John MausScreen MemoriesDownload image
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Screen Memories opening track “The Combine” is released today, in which Maus intones with an apocalyptic stateliness, “It’s going to dust us all to nothing, man. I see the combine coming.” “The Combine” sweeps through with a bracing baroque charm, all towering spires of glistening augmentation, swirling counterpoint and sonorous vocals.
It has been six years since We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves appeared like a thunderbolt of maniacal energy and turned everyone’s heads around. After touring in support of the album, releasing a collection of rarities and unreleased tracks, Maus receded from the public spotlight, returning to his academic pursuits. Years later, after completing his doctorate in Political Philosophy, he began building his own modular synthesizers, etching the printed circuit boards, soldering components, and assembling panels, until he had an instrument that matched his vision.
His music is a highly mutable affair. Whilst often described as retro-futurist on behalf of the 80’s drum machines and synth sounds employed, John’s music is more personal than the nostalgic re-tread implied. He’s more interested in seeking cadence, through his love of Renaissance polyphony and the experimentation behind post punk. It’s an amalgamation of musical ideas as radical as its intent.
Screen Memories was written, recorded, and engineered by Maus over the last few years in his home in Minnesota, known genially as the Funny Farm. It’s a solitary place situated in the corn plains of the rural American Midwest. The landscape is as majestic as it is austere and inevitably some of the sub-zero winter temperatures creep into the songs, as do the buzzing wasps of summer.
The limited edition John Maus 6 LP box set includes Screen Memories, and his previous 3 studio albums as well as a rarities compilation, all of which are out of print. The sixth item is a new LP titled Addendum that comprises 12 additional studio recordings and is exclusive to this box set release. The set also includes a 56-page booklet with essays, lyrics and never-before-seen photos. The box set is available to pre-order now, and ships in April 2018, with the Screen Memories LP shipping separately to arrive on its October 27, 2017 release date.
Bio
The inimitable John Maus returns with his fourth full-length album, Screen Memories, out on Ribbon Music on October 27, 2017. Today also marks the announcement of a six LP box set compiling all of John’s work, most of which is out of print, plus an additional brand new studio album entitled Addendum, the vinyl version of which is exclusive to the limited box set. The box set will ship to arrive the week of April 16, 2018.
Screen Memories opening track “The Combine” is released today, in which Maus intones with an apocalyptic stateliness, “It’s going to dust us all to nothing, man. I see the combine coming.” “The Combine” sweeps through with a bracing baroque charm, all towering spires of glistening augmentation, swirling counterpoint and sonorous vocals.
It has been six years since We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves appeared like a thunderbolt of maniacal energy and turned everyone’s heads around. After touring in support of the album, releasing a collection of rarities and unreleased tracks, Maus receded from the public spotlight, returning to his academic pursuits. Years later, after completing his doctorate in Political Philosophy, he began building his own modular synthesizers, etching the printed circuit boards, soldering components, and assembling panels, until he had an instrument that matched his vision.
His music is a highly mutable affair. Whilst often described as retro-futurist on behalf of the 80’s drum machines and synth sounds employed, John’s music is more personal than the nostalgic re-tread implied. He’s more interested in seeking cadence, through his love of Renaissance polyphony and the experimentation behind post punk. It’s an amalgamation of musical ideas as radical as its intent.
Screen Memories was written, recorded, and engineered by Maus over the last few years in his home in Minnesota, known genially as the Funny Farm. It’s a solitary place situated in the corn plains of the rural American Midwest. The landscape is as majestic as it is austere and inevitably some of the sub-zero winter temperatures creep into the songs, as do the buzzing wasps of summer.
The limited edition John Maus 6 LP box set includes Screen Memories, and his previous 3 studio albums as well as a rarities compilation, all of which are out of print. The sixth item is a new LP titled Addendum that comprises 12 additional studio recordings and is exclusive to this box set release. The set also includes a 56-page booklet with essays, lyrics and never-before-seen photos. The box set is available to pre-order now, and ships in April 2018, with the Screen Memories LP shipping separately to arrive on its October 27, 2017 release date.
Release date
Album: October 27th, 2017Featuring the single(s)
"The Combine" / "Teenage Witch" / "Touchdown"
WAV / MP3 / STREAMPress / Radio
North America
Shelley Wright and Evan Taylor
Domino Recording Company
shelley@dominorecordco.com / evan@dominorecordco.com
718-797-4229
UK
Sam Williams
Domino Recording Company
sam@dominorecordco.com
+44 20 8875 1390
ROW
Francesca Skirvin
Domino Recording Company
francesca@dominorecordco.com
+44 20 8875 1390
News
Watch the video for "Touchdown" here.
