Styrofoam

Styrofoam originated as a solo electronic project in Antwerp, Belgium, yet only began to take shape after an early relocation to Berlin placed it amid the city's rising rock-electronic hybrid movement during the first years of the 2000s. Arne Van Petegem, the sole force behind the name, soon developed a loyal local audience that drew the notice of Morr Music. His initial release on the imprint, The Point Misser, arrived in 2000 and was followed by further well-received efforts: A Short Album About Murder in 2001, I'm What's There to Show That Something's Missing in 2003, and Nothing's Lost in 2004. The subsequent EP Heart Without a Mind closed out Styrofoam's period with Morr Music. Until that point nearly all of the project's material had been created alone by Van Petegem in an intimate setting, although he still found time for occasional remixes, such as the one for Jimmy Eat World, and for collaborations with other Morr artists including Notwist and Lali Puna. The shift to the Nettwerk label brought the first use of outside producers on a Styrofoam recording. The resulting 2008 album A Thousand Words, Van Petegem's debut for the label, was shaped with production team Wax, Ltd. and featured guest contributions from Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World, Blake Hazard, and Josh Rouse.