urb - october 2001

moody blues, aphex twin and "hippie parents" all play a part in these lucid sci-fi lullabies

"i saw them live once.  the main guy plays a flute.  it's awesome, it totally rules."  josh presseisen, better known as marumari, is on the phone from his home just outside boston.  he used to be a pretty big moody blues fan.  "they had a full orchestra; there were just like, a billion members in the band and the sound was just huge," he says.  "but it was weird.  it was all these people who were over 50 and then it was me, and like, everyone else was smoking pot.  like the parents and stuff.  that was probably one of my best concert experiences."

presseisen credits his "hippie parents," specifically his folk artist mom, for seeding his weirdly beautiful electronic music.  "she's psychedelic herself because she did a lot of drugs," he says, going on to enthuse about her skills as a painter.  as marumari, he's released three albums on carpark records: the mouse on mars-inspired techno of ballad of the round ball; the wolves-as-invading-aliens concept album, supemogadon.  his latest is a self-described "dreamy pop album" named after mogadon, a sedative used to treat severe sleeping disorders.  marrying shifting rhythms and smears of techno resonance with the melodic sensibilities of '80s pop and the harmonic blur of my bloody valentine, presseisen has set out to score "a psychedelic world loosely based on [ray bradbury's science-fiction classic] martian chronicles," a novel about humans exploring their own psychic geography via the surreal surface of the red planet.  "it's pop for the kids, though," he says quickly, noting that the concepts are reigned into catchy, three- or four-minutes blocks of swirling electronic abstraction.

throughout supermogadon, nebulous vocals slip in and out of the soothing smudged wisps of melody, sometimes sounding like childish aphex twin-style choruses, at other times suggesting backwards loops of '80s anomaly nena's "99 luftballons."  when questioned about sound sources, presseisen reveals a promising catalog of influences: kenny g, hall & oates, starship and fleetwood mac."  it's totally low brow," he says of his mp3 collection.  "i like easy listening, you know what i mean?  not 'easy listening,' but music that's listenable and like, you can kind of sing along to it -- that's what i'm into."

- daniel chamberlin

Montreal Mirror - Aug 9, 2001
Soft machine >> Marumari's binary-code biota
The low-key, left-handed laptop pop of Marumari, aka American boy Josh
Presseisen, strikes an exquisite balance between the natural and the
digital, the ridiculous and the sublime. Check his latest album Supermogadon
for proof. The Mirror buzzed him for thoughts on Antarctica, pod people,
glass heads and, uh, Kenny G.

Mirror: I know this stuff comes out of your PC at home, but what goes in?
What inspires you?

Marumari: For a lot of the stuff on Supermogadon, I find samples that are
interesting at places like Napster. Basically, I'd look up things that I
thought were funny or goofy, and take parts of the songs that I thought were
good. On "Baby M," there's a bunch of Kenny G samples. Yeah, it's true, but
you wouldn't realize it unless I told you. "Rocket Summer" has pieces of
Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, the video game Defender, all sorts of
different things. Any one of those first six tracks, I could tell you a
zillion samples that are in there.

M: Judging by the album jacket and graphics on your Web site, you seem to
have a fondness for that '70s post-hippie organic sci-fi vibe, Roger Dean
and all that. The still from the "Baby M" video has you holding this glowing
lightbulb thing, surrounded by these little pod children on some desert
planet--

MM: The theme is this sci-fi thing where I'm this Han Solo/James Bond type
figure, and I go around in this rocket. I go to another planet and sort of
rescue these people from this giant monster, and then I give them a present
and it's this glass head. That glass head is the theme of the album. I'll
bring the video up when I play there--then you'll understand the whole
thing.

M: You did all the digital animation yourself, right?

MM: That's my real, 9-to-5 job, 3-D animation. I do architectural
visualization, fly-throughs of buildings and things like that. I also do
some broadcast work. The last thing was that show Nova, for a feature on
Antarctica.

M: You seem most comfortable animating organic things.

