Mapstation

Mapstation originated in 2000 as the experimental electronic solo outlet for Düsseldorf musician Stefan Schneider once he exited Kreidler, the electronic and post-rock band he helped establish six years earlier. Schneider had joined Thomas Klein, Andreas Reihse, and Detlef Weinrich to form Kreidler in 1994 and appeared on the group’s Weekend album in 1996 and Appearance and the Park in 1998. He simultaneously served as bassist for the post-rock trio To Rococo Rot, whose lineup included Robert Lippok and Ronald Lippok; the three issued To Rococo Rot in 1996, Veiculo in 1997, and The Amateur View in 1999. Schneider issued his first Mapstation recording, a self-titled mini-album, on London’s Soul Static Sound imprint in 1999. Subsequent projects appeared on Staubgold, among them the albums Sleep, Engine Sleep in 2000, A Way to Find the Day in 2002, and Version Train in 2003, plus the 2002 12-inch New Direction, which introduced reggae vocalist Ras Donovan and marked Schneider’s deeper engagement with experimental dub-reggae, a direction fully developed on Version Train. He also partnered with former Pale Saints singer and guitarist Meriel Barham, recording under the name Kuchen, for the 2003 Karaoke Kalk release Kuchen Meets Mapstation. Following a period of reduced activity, Schneider returned to the project on the Berlin label ~scape with the 2006 full-length Distance Told Me Things to Be Said and the single In the Loss of Clarity.