German post-techno duo
Mouse on Mars is among a growing number of electronic music groups dabbling in complex, heavily hybridized forms that include everything from ambient, techno, and dub to rock, jazz, and jungle. The combined efforts of
Andi Toma and
Jan St. Werner (of Köln and Düsseldorf, respectively),
Mouse on Mars formed in 1993, reportedly when
Werner and
Toma met either at a death metal concert or a health food store. Working from
Werner's studio, the pair fused an admiration for the early experiments of Krautrock outfits like
Can,
Neu!,
Kluster, and
Kraftwerk into an offbeat update including influences from the burgeoning German techno and ambient scenes. A demo of material found its way to London-based guitar-ambient group
Seefeel, who passed it on to the offices of their label, Too Pure.
MOM's first single, "Frosch," was released by the label soon after and was also included on the debut album,
Vulvaland. Immediately hailed for its beguiling, inventive edge that seemed to resist all efforts at easy "schublade" (an even less flattering approximation of the English "pigeonhole"),
Vulvaland was reissued in 1995 by (oddly)
Rick Rubin's American Recordings label, which also released their follow-up,
Iaora Tahiti, soon after. More upbeat and varied than their debut, the album made some inroads into the American marketplace, but the group's somewhat challenging complexity and steadfast refusal to pander make widespread popularity unlikely. They returned in 1997 with three different releases -- the EP
Cache Coeur Naif, the LP
Autoditacker, and the vinyl-only
Instrumentals. Another vinyl-only release (
Glam) appeared in 1998, and was followed a year later by the "official" follow-up to
Autoditacker,
Niun Niggung.
Although remixes are rare,
Mouse on Mars began appearing with increasing frequency on compilations of experimental electronic music, including Volume's popular
Trance Europe Express series. They were also prominently featured on a pair of tribute albums --
Folds and Rhizomes and
In Memoriam -- dedicated to French poststructuralist philosopher Gilles Deleuze.
Idiology, which introduced percussionist/collaborator
Dodo Nkishi into the fold, followed in 2000 on Thrill Jockey. In 2004, the duo celebrated a decade's worth of work with the release of
Radical Connector and a global tour, which was captured by 2005's concert album
Live04. The following year's hard-hitting
Varcharz was released by Ipecac.
St. Werner also has recorded as half of the duo
Microstoria (with
Oval's
Markus Popp) and solo as
Lithops. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