MM: Exactly. I like to stay with the organic stuff because I'm always very
against the whole minimalist, machine-age thing that's happening right now,
because a lot of it is so emotionless that it just gets to me. I try to
stick with things I like, and that's sci-fi, fantasy, things with lots of
colours and vivid images.

- RUPERT BOTTENBERG

LA Weekly - july 2001 - "Ball Boy"
    Even the name’s cute. Signifying "round ball" in Japanese, Marumari, aka Josh Presseisen, is a boyish, fresh-faced 25-year-old based outside Boston, where he lives with girlfriend Sasha and their bunny-chasing dog Bacon in an unassuming house. Over the course of four albums he’s constructed an instantly recognizable aural bridge between melodic electronica and experimental skritch-skritch, much like Richard James at his best, winning raves from Spin and Other Music regulars, MTV and Sci-Fi Channel appearances, and an opening slot for To Rococo Rot in the process.
    With Supermogadon (Carpark), which Bogarts its cover art from a Bradbury tome, Marumari maintains his signature neurotic-melodic sensibility, whipping up instantly groovy tunes you’ll bop to until they abruptly hit the brakes, spin ‘round, and take an equally desirable exit off the electronica highway. Signaling a more accessible poppy progression for Marumari, a number of Supermogadon’s songs’ also come out of constructing and deconstructing a tune rather than total change in direction. By god, it works. And it’s cute, too. Just get a load of the sugar-sweet "Ylla," super-groovy "Indigo Florist" (which begins with a "Lucky Star"esque tingly bit), and utterly Aphexy "The Mutated Wisdom."
    "I think the best way to describe my music is that it’s almost thematic," Marumari reckons. "It tries to tell a story in each song without lyrics, using rhythms and melodies to tell you which planet you've just arrived at."
    Many first caught wind of Marumari when searching for Bjork tracks on pre-castrated Napster – they’d come up as well with mysterious "collaboration" tracks. "A friend of mine renamed a few of my tracks, adding famous artists’ names," he cops. "Albeit not a healthy practice, it did end up getting my name spread around, and actually I've found quite a few secret remixes of my own music on Napster by unknown artists. I'm not sure who these people are, but they haven't contacted me, they just put up their tracks on the net!"
    Marumari’s own net site (www.marumari.com) will soon feature an ambitious video for Supermogadon’s mid-tempo spacedisco ditty "Baby M," which sees the ballsy cutie enjoying an outer space fantasy.  Not cute enough for you? Then be sure to check out his live gigs – these days he enacts the "Marumari dance," which entails laptop-humping and the occasional running man move.
    "I’m not sure why, but I started humping my laptop on stage and just went with it," he recalls. "It’s fun but it takes me away from actually mixing my music - people start to wonder if I'm actually 'performing' anything."

- larry ferber

Portland mercury – july 19, 2001

When marumari says, "I don’t really like IDM," it seems like the cookie monster claiming no affinity for soft batch. (idm, an acronym for "intelligent dance music" is characterized by random spurts and stutters of digital noise, and in practice bears little resemblance to dance music.) 1999’s ballad of the round ball was josh presseisen’s first release under the marumari guise, and it fell in line with the current crop of digital henchman, albeit with a touch more structure than your average idm bears. After releasing the wolves hollow, a hodge-podge of styles reaching out from under the idm umbrella, presseisen has found a new fountain of musical inspiration: 80s pop.

Having played guitar in a self described indiepop band, his subsequent explorations into computer music have brought him full circle. His focus is back to an interest in melody and composition (two things idm sorely lacks) that apparently can only be harvested in bands such as the motels. "I listen to 80s pop music strictly, and I’m trying to work on catchy melodies in a pop format." This is not the typical soundbite from an artist with labelmates such as jake mandell, kit clayton, and kid606, all long-standing laptop illuminati with a penchant for pushing listeners’ boundaries through barrages of audio mulch.

