MOUSE ON MARS

Interview with Andi Tomas and Jan St Werner (Germany) (see also: Microstoria, Lithops, Sonig Records)
by : E*Rock, Josh , and Howard
4/00
www.mouseonmars.de
www.sonig.com
www.thrilljockey.com

Chances are if you're reading this you've had the pleasure of hearing the bubbling future-pop music of Mouse on Mars, so I won't spend much time repeating how much I myself enjoy their music. Following the Portland, Oregon show, of their US Niun Niggung tour, we sat backstage in a semi-circular row of seats that look down to a spotlighted, microphoned Jan and Andi, as if they are on trial, and begin the interview...

Jan: Can I first say something? I didnít do it.

Are you guys having a good tour so far?

Andi: Yes.

Jan: We have to. Itís not about if you like it the way it is, itís just the only we option we have. If we wouldnít like it itís like suicide. Six people in a van, you have to like each other. I start liking things I would never accept. Even like when our engineer drinks a bit too much and he starts talking without break, constantly, I started to, in a way, enjoy it. I just really find everything around me in the space in the van, which is really small, becomes my home. We feel really comfortable when weíre back in the van. Then Dodo, the drummer, he starts to stay in the van when we go out. In the beginning every second you have to go out of the van, you did it, like you escaped; breathing air and moving, and stretching. It totally changed, Dodo likes to stay in the van now...

Andi: Yeah, because he can smoke.

Jan: Yeah thatís the only place you can smoke maybe. He smoked in Seattle because we had to go to the borderóoh yeah, mom is reading this... Well, behind him was a black bar, and behind him was a police car and in front of him was a police car standing. We came back from the cafe and opened the door and it was like ìfooshî!

[everyone laughs]

Jan: Yeah, this happened, but in a way Iím happy when we can go home.

Is this your second time touring in the US?

Jan: Yes.

Do you notice a big difference between Europe and the States, as far as audience response?

Andi: Yeah , sure.

Jan: In a way, people donít know us yet, theyíre more curious I think. Some people that come to the concert are surprised about who else is coming. A lot of people said that they never knew who else was listening to the music. Then they come to the concert and they see who else is coming, and what type of people there are. I think people are more open than in Europe. In Europe it took one tour to get them used to our stuff, it seems like here you play one song and they accept. I mean, they are more open.

Andi: Yes, in Europe people are already... like they control what we do. ìAw, he didnít play that really good and the third song the drums were not as good as the last time, and the way Andi plays bassómaybe he has different strings.î It becomes a bit specific sometimes.

Do you find it difficult to change your set for a live situation? Does it take a lot of preparation?

Andi: Itís like beginning from scratch.

Last time you came through it was a more portable setup with just you two; without the drums and live bass? Does Dodo play drums on the albums?

Jan: He does, but we tend to tear him apart on the record. He can express all his energy live, immediately, without being analyzed by us. Itís quite good. The duo thing is more like a jet-set version. We have two cases, like cosmetic cases, that we can easily get through customs and then play wherever we want. This [full band] way is a lot more expensive. You pay a lot of money.

Andi: Much more food and more weight.

When the High Llamas came through they said they had so many people, like eight players with equipment and it just got really expensive to tour. Jan : Itís still okay the way we do it, and itís affordable but itís a... whatís the word?

Andi: risk?

Jan: [says something in German under his breath to Andi] Ah, it doesnít matter!

You seem to use a large variety of sound sources in your recordings though, mixing live instrumentation with digital. Making instruments sound like machines and your machines sound live.

Jan: We donít divide it, we donít see it as something separate. Itís more how we see things makes the music the way it is. Itís not about exclusive choice. In a way it is, because we choose and decide; but itís not about the division of electronic, acoustic, analog, digital, processed, and virtual analog, and all these strange categories. I think theyíve just been invented to prevent people to develop theyíre own approaches to things. A lot of things are very pre-set oriented, like you do either this or do that. Itís either the bass player, or the drummer, or this guy, or that man; and the music is for this reason, and this purpose, and itís so stupid. Music carries so many... [Jan looks over at Andi who have fallen asleep half way through his answer.] Hey, I think thatís really interesting!

Andi: huh?

With limitless options itís hard for people to know where to start.

Jan: You start anyways. You always start!

When youíre in the studio, how do you usually start a song?

Andi: We switch the computer on! Itís like research, you look out for a basic sound which is either rhythmic, or harmony, maybe both. Sometimes itís a sound that already contains a rhythm and a sound, and a melody and a hook and... lyrics!

You seem to have more noticeable vocals in Niun Niggung. Is that you two singing?

Andi: Yes.

Do you record everything on your Macintosh?

Andi: Sometimes we record on tape, sometimes we record on the Macintosh, sometimes we just use the sampler and sequencer, but in the end it goes in the Macintosh.

Do you record at home?

Jan: In the studio, which is actually our home (laughs) when we record.

Do you have day jobs?

Jan: We work day and night!

I mean, do you make music as a full time occupation?

