★Sonig
Herzog Sessions
In 2007 an Italian film festival invites Mouse on Mars to score a film of their choice. The organizers claim to be able to clear the rights for any movie the band chooses. Werner Herzog’s fictional documentary Fata Morgana, which merges footage of several desert explorations by Herzog and his team into one continuous association, has long been a band’s favorite. The film comes with a soundtrack by Mozart, Leonard Cohen, Third Ear Band and field recordings. Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner are sent a…
Bilk
In spring 1994 Mouse on Mars contributed an exclusive piece to Sähkö Recordings’ ambient radio project, a one-week public radio program that was aired citywide in Helsinki, Finland. Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner recorded sounds in and around their studio in Düsseldorf Bilk to construct one continuous composition that spanned the course of one neighborhood walk. Midi-controlled synths, samplers, analogue effects, tape delays, effect pedals, guitars and a jew’s harp were juxtaposed with recordings …
Aber Mich Macht’s Traurig
Aber mich macht’s traurig ("But It Makes Me Sad") is Kai Althoff’s first regular release after several records as Fanal and before with his band Workshop. The music for the double album was recorded by Kai Althoff between 2016 and 2019 with numerous instruments - including synthesizers and various flutes, guitars and African drums, rattles, cymbals, ratchets and Japanese string instruments.
"Nobody had to bear this music, neither was it thought out by anyone, played by none, nor dedicated to som…
Fanal 4
The story of Kai Althoff's music is a deeply personal and richly complex one - but that's not to say that it's ever too late to immerse yourself. fanal 4 strikes the listener as a document of althoff giving in to various impulses - fleeting, fugitive, often inchoate ones, to be sure, but isn't that a primary allure of the record? fanal 4 marks a serious break in the program. fanal - a recondite word for lighthouse or torch, and a cognate in german and english - began as althoff's solo step outsi…