LABEL PUBLISHING RIBBON MART
Ribbon Music
John Maus
John Maus lives in his birthplace of Austin, Minnesota. Whilst working towards his PhD in Political Science he also composes music that taps into melancholic fantasy and affirms that we are all truly alive. Questing synthesizers, tensely strung bass lines and chasing drum machines providing the perfect backdrop for John’s deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocal. Born in the decade of synth pop and sharing his birthday with George Frideric Handel, John started making music when Nirvana posters went up on every teenager’s wall. It’s this curious conflux of influences that partially helps to describe John’s music. It’s a world where the Germs jam with Jerry Goldsmith, Cabaret Voltaire relocate to Eternia and Josquin des Prez writes a new score for RoboCop. The confrontation of punk, the fleeting poignancy of 80′s movie soundtracks, the insistent pulse of Moroder and the spirituality of Medieval and Baroque music all find salvation in John Maus. John’s debut album proper entitled Songs was released in 2006. It was a record permeated with aching memories; a perfect testimony to lost romance and longing. Its awe-inspired 2007 follow-up Love Is Real proved a more cohesive listen in terms of focus and emotional depth. Maus returned last year to the heavy snows of the Midwest to finish album number three, We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves. We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves breaks new ground for Maus. The shirt pulling and air punching of his impassioned live performance is finally captured in all its frenzied appeal alongside a tender inner space that wasn’t as apparent on his previous albums. It’s a record where promise takes the lead for the first time, providing a counterpoint to John’s default existential calling.