Jan: You just have to decide at a certain point if you want to work for other people or if you keep the work on your side. We decided ten or eight years ago. Itís not always good times. Sometimes thereís a bit more struggling financially, but then it goes good again. When it goes bad you think you should change something, but then suddenly it becomes good again and you think it is all fine. Like today, we thought we lost the credit card of our bank account. We just thought what it would be like when all the money is away. Itís very stupid to take the credit card, but we bought some stuff that we needed like instruments, so we took the card. Andi lost it today, but then he found it again.

How did you two meet?

Jan: I donít know how we met. I think in Ireland, Iím not really sure.

Andi: It was Ireland. Weíve know each other for eight to ten years, but we started to work on Mouse on Mars about six or seven years.

Jan: No, 1993, and in 1992 we were already in the studio.

Andi: Oh shit, I forgot. Time passes by quite fast.

Jan: Yes, our mixer Topo explained today how our drummer Dodo seems to see time, because heís always late. He says heís always late on the upbeat, because heís a reggae guy, He explained it this way; if you donít do anything then time doesnít happen and if you do things then time happens. If you do a lot, then time goes really quickly. I thought that was plausible. So what was the question? You said time was running fast...

Andi: Me, I said it? [surprised]

Jan: Yes, you said time was passing by quickly or something.

Andi: Oh yeah.

Jan: Itís a stereotype, you just do it to gain time.

Andi: We need more time.

Jan: Maybe we should do less, according to the logic of Dodo. If we work less we will have more time.

[laughs]

Do you have something, a new album now that you are working on, any remixes?

Jan: We always have something that we are working on. We did a remix for Merz from England. We liked the record and thought it was really interesting for a new band. Then in the NME they were quoted in the top 10 ìmost disappointing newcomers of 1999î. [laughs] Thatís quite normal, when we get involved it flops.

Thatís like the remix we did for Cibo Matto we did, it hasnít come out yet. I havenít heard from that in a while.

Andi: It hasnít come out?

Jan: I donít think so, maybe there was a problem with the remix.

Andi: If somebody doesnít want to be successful, just phone us up and weíll do a remix.

Jan: We will record a new record at the end of this year.

Andi: We hope that weíre going to finish at the end of the year. Itís our plan. Weíve never made [our goal before] because we always work longer, but I think this time we will finish early.

Jan: The plan is to stay with the plan, because normally if thereís a plan we definitely donít do it. This time we want to have a plan and to kind of do it.

Andi: ...like we always try to. But I think this time it will happen and we wonít need one year for a record.

Jan: Last time it took too long.

Andi: Yes, we donít want to do another record like Niun Niggung.

Just because it took too long?

Jan: Thereís too much in it. It sucked up too much time because we did too much work. And then we [stumbles on a word. Andi teases him.] ...Iím sorry, Iím so tired. I have to catch up with the American accent, because if I stay in this kind of more German, edgy, harsh accent then people tend to not understandóor they donít take us seriously. We got an email from someone who saw the concert in San Francisco, I think in Santa Cruz, and he seemed to be a fan, but he said it was embarrassing to hear us talking in this ìHans and Frans tone.î He thought it was embarrassing, so we have to practice.

Andi: Today was better?

We thought your accent was fine, I wouldnít worry about it.

Jan: Chewing gum helps a bit to get in the vowel thing. Anyway, we will re-release Instrumentals, the first Sonig album we did. You know it? Oh yes, you drew the cover in the magazine. This will be on CD because we think the people who want the vinyl have it now. We will put some extra stuff on the CD.

Andi: And we will put some extra stuff on our web page, some web-only tracks. We found some stuff in our archives that we thought maybe we should put out.

Jan: There will be also some stuff on our own label, Sonig and also a row of some other CDs. There will always be vinyl, but we started doing CDs too because in Japan they donít do vinyl. For a lot of distribution they wonít do itówhich is why we didnít do CDs in the first place, because we didnít like the way it was spread on CD. We like the idea of having the vinyl network; people who listen to the music and donít read about it before they listen to it.

Definitely. Vinyl buyers tend to be people that buy a lot of records, always looking for something new.

Jan: Yes, and they listen to the records in the shop. They donít first read about it and then decide.

I noticed you work with a lot of different people within the A-Musik community and like Jo (Schlammpeitziger), do you guys all live close proximity?

Jan: Yes, there are some people that played in a circus band in Dusseldorf. We met them in the cheese shop where we always get good food and asked them if they wanted to playólike this guy Scott White and Perry White and another guy who played a boom bass and violin. Topo, our engineer, he played saxophone on one track.

And Harald "Sack" Ziegler that does the horn arrangements, is that the same guy from Sack & Blumm?

Jan: Yes, itís the same one. Heís a genius, a very important man, He did tons of tapes and does his own music. Heís like a godfather for... I donít know what... but anyway, heís just a godfather.

Thereís been good electronic music coming out of Germany since the 70ís, I was wondering if that has been an influence. Do you listen to much German electronic music when you were younger that would make you want to do what you do?

Jan: Well, itís so difficult because if we name bands that we listened to, then people tend to trace back what we do to what we heard and thatís not necessarily true. What you listen to doesnít necessarily make what you create. My taste in music totally changed during making my own music and learning. Getting an approach to making music maybe actually makes the music and has not so much to do the music that I was listening to. It has nothing to do with what Iím doing nowówell maybe it has, but on a totally different level, which would be maybe a totally different interview to analyze where the links are.

[end]