On supermogadon, his sound is comparatively palatable, but not at the expense of innovation. Songs are densely layered webs of bubbly synth melodies, carbonated percussion, and pop samples that have been filtered and mutated nearly beyond recognition. Aside from picking it apart bit by bit, it’s hard to classify or describe an album that moves experimental electronic in such a new direction, and yet is versatile enough to be played alongside anyone from thievery corporation to aphex twin. All the while, those feeling marumari’s funk unwittingly get down to the likes of kenny g, and other samples of some of the greatest dentist-office music of a decade gone, but not forgotten. "I don’t care anymore, I just sample whatever and people don’t even realize where it came from."

For his live performance, josh has a similar attitude. Armed with a typically minimal equipment set-up (laptop and mixer), he nonetheless tries to buck the trend of electronic performances seeming like some kind of morose computer lab. "it’s so boring to see shows where people just stand behind a laptop; when I do that, no one getss into it at all." although one guy on a stage with some gear is inherently limited, he tries to make the most of it. "I want to actually interact with the crowd, and I like to dance, which makes people laugh."

For next few months, the road will take him on two treks across the US, and a stint in europe. Current projects on the horizon include a remix album on darla records (essentially a compilation of idm artists giving his latest their signature treatment) and a 3-d animation video for supermogadon’s "baby M," which he is hoping to have completed before he begins his tour. "it’s an epic tale of sci-fi," in which marumari is a "james bond/hans solo-type" who drives around in a porsche. "I’m enjoying working on the video, but it’s also my job, so it’s not like making music," he explains. "I only do that for fun."

the weekly dig (Vol.3.19)MAY 9 - MAY 16, 2001

MARUMARI

Dance or Die

"Hmm, what would music be like without emotion?!" asks Josh Presseisen, a.k.a. Marumari, in a recent email interview. "The best kind of music is full of emotions. I like to think that my music is, or hope that it is anyway." On records such as Ballad of the Round Ball, with its skewed electronic loveliness, and the marginally darker The Wolves Hollow, Presseisen creates a distinctly evocative musical aesthetic. Full of slippery, clicky, crunchy beats and lush melodies, Marumari’s music is simultaneously playful and poignant. "I think the emotions in my music are usually excitement, wonder, sadness, happiness," explains Presseisen, who currently lives in Providence, but will soon be moving closer to Boston. "I don't make angry music, nor do I like it, really. I like to be inspired by the music in a sort of uplifting way."

The latest Marumari full-length, Supermogadon, is due out in early June and will be followed by a 12" album comprised of rarities and new material and a Marumari remix record. Presseisen is especially excited about Supermogadon. "I am going to go out on a limb and say that it’s my ‘biggest’ release yet," he declares. "I think it is a solid piece of work. It incorporates my usual quirkiness, but has more of a pop sensibility to it. A lot of the songs are really catchy, which I think is important in music." Given his predilection for evocative pop melodies, it’s perhaps not surprising that Presseisen traces his interest in music back to listening to his parent’s collection of "hippie music" (The Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins) as a child. Then, as a teenager, he began to develop a taste for melodic electronic music, after his uncle introduced him to Kraftwerk. It was only after hearing such artists as Mouse on Mars and Aphex Twin, however, that Presseisen, who had played in rock bands since high school, became interested in making electronic music himself. "Hearing their songs changed the way I feel about music and how it can be made," he explains. "[A] new world was opened up to me."

In contrast to many stoic laptop musicians, Presseisen is known for his energetic live performances. "My live show is now a dance party. I love to get everyone dancing," he says. "I have my laptop setup on stage, and I do some mixing and mangling, but then I start dancing to get other people dancing, and once most of the people are dancing, that's when I have the most fun!!!" Unfortunately, audiences are often more likely to stroke their chins than shake their booty. "At certain shows people will absolutely not dance!" he laments. "I think they are offended. But isn't the reason to go out to a show to have fun with your friends and hear good music? I just got some silly stickers made that say ‘Marumari: Dance or Die.’ Whoops! Well, you know, sometimes you go a little too far, but when [the audience] just stand[s] there; I'm not sure if they like it. It kinda creeps me out."

– Susanna Bolle

By Roshi

"The concept is of a race of alien wolves that came down to Earth to manipulate the people here – sort of like the TV series V except with canine invaders."

