I never know quite what to expect when a new release from the Mouse on Mars camp surfaces, but their unwavering commitment to both derangement and bold artistic choices has certainly kept me curious enough to remain a fan despite the occasional frustrating or disappointing misfire along the way. This one (very much not a misfire) is both an archival release and an unofficial score to Werner Herzog’s unconventional 1971 mirage documentary Fata Morgana. The film itself has a notoriously rocky history, as Herzog and his crew were imprisoned and beaten in Cameroon in the wake of a coup (and Herzog himself almost died) and the finished film was apparently greeted with hostility "almost everywhere." Fortunately, It eventually gained a following who appreciated its more psychedelic elements and Mouse on Mars chose to perform a live score in real-time for it at a 2007 Italian film festival. Fittingly, it turned out that the film festival had not actually been able to clear the rights, so this endearingly wild vision has been tragically languishing in the vaults until now. While I am not normally a fan of soundtracks and scores decontextualized from their visual accompaniment, Herzog Sessions is a rare exception and easily features some of Mouse on Mars’ most fun and exciting work.
Notably, Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma genuinely believed that the rights to the film were cleared for their 2007 performance, but they cheekily performed it a second time in 2009 despite knowing that they did not have Herzog’s clearance. I mention that primarily because this album feels too perfect to be culled from a single live real-time performance with an arsenal of guitar, percussion, electronics, mouth harp, pedals, software, tapes, and samplers, but it seems considerably more plausible knowing that the project lived on for another two years. Interestingly, Earth also performed an unofficial score to the same film in 2013, though I imagine it was very different from this one (and a much more intuitive fit for a film set in the Sahara as well). I also imagine that Earth’s score was much easier to describe, as breaking down the gleeful madness of Mouse on Mars’ vision here is quite a tall order indeed. For the sake of simplicity, however, I’ll say that Herzog Sessions has two sides: "sustained plunges into unhinged electronic mindfuckery" and "sustained plunges into unhinged electronic mindfuckery with a killer groove." Unsurprisingly, I generally prefer the pieces that fall into the latter category (particularly “ozgreH”), but the opening 15-minute epic “oergHz” makes a very strong case for the former (all song titles are anagrams of “Herzog,” by the way).
For me, it is the first two songs that represent the album’s highest highs. The opener “oergHz” begins with a miasma of heaving, gnarled, and viscous synths, but it soon feels like I have been sucked into an extradimensional funhouse, then like I am riding a groove train through a laser show in a psychedelic candyland, then like futuristic noir jazz with slicing noise disruptions, and then like something best described as “a tentacle attack on Windham Hill.” In short, it is properly bananas and obliquely perfect for the subject of mirages, as each new theme invariably dissolves to reveal something else equally disorienting (and somehow the duo even manage to throw in a vocal hook and an endearingly wonky groove along the way). The following “ozgreH,” on the other hand, launches immediately into a great groove and actually sticks with it, even if it constantly sounds like it is destined to go off the rails at any second (while also seemingly being attacked by some very persistent woodpeckers and chickens, no less).
Elsewhere, “goerzH” is another leftfield delight, as it ends with a surprisingly tender guitar and flugelhorn interlude, but every piece is otherwise roughly a variation of futuristic “anything goes” psychedelia. Notably, I was also struck by the incredible production on this album, as each new crazy, cool, or ridiculous sound invariably makes a big splash when it arrives (no mean feat in such a wildly unpredictable and shapeshifting environment). Also notable: I last saw Fata Morgana roughly twenty years ago, but I sincerely cannot fathom how this album could possibly fit the film, but maybe that is entirely the point. If not, Mouse on Mars definitely managed to break every rule anyway, wildly careening “from sinister to surreal to humorous” and sometimes even within the same shot (according to 2009 show attendee Mike Diver). Perhaps someday I will fire up my Fata Morgana DVD so I can experience the full intended madness of this journey, but Herzog Sessions is such an absolutely vivid and wild headphone album that the film frankly seems superfluous.
