Mouse on Mars - Rost Pocks: The EP Collection

Coming out of electronica's left field, Mouse On Mars released three albums and five EPs for the British hyper-indie Too Pure between 1994 and 1997. The duo would later kick-start an abstract electronic community based in Köln, but during these years Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma were simply two creative German lads using the same instruments as many dance producers but conjuring radically different, wildly creative music from them. It all began in 1992, when Jan Werner, one half of Mouse On Mars, sent a tape to the duo's favorite British label, the home of Stereolab and Seefeel, enclosing a polite note that read in part, "You may not like what we're doing, but thanks for releasing those records." Even after the group refused to change their name (over the protests of label co-founder Paul Cox), Too Pure couldn't help but release the first fruits of their work, a pair of 1994-1995 singles ("Frosch," "Bib") and albums (Vulvaland, Iaora Tahiti) that suddenly made a raft of electronic productions nearly obsolete. Read More