Mouse On Mars
Biography
Hailing from Dusseldorf, Germany, the duo Mouse On Mars spectrum of electronica and post-rock, ranging from bubbling ambient swamps to robust krautrock via disco-inspired squelch-pop; all evidence of two restlessly inventive minds at work, keen to pick and choose almost at random from a wide field of influences, yet somehow able to hold these disparate perspectives together under a unifying banner. Spells on Thrill Jockey & Domino are testament to the changing character of Mouse On Mars' music over the years. Their last few records, beginning with 1997's Autoditacker, have tended to restrict the focus of things somewhat to a distinctive hybrid mass, marrying the rampant, chaotic electronica associated with Warp and Rephlex with a pop ethic that has resulted in several records remarkable for their combination of innovation and accessibility, most notably their 2001 opus of organised insanity, Idiology.
Now signed to Ipecac, Mouse On Mars have continued to explore new horizons and offered up an addictive blend of whacked-out free jazz and cocaine-fried booty funk in Varcharz, an album which hyperactively flits between crunching beats, anarchic rock interpretations and spatters of fuzzed-up basslines. Always on the move, in Varcharz the duo have transcended even their own previous work to produce something almost sublime in its ephemerality and transience.
