Date: Tue, 12 Jul 1994 22:24:03 +0100 To: idm@hyperreal.com From: Peter.Gebert@uni-konstanz.de (multipara) Subject: re mouse on mars Sender: owner-idm@hyperreal.com according to an interview in frontpage (german mag), the mouse on mars album (vulvaland) started off as a tape they made for themselves to be played in their car. they were looking for a label, had an offer by recycle or die, which they turned down being afraid of going to be sold out, and they didn't like the other stuff on the label anyway... then they sent the tape to seefeel (via too pure) to ask them where they could possibly release that kind of stuff, and too pure called them back and brought them their tape, pressed on cd, sound enhanced. so releasing on too pure was more or less an accident. that's the story... from the sound of the interview, they seem to be pretty nice guys... watch out for more! p. ------------ Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 09:05:45 +0100 From: Andrew Norman (nja@LEICESTER.AC.UK) Subject: Mouse on Mars, Frank Black etc. Mouse on Mars - Iaora Tahiti (PURE CD 48) MonM and Pram are approaching each other rapidly - "Helium" showed a more produced, techno-ish style, and this album is packed with twee little melodies and odd instruments. Kraftwerk's Wolfgang Fluer drums on one track, and there are various other guest percussionists, vocalists and pedal steel guitarists. I haven't listened to all seventy minutes yet, but highlights so far include "Saturday Night Worldcup Fieber" (just as you think "blimey, there's a lot going on here" they stick yet another tune on top), and "Schunkel" (*very* Pram-like). Nice, also, to buy a technoey album where the tracks average at about five minutes instead of nine. -- Andrew Norman, Leicester, England // nja@le.ac.uk // 08/08/95 On my walkman this morning : Deep Fried (Teenage) Fanclub Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 11:40:38 +0100 From: Andrew Norman (nja@LEICESTER.AC.UK) Subject: Why is 4AD so crap? Mouse on Mars - Iaora Tahiti. This one is *really* growing on me. Some of it is so cheesy it makes you grin like an idiot, some of it comes within a mouse's whisker of Can ("Future Days" was this morning's "chill out before going to work" CD) or Kraftwerk. Speaking of which, I bought "Radio-Activity" on Sat, from the 'Werk's pre-disco phase, it should appeal to Stereolab or Pram fans. Also listened to Pram's "The Stars..." - new album was reviewed in this month's "Vox", I can't wait. Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 09:53:48 +0100 From: Andrew Norman (nja@LEICESTER.AC.UK) Subject: Cocteaus, Slowdive, Mouse on Mars "Kent J. Vanderwaal" wrote: > > So how does MOM Iaora Tahiti compare to Vulvaland? less > ambient, more ambient, more dancey, less dancey, more vox, does > it *rawk* dude ????? Less ambient, more dancey - or more poppy, tuneful, complex. Only duff track is "Die Innere Orange", which consists of twelve minutes of tape hiss and clicking (which makes Main sound like 2 Unlimited) with some mumbling hidden in the middle. Other than that, it's a great collection of tunes. -- Andrew Norman, Leicester, England // nja@le.ac.uk // 14/09/95 On my walkman this morning : Bob Dylan - compilation Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 19:23:38 +0100 From: Andrew Norman Reply-To: ctip@dharma.firstcomm.com To: Multiple recipients of Subject: Re: New MoM EP? In article <19970513.173834.6438.0.j.orr@juno.com>, Jeremy L Orr writes >---from Andrew Norman: > >> New Mouse on Mars EP out yesterday, with Laetitia and Mary >> from Stereolab, and it's very good indeed. I had worried >> that they would have turned into some Oval-style abstract >> wiggy sound experimentation act, but this EP (unlike >> recent compilation appearances) has beats, tunes and >> (naturally) vocals. > >Could we have some more info on this? Granted, I haven't heard anything >by them except their one track on TEX3, but I really like that one a lot, >and, er, I guess I like them in theory, i.e. based on what I've read >about them. Unfortunately (here's where I imitate a broken record), I've >been to broke to pick up anything by them. The TEX3 track ("Maus Mobil") is a pretty good representation of their sound - a sort of combination of Oval's "busted electronics" bleep/ping/hum style, an almost dubby attitude to bass (there's a track by them on "Macro Dub Infection 2"), and a playful, almost childlike attitude to chucking in tunes, funny noises and anything else that takes their fancy. "Iaora Tahiti" is absolutely bloody essential, the previous album "Vulvaland" is a bit more relaxed and ambient, there have also been a couple of singles, "Frosch" (squelchy bouncing version, the one on "Vulvaland" is slowed down) and "Bib". Other compilation appearances I can remember off the top of my head are on the three Gilles Deleuze compilations - the one on Sub Rosa, the remix on the same label and one on Mille Plateaux. The EP with Laetitia is on Too Pure (like most of the stuff mentioned above), PURE 65CDS, "Cache Coeur Naif" + "Schnick-Schnack", "Lazergum" and "Glim", there's also a red vinyl 7" with an edit of "Schnick Schnack" on the B-side. First three tracks have Laetitia on them, the first one has Mary Hansen as well, lyrics are in French with a lot of "la da dum de dum" as you might expect. There's apparently another single due with the album later in the year, so this EP may well be a "stand alone" thing. >And is this the first time that a collaboration between MoM and 'Lab >members has been released? Seems like I read something quite a while >back, but maybe just that they were working on what eventually became >this EP. I have heard from a variety of sources, some usually reliable, that the new Stereolab album will be (or has been?) mixed by MonM, recorded with John McEntortoise. There was a Stereolab remix on the recent Microstoria remix album ("Reprovisers", Mille Plateaux) which sounded pretty similar to the stuff on the EP. Date: Sun, 5 Jul 1998 23:24:33 +0100 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: AMP, Mogwai, Fall, Clear Spot, Mouse on Mars Someone asked about the forthcoming Mouse on Mars soundtrack album - I haven't got that, but I did acquire the second Lithops album "Didot" last week (MonM solo project) and it's very different to the first one - that was basically like MonM's ambient side, this one is a collection of what sounds like experiments (one track sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain with bagpipes!) with a lot more variety and life than "Uni Umit". It has that sense of fun and risk-taking which seems to have been missing from a lot of MonM stuff recently. Vinyl only, about a dozen tracks.