Bilk

Mouse on Mars kick off a series where the duo revisit and enhance some of their earliest recordings with Bilk, a 1994 sonic collage Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma created for a Finnish public radio program curated by Sahko Recordings. Built from sounds Toma and St. Werner recorded on a neighborhood walk and embellished with further field recordings, guitars, a jews harp, and a plethora of effects and synths, the piece predates the duos debut album, Vulvaland, by a few months. Nevertheless, Mouse on Mars mischief and flair for complex arrangements are fully on display. A cat meowing in the distance provides the foundation for "Bilk A1," which slowly subsumes the sounds of the sidewalk with thick, percolating layers of electronics penetrated by a screeching modem. Here and on the rest of Bilk, the synths and samplers are just as raw -- if not more so -- as the sounds of Mouse on Mars environment, giving the piece a live energy despite its precise construction. When the guitar and jews harp join the fray later on, Bilks trance-inducing powers only grow, and the dub and ambient elements that defined Vulvaland come to the fore on its increasingly alien-sounding second half. The way the dripping rhythms and glassy tones of "Bilk B2" float in orbit makes it easy to hear how St. Werner and Toma developed similar ideas on "Katang" and other tracks from their debut album. Since the piece was never broadcast again after its premiere, its return feels like reclaiming a missing piece of the Mouse on Mars puzzle nearly 30 years later. Equally transporting and amusing, Bilk sets expectations high for the rest of the series. ~ Heather Phares