MONDO GALERIA presents “Röadkill – Motörhead,” Pep Bonet’s first solo exhibition in Madrid. Bonet is one of the most respected Spanish photographers in the international documentary scene.

Pep Bonet’s book “Röadkill – Motörhead” will be presented on the exhibition’s opening night, reflecting his experience with “Lemmy” Ian Fraser Kilmister, the mythical leader of the world’s noisiest Rock and Roll band since its inception in 1975.

RÖADKILL , THE SOUND OF HELL

Mötorhead is the most powerful and potent Rock and Roll band of the 20th century.

Some call it heavy, speed or trash, but in the 21st century it’s still Rock and Roll, and that’s all it is. Only good music at a brutal volume is capable of pulling out the beast that we all carry inside. Some things never change. Mötorhead is one of them.

RöadKill is a damned road map, a photographic highway, and a silent map of the veins of the most consistent group in rock history. “Thunder, then I exist,” he seems to say, in each verse, its eternal leader: Lemmy Kilmister, the most chastised throat to grace the stage in the last 35 years, like a fallen angel from our favourite nightmare. You would have to be in a deep sleep or simply dead, not feel the electric pulse of the music as it enters your spine and bursts in your ears. Each concert begins with the same brazen, sincere, and thunderous introduction, “We are Motörhead and we play Rock and Roll.”

That’s the phrase that resonates with Pep Bonet’s exhibition book, Rock and Roll Written in the Air. It is an unpublished treasure, a document for the history of Rock ripped to shreds night-by-night, mile-by-mile, photo-by-photo, verse-by-verse. An extreme infernal mission, that forced him to gain the trust of the mythical band, with its twisted fangs, fed up with photographers and groupies who were jealous of their intimacy. It was a journey that kept him more awake than those who never sleep, more alive than those who never die and some nights, more dead than the bones of Lucifer.

The story of this poisoned adventure begins in 2008, when Pep Bonet pounded his fists on the door of the Rolling Stone magazine until he managed to convince his director to give him a change. He finally was given the job without preconditions. He could choose the job he wanted. His decision was clear, an instinct that did not deceive him: he wanted to follow Motörhead. And sometimes, understanding so clearly can lead you wherever you want to be.

Pep knew where he was headed, to the heart of Snaggletooth, to the headquarters of his favourite band. Thus, he slowly gained access to work with the band, at a prudential distance, without obsession. One day, Lemmy looked at Pep and raised his Jack Daniel’s to him as a sign of respect and Pep realised that he was part of the family. Taking a good swig of cold tantrum before positioning his camera, the photographer enjoyed the moment. He decided to live without ever thinking too far ahead. That way he learned to manoeuvre between the muted spotlights, waiting for the night, when the shadows told him more than the lights.

The project was already underway: Röadkill. Under the target of his camera: he travelled with the European tour of 2008, South America of 2009, Los Angeles of 2010 documenting the recording of the last album The World is Yours and the European festivals of 2010.  A sincere and unforgettable collaboration between the photographer and the band was born. Rock & Roll. This is a story that many would have given half a life to live: on the road and with the band.

Enjoy damn it. The Röadkill exhibition will show us in images how hell sounds.

Texto de Ignacio Jarillo