Motenko Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

Here at Song of the Day, we’ve observed a resurgence of classic-style soul in recent years, and reported plenty on it too. As a matter of fact, when Sir Woman’s Kelsey Wilson came by KUTX a couple months back, we had to ask the genre authority whether or not she’s picked up on a retro-soul renaissance. The verdict? A resounding “yes”.

So it totally checks out that one of Kelsey’s Wild Child chums, keyboardist-singer Micah Motenko, is savant of Motown mimicry himself. Well, we should say Micah and his namesake Austin-based quartet Motenko, who’ve been masterfully sourcing inspiration from soul’s golden era for nearly half a decade now. Between their eponymous debut early on in the pandemic and last November’s What You Want, Motenko’s scored some pretty respectable streaming numbers, a trend we expect to continue with yet another fall release – that of their third EP To Grow, out next month.

This extended play foray finds Motenko further embracing the magic of modern production: emphasizing digitally layered multi-instrumentalism on one track before stripping down to an intimate keyboard-vocal duet the next. But the one that takes the biggest advantage of Micah’s vintage variety is the embodiment of a beautiful exchange with his late mother, the EP’s lead single “Free Yourself”. Butter-smooth singing, sultry guitar chords, slick bass work, and air tight drumming make the verses enough to get you feeling emotional, and the addition of falsetto vocal harmonies, soaring orchestral swells, and well-placed pizzicato plucks propel “Free Yourself” to a wholly empowering experience without overstaying its welcome past three fleeting minutes.

And before hitting the road for a Wild Child tour a couple months from now, Motenko makes an appearance 10PM this Saturday at Far Out Lounge in between openers Égaux sells at 9PM and closers Uncle Roy & Spice at 11PM and again Thursday, September 19th at Antone’s alongside Toubab Krewe.

Here at KUTX, we’ve never been shy about our love of Wild Child; hell I myself even played a show or two with ’em back in the day. But while lead singer Kelsey Wilson often steals the spotlight (and deservedly so), there’s no sense in denying the vast talent toted by each individual member. Among the masterful many is keyboardist-vocalist Micah Motenko, who on top of touring alongside Wild Child and Jade Bird, also moonlights as frontman and chief composer for his mononymous quartet Motenko. Meshing the best retro-soul bits of Muscle Shoals and Motown with modern pop and R&B, plus some impresas of Mac DeMarco and Steve Lacy and Motenko’s eponymous 2020 debut EP’s received nearly a million streams on Spotify alone. On the technical side, Micah’s dexterity has turned him into a two-time Austin Music Award nominee for “Best Keyboardist”. Well, with the release of a pair of singles last summer, some of Wild Child’s road-wise shine must’ve rubbed off on Motenko’s songwriting, since they now seem like they’re breaking out of their “safe” formulas in favor of “riskier” structures and arrangements. In fact, Motenko recruited some of Sir Woman’s awesome entourage to provide backing vocals and fill out the arrangement on their latest single “Lifted”. On top of that, Motenko teamed up with Twin Shadow producer extraordinaire Austin Smith to punch up this already-rich piece of tip-top soul-pop into pure perfection. Fingers crossed that “Lifted” gets the live treatment when Motenko plays midnight next Wednesday at C-Boy’s Heart & Soul with openers Madison Baker at 10PM and Skylar Rose Wilson at 11PM. So if you woke up tired and hazy this morning and but don’t want to get drunk off the strength of your own will for Thirsty Thursday, the melodica cocktail that is “Lifted” will definitely help you grapple with your own motivation.