Mouse On Mars

Mouse on Mars is a German duo made up of Jan St. Werner, born in Düsseldorf, and Andi Toma, born in Cologne. The duo has been making electronic music since 1993. Their style is rather peculiar and at times kitsch, mixing techno, trance, disco and ambient, with a high proportion of analogue synthesiser sounds. The band has been influenced by krautrock artists such as Can, Neu!, Cluster and Kraftwerk. Live, they also use conventional rock instruments such as drums, bass and guitar.

The duo's first album, called Vulvaland, was released in 1994 by the British label Too Pure. This album, in which they blend ambient and techno, made a great impact and is the duo's most resonant. The term post-rock was coined in connection with this album. The second record, Iaora Tahiti, has a much more playful sound and covers a wide variety of electronic music genres.

Over time their sound became more enthusiastic and wilder. This is when the duo's fourth studio album, Niun Niggung, appeared, released by Domino Records in 2000, and in which live instruments begin to take a greater role. Idiology, the fifth album, maintains that same trend, while a more recent one, Radical Conector, is closer to pop. On both albums the presence of vocals increases, mainly those of the drummer who accompanies them on tour, Dodo Nkishi.

In their live performances, Mouse on Mars normally play as three musicians, with Toma and St. Werner reinforced by the drummer Dodo Nkishi. In 2005 they released their first live album, called Live 04.

Mouse on Mars have collaborated with Stereolab in the studio and on tour since the mid-90s. The result can be heard on the Stereolab album Dots and Loops, and on the single Miss Modular released by the two groups together, as well as on the Mouse on Mars EP Cache Cœur Naïf. Around the same time, the duo co-produced the album Time Pie by Yamo, the new project of former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür.

St. Werner has released a solo project under the name Lithops, and works with Markus Popp in the group Oval.

While releasing albums on a British independent label, Mouse on Mars started their own label, Sonig, on which they have released some of their own work as well as work by other German artists. They have produced a number of EPs and recorded music for films, as well as remixes of other musicians' work.

The duo also collaborated with Mark E. Smith of The Fall under the name Von Südenfed. Their first album is titled Tromatic Reflexxions.