-- Directed by Jennifer Juniper Statford
Watch the video for "Teenage Witch" here.
-- Directed by Jennifer Juniper Statford and featuring twenty plus year old footage shot by John Maus himself :-).
Watch "The Combine" video here.
John Maus' 6 LP Box Set inclusive of 'Screen Memories' and 12 song box set exclusive LP 'Addendum' is now SOLD OUT (1000 units WorldWide).
The announcement of Screen Memories and the 6 LP Box Set has already received coverage in Pitchfork, Fader, Resident Advisor, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, Spin, Gorilla vs. Bear, and many more.
“Like most of what Maus does, it promises to be nothing short of illuminating” – The New Yorker
“A singular voice, in more ways than one” - MOJO 4*
"The latest collection from synth-pop retrofuturist and punk intellectual John Maus contains grander, darker songs than his previous albums. It’s a thrill to encounter his singular voice." - Pitchfork (8.0/10)
“Gloriously baroque synth-pop” - Q(4*)
"Infectiously mordant synthpop mischief" - The Guardian (4*)
“Screen Memories finds the modern gothic master in both nostalgic and apocalyptic mode” - FACT Mag
“John Maus is the master of his domain” / “Screen Memories is intelligent, catchy, brimming with personality” - Resident Advisor [RA Recommends]
"On “Screen Memories,” he gives us synths with the glow of an old TV screen, New Order bass lines (minus the exuberance), and lyrics ranging from the deftly ominous (“It’s written on the walls of silence”) to the simply gratuitous (“Your pets are gonna die”)." - The New York Times
"majestically brooding synth-pop opener from his stellar new record Screen Memories” - Gorilla vs Bear (The Combine)
"propelled by eerie, liturgical synths and death knells from a bell that bridge the gap between Baroque-era classical music and Goblin film scores.” - SPIN (The Combine)
“Such an epic tune [...] It is in fact awesome.” – Tom Ravenscroft, BBC 6Music (The Combine)
“An ominous, Carpenters-like slice of cinematic synth pop" - Uncut (The Combine)
"Teenage Witch,” is nostalgic without being overly sentimental, suggesting a tender side to Maus as he excavates his teenage self.” - Pitchfork (Teenage Witch)
“Touchdown” is a streaky synthpop jam..." - Stereogum
“A great, electric, gothic symphony” - Loud & Quiet (8/10)
“Striking moments of ethereal bliss along with the profound reflections of an isolated intellect." - Crack Magazine
“Maus delivers another strong dose of lo-fi synth-pop to make you dance and weep simultaneously” - London In Stereo
Read the Interview Magazine feature with Chloe Sevigny and John Maus.
Screen Memories has been included in both The New York Times and New York Magazine fall previews.
Read artist interviews / features in: Vulture, Crack Magazine, Noisey, Stereogum, Malibu Magazine, and Tiny Mix Tapes.
Album of the week in Loud & Quiet & Bleep.
US / Canada Dates
Jan 17 || Omaha, NE || Reverb
Jan 19 || Denver, CO || Marquis Theatre
Jan 20 || Salt Lake City, UT || Metro Music Hall
Jan 21 || Boise, ID || Neurolux
Jan 23 || Seattle, WA || The Crocodile
Jan 24 || Vancouver, BC || Biltmore Cabaret
Jan 25 || Portland, OR || Mississippi Studios
Jan 27 || San Francisco, CA || Slim's
Jan 29 || Solana Beach, CA || Belly Up Tavern
Jan 30 || Los Angeles, CA || The Teragram Ballroom
Jan 31 || Phoenix, AZ || Crescent Ballroom
Feb 2 || Dallas, TX || Club Dada
Feb 3 || Austin, TX || Barracuda
Feb 5 || New Orleans, LA || One Eyed Jack's
Feb 8 || Atlanta, GA || The Earl
Feb 9 || Durham, NC || Motorco Music Hall
Feb 10 || Washington, DC || Rock & Roll Hotel
Feb 11 || Philadelphia, PA || First Unitarian Church
Feb 12 || Cambridge, MA || The Sinclair
Feb 14 || Brooklyn, NY || Elsewhere
Feb 15 || Kingston, NY || BSP Kingston
Feb 16 || Toronto, ON || Lee's Palace
Feb 17 || Detroit, MI || El Club
Feb 18 || Chicago, IL || Lincoln Hall
Links
johnma.us