Mäuse

Gerhard Potuznik and Tex Rabinowitz operate as Mause, merging vocal techno-pop patterns reminiscent of the 1970s with raw electronica and indie rock textures. The pair reportedly set out to blend their appreciation for wide-ranging touchstones that include Depeche Mode, the Melvins, and early-’80s American breakdance music, resulting in a sound whose strangeness in execution matches its odd conceptual framing. Formed in Vienna during 1996 and named as a shorthand for “Die Mause” (the mice), the project issued its earliest recordings via Falsch, a web-hosted subsidiary of Mego—the same imprint for which Potuznik has issued solo work. Their first full-length effort, Teen Riot Gunther-Strackture, followed soon afterward. Spanning well beyond standard album length, Teen Riot dismantles genre boundaries by racing through new wave, techno, electro-jazz, trip-hop, indie, and pop elements, folding the signature traits of each into a thick, frequently humorous compound. Mego joined Morbid Records to issue the duo’s next album, Made in Japan, in 1998. Mause maintain an active live schedule, while Potuznik and Rabinowitz additionally issue material as Gerhard Deluxe on the Cheap and Craft imprints.