PARASTROPHICS

Over the course of ten albums - not to mention an avalanche of side projects, remixes and collaborations - Jan St Werner and Andi Toma of Mouse On Mars established themselves as two of the most inventive and unpredictable artists in electronic music.

In 2012 Mouse On Mars's triumphant return comes in the shape of Parastrophics, a life-affirming and constantly surprising album which is crammed with ideas, exuberance and sheer kinetic energy. It's like listening to the entire history of pop music - distilled, refined and crystallized into a string of compulsive new shapes, full of glitter, intrigue and addictive detail. Atomised fragments from two lifetimes of listening flare and fade, tiny scraps of memory shrapnel hover, tantalizing and insubstantial, before being whisked away by the next impatient idea.

But despite all that restless curiosity, Parastrophics also demonstrates a peerless command of pace. Whereas some previous Mouse On Mars releases have bordered on the frenetic, their latest displays a subtle but persuasive sense of control. Even when tempos climb, 303s squirm and kick / snare patterns snap to brisk attention, there's an elegance to the way that each element slips in and out of the mix which speaks, whisper it, of maturity. Parastrophics is as a playful as ever, but it's never throwaway. The closing “Seaqz” is the perfect illustration, a frenetic romp which is perfectly held in check by gracefully undulating melodies; it brings into focus the beguiling sense of confidence that suffuses the whole record. All of which is a roundabout way of saying that - after six years away - Mouse On Mars have come back with their best record yet.

Chris Sharp

Parastrophics out on Monkeytown Feb 24 2012

MOUSE ON MARS

Mouse on Mars is one of the few electronic bands to stand the test of time. Constantly reinventing themselves, they have taken electronica to new heights with a unique blend of sound annihilation, fragmented melodies and an impassioned hatred of conformity. For nearly two deacades, Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner have sweated over burning consoles to create a new musical language, only to twist it again into thousands of myriad distortions.

Mouse On Mars' sound links them to the club-music scene, as do their many remixes and collaborations with members of the dance-music world. Yet their association with the formalized and utilitarian world of dance music is ironic, as the band’s raison d’etre is to place electronic flies in any aural ointment they choose to muck through. A series of 10 albums and numerous remixes has come off as primarily intent on dashing expectations, from the ambient-house ectoplasms of 1994’s Vulvaland and 1995’s slightly more structured Iaora Tahiti; to the flighty and funny electronics, spluttering horns and acoustic-guitar samples of 2000’s more “organic” Niun Niggung; to the forest of sonic porcupine quills that is Idiology. Radical Connector (2004) further granulated the MoM aesthetic into nine vaguely pop-oriented songs, ever heavier on the beats and increasingly hinging the tunes on the vocals and drumming of longtime collaborator Dodo Nkishi. Varcharz (2006) entirely recorded at Mouse on Mars’ St. Martin Ton Studios in Duesseldorf has been their most live sounding and diverse studio album to date. 2012 will see a new Mouse on Mars once again. Their upcoming LP Parastrophics is a thriving vision of the other side of experimental music. Discordance turns into pop as Alice in Wonderland bounces her booty to laser bass sounds, the likes of which would make Walt Disney jealously ponder the question, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Parastrophics is glamorous, funky and deep. No speakers exist that could display all the details of such manic production.

Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner have been more than busy in the intervening years since the release of their last studio album as a duo, Varcharz (2006). They collaborated with The Fall’s Mark E. Smith as Von Südenfed and released Tromatic Reflexxions on Domino. Both Toma and St. Werner produce independently for their Sonig label. St. Werner has worked on solo records under several monikers, written pieces for classical instrumentation and electronics, did music for installations, and acted as the artistic director of the Amsterdam Institute for Electronic Music, STEIM. Toma has produced Moondog, Stereolab, Junior Boys and The Fall, amongst others.

One of their most recent projects Paeanumnion has been as unique as the rest of their career – an orchestral piece which didn’t play by any of the rules. As St. Werner said, “it was a way for us to carry on being an electronic band, only without electronics”. As ever, he was not being entirely serious. Both Jan and Andi were on stage throughout this hour-long voyage, playing their own digitally-crafted sounds and processing the orchestra at the same time. For this event Mouse on Mars have created their own musical software which they also used for the production of Parastrophics.

Press Excerpts 2

Mouse on Mars formed in 1993 when Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner (of Köln and Düsseldorf, respectively) met at a health food store.

Bring your dancing shoes.

Mouse On Mars' sound links them to the club-music scene, as do their many remixes and collaborations with members of the dance and experimental music world.

Jan St. werner and Andi Toma collaborate with Mark E. Smith on Von Südenfed as 'avant music's most dysfunctional family' the wire. 'it suggests some rough and ready sound systyem banging out electro, dancehall, soca and grime with smith as the surreal and belligerent master of ceremonies' the guardian

Never has Mouse On Mars written a more danceable track with such irresistible drive. Expect to see dance floors from Tokyo to Santiago de Chile full to overflowing. OR With Radical Connector Mouse On Mars is taking an important step forward – both in terms of musical vision and international standing.

...that definition of Varcharz has nothing to do with the album title that trivia section should be deleted. someone is just being a big nerd. check the Ipecac records site. they pretty much explain what the title 'Varcharz' is all about. www.ipecac.com

they made music for an ill-fated Tony Danza film

sonig is an independent music label for experimental, electronic and non genre specific music. the artist roster is international and features bands, solo artists and art related music projects.

Toma produced records for Moondog, Stereolab, The Fall, Junior Boys amongst others. He runs the National Bank Of in Düsseldorf.

Werner is also a member of Lithops, Microstoria, Noisemashinetapes, Dü and worked as the artistic director for STEIM. His further activities are documented on his blog fiepblatter.

After a concert, I feel like I've been on a cure. It's a super-efficient, high-speed cure that is like a psychoanalysis session and a beauty farm and some adrenaline shock therapy.

mouse on mars sonig link

mouse on mars artist info on sonig

Press Excerpts 1

Mouse on Mars formed in 1993 when Andi Toma (Dusseldorf) and Jan St. Werner (Cologne) met at a speed metal festival.

Mouse on Mars provides positive proof that it is possible to write and perform sophisticated music as part of a theoretical framework.

Bring your thinking cap.

their association with the formalized and utilitarian world of dance music is ironic, as the band’s raison d’etre is to place electronic flies in any aural ointment they choose to muck through.

remixes are rare...doku / fiction: Mouse On Mars reviewed and remixed as non-remix remixes

the group's somewhat challenging complexity and steadfast refusal to pander make widespread popularity unlikely.

Their sound seems to have taken a large veer away from the stylistics of their last two efforts on their newest album Varcharz which has a firmly experimental electronic foundation. The term Varchar is a technical term describing a data type in the database language, SQL. The abbreviation means "variable character (field)".

MOM regularly perform live, either just Toma and St Werner, or as a trio with drummer and vocalist Dodo Nkishi.

have recorded music for film soundtracks

Mouse on Mars started their own label, Sonig, on which they release their own work and that of other international artists.

Their music is challenging

Their studio is called St. Martin Tonstudio, Düsseldorf

Links

PARASTROPHICS

MOUSE ON MARS

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mouse on mars sonig link

Press Excerpts 1