpedo’s coast-to-coast US tour. Remember when we covered Stonefridge: A Fridgehenge? That was just one of their destinations.
Of course, being on the road puts a lot of stress on any band’s instruments, so sometimes they’ll have to pick out replacements. Fortunately, this isn’t too difficult when you’re playing whitegoods:
Imagine if they were touring Australia – they could have simply ordered what they wanted from Appliances Online and had them delivered right to the stage. I’ve a feeling we’d get along just fine, too, considering our shared passion for appliances:
“My dream appliance doesn’t exist, or else it wouldn’t have been my dream appliance. But if my dream were to come true, it would be a freezer, about this big… probably exactly the length of my leg.” – Kristopher Schau
As well as Hurra Torpedo’s many other gigs and tours, the band also appeared in Christmas ads for Czech appliance retailer Okay in 2011:
Sadly, like all great things, Hurra Torpedo has come to an end – according to the Google translation of the band’s official blog, “Hurra Torpedo is sadly disbanded and closed down for health reasons”.
However, the band hopes that their unique style will carry on into the future, describing this ten year old top-loader percussionist from Seattle with mad skillz as one to watch:
Apparently he’s playing a Speed Queen.
*holds lighter in the air*
m/ !