|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
MONKEY 022LP
|
Gatefold double LP version. 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. But since they delivered the bracing, angular salvo that was Varcharz back in 2006 and their Von Südenfed collaboration with Mark E. Smith (The Fall) in 2007, there has been an uncharacteristic period of silence. In 2012, that silence is broken. Mouse On Mars' 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. Atomized 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 of maturity. Parastrophics is as a playful as ever, but it's never throwaway. The closing track "Seaqz" is a gorgeous slice of space-age mood music, measured in tone despite all its microscopic activity, and 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.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
MONKEY 022CD
|
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. But since they delivered the bracing, angular salvo that was Varcharz back in 2006 and their Von Südenfed collaboration with Mark E. Smith (The Fall) in 2007, there has been an uncharacteristic period of silence. In 2012, that silence is broken. Mouse On Mars' 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. Atomized 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 of maturity. Parastrophics is as a playful as ever, but it's never throwaway. The closing track "Seaqz" is a gorgeous slice of space-age mood music, measured in tone despite all its microscopic activity, and 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.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
THR 134CD
|
"Mouse On Mars' unique way of creating music demonstrates that intelligence and playfulness are not mutually exclusive terms. Their music is both challenging and funny -- complexly layered yet with a simple driving beat. Mouse On Mars has a unique vision and a unique way of expressing this vision, resulting in an unmistakable sound which functions on a universal level and makes people move their minds and their bodies. In a musical genre not noted for longevity, Mouse On Mars has not only found their own distinctive voice, but have remained a farce of imaginative innovations for a decade. The new album Radical Connector includes nine new tracks which took Jan and Andi three years to write and produce in their famous St. Martin studio In Düsseldorf. Long-time musical collaborator Dada Nkishi was part of the recording team once again, and the album features both his drumming and his strangely recorded vocals."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
THR 134LP
|
$12.00
NOT IN STOCK, SPECIAL ORDER
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
THR 127CD
|
"Glam features fifteen densely atmospheric tracks which were initially composed as a film score for a Hollywood love and drug movie of the same name starring Tony Danza and Ali MacGraw. The music was built around the director's cut and in a parallel chain of events the music was rejected by the director and the movie was rejected by the studio, sending it straight to video. However, Glam works as an album of its own, presenting the band's most intricate and subtle compositions. The CD version of Glam comes with three bonus tracks not on the vinyl version."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
THR 012.24CD
|
$9.00
NOT IN STOCK, SPECIAL ORDER
Domestic CD version of what was once "a MP3 vinyl set, complete with impregnated live-section. The hard disk-to-record-transfer is the first artefact of its kind! Includes tracks for downloading and 2 tracks, genuinely alive: 'actionist respoke' and 'introduce' (from the album Idiology). An agenda of breakdown and absurdity. Total ambiguity prevails in exploding sounds often less than milliseconds in length. Nothing is decided in the music itself but its construction as a statement: even intervals and rigid power chords arrayed in dualistic structures, keyed in through blasting tirades of resistance, display a world of madness and diversity."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
TKCB 72272
|
Japanese CD issue of this recent Sonig label EP. This edition features 8 tracks; the 5 from the Sonig 12", one of the 2 from the bonus 7" that comes with the 12" and 2 exclusive CD tracks: "Rustc" (extended organ version of "Stammtick" from Diskdusk) and "Relistic Retrail" (Idology session outtake).
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
THR 098CD
|
$14.00
NOT IN STOCK, SPECIAL ORDER
"From their beginnings in 1992, Cologne native Jan St Werner and Dusseldorfer Andi Toma have consistently challenged electronic music's paradigm in often surprising and always intriguing ways. Idiology is the duo's seventh album and is no exception to this rule, as MoM surround themselves with strings, woodwinds, brass and the band's own heavily modified fleet of machines in the St. Martin's Tonstudio. Fans should once again brace themselves for the inevitable shock of the new as Germany's most irreverent audio renegades have created the perfect soundtrack for a highly sinister dance party. Kicking off with 'Actionist Respoke', the album's first single, MoM officially declare their independence from glitchtronica's shoegazing legions. Longtime collaborator Dodo Nkishi lends a uniquely warped vocal sensibility to the track which already features MoM's darkest grooves to date. The rest of the album continues to thicken the group's sonic stew. Tracks such as 'Presence' and 'Catching Butterflies With Hands' have their populist intentions undermined by Werner and Toma's meddling hands, while the duo reprise their flirtation with the orchestral as heard on the opening tracks from 2000's Niun Niggung. At the other end of the spectrum, 'Introduce' is a truly evil slice of twisted lympho-zoid hip-hop. Idiology takes no prisoners in its dual-pronged assault on the conventions of modern music. Only with the loungy closing number, 'Fantastic Analysis' (a term Werner and Toma invented to describe their working process), do Mouse on Mars let the arrangements breathe a long sigh of relief, the calm after the storm. To enable these stylistic achievements MoM enlist the help of partners in crime such as: Nkishi, the multi-talented Harald 'Sack' Ziegler, house icon Matthew Herbert on piano, violinist Matty Arouse, in addition to fellow programming wizards Adam 'Vert' Butler and F.X. Randomiz."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
RTD 3763EP
|
German-only 12" vinyl version of this 2001 MoM single (pre-Idiology.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
THR 012.21CD
|
"The first tasty treat to be unleashed from Mouse on Mars' forthcoming 7th album, Idiology (due April 17th from Thrill Jockey), 'Actionist Respoke' marks yet another leap forward for Mouse on Mars. A head on collision of frenetic scratching, deconstructed house vocals and pulsating beats that represent MoM's darkest grooves yet. 'Actionist' is presented here in two forms. The first will also be found on Idiology and is a concise statement of purpose, letting all in earshot know that these sonic terrorists are for real; the second finds the Dusseldorf duo giving the song room to breathe, as the rhythm takes on a life of it's own. To bring it all together MoM find themselves in the studio with Herbert (aka Doctor Rockit) in a more relaxed, yet still devious mood, giving the EP a fine sense of closure. This single will be strictly limited to 2500 copies on CD only."
|