From a note found outside the recently-abandoned Marumari compound:

"The snowfall had finally let up and the once white field was green again, steam rising above the month’s harvest. Prince Geode examined the brains to make sure they would be adequate for the supercomputer’s needs. In the distance, cows grazed lazily, oblivious to the Plutonian mastership hovering above them on Skunnymunk mountain. With the winter solstice came the need for a double supply of cow brains to keep the Wolfernian species going. The year was 1951 and in the cellar of an upstate New York home, little Josh Presseisen had made the first earthling contact with outerspace on his new Remco Gonset G66B ham radio.

I have to say that the painting on the cover of this CD, and the sleevenotes above, certainly sparked my interest. However, they in no way prepared me for the sheer aural pleasure that I was to experience whilst listening to the music contained on the silver disc within. As far as I’m concerned, "The Wolves Hollow" by Marumari is a superlative-defying masterpiece and essential listening for anyone equipped with a pair of ears. I’m not winding you up. I played it to my gran the other day, and even she said she liked it…Still, what does she know – she thinks everything sounds wicked after a couple blunts. Anyway, this is Marumari’s (alias Josh Presseisen) third full-length excursion, and like I said, it’s an inspired piece of work. Tightly woven and intricate, yet at the same time blessed with an immediacy/accessibility, rarely to be found in such complex productions. Many of the tracks possess the kind of infectious, catchy melodies of pop music, but this album shuns traditional instrumentation in favour of entirely synthetic, computer-generated sounds. The word melodic has received a lot of bad press in recent years. It’s characteristically regarded with distaste by many music journalists, and more readily associated with easy-listening rock or saccharine-sweet ambience. That couldn’t be further from the truth here though, because these melodies are created by such futuristic means. The result is an assortment of extraordinary tracks, which are very different in composition, yet all appear to share the same underlying sense of positivity.

Josh Presseisen grew up in a small town in upstate New York. Like many high school kids he was keen to form a rock band and began to look for a female vocalist. He admits it was kind of a pick up line. Anyway, after several failed attempts it happened, and they put out a 7" single and played some live gigs. Like many student bands though, they were constantly hampered by the fact that they couldn’t really play their instruments, and subsequently, his career in rock music ended on a sour note. But that’s ancient history. In more recent years, he’s turned his unquestionable talents to the creation of electronic music and he appears to be having considerably more success. Josh picks up the story.

"At first I wanted to create something more abstract ("Story of the Heavens", Cunsanto Records, 1999) with a lot of ambient and minimal tunes. ‘Story of the Heavens’ was only issued in 100 copies though, so if you find one sell it to me! Anyway,it was hard for people to accept this type of music, especially the people I work with. But it was a start, and I now have a clearer vision of what I want to do. "Ballad of the Round Ball" (Carpark Records, 1999) is more approaching this vision. A tightly packed pop album, that seamlessly flows from track to track. It was nearly there, but I was still in my infant stages of learning how to combine electronic sound and a pop formula on the computer. MTV used the first track on ‘Ballad’ for an advert for upcoming events and it was quite an experience to have my music played behind Celine Dion singing live on stage. I would say that ‘Ballad" had a warm welcome on the electronic scene, the ‘The Wolves Hollow’ is, in my opinion, my finest work so far. It also follows closest to my vision of what the perfect album is. Not only is each song a pop song, but the album is themed as well."

Last year, Josh began playing live and after a particularly good gig in New York City, he was approached by Todd Hyman from Carpark and told that the label was keen for him to do a full-length album. Although Carpark hasn’t been around very long, it has already received a great deal of praise, releasing material by champions of futuristic electronics Kid606, Jake Mandell, Kit Clatyon, So Takahashi, and many others. In addition, Todd was impressed enough by Josh’s 3D design skills, to ask him to do some graphic design for the label and sort out his own album art. The concept of ‘The Wolves Hollow’ album is striking, imaginative and erm…strange.

"Well the Wolves Hollow is a place near where I grew up in upstate NY. It’s a series of caves that run along the inside of a small mountain – very scary at night, but a total thrill at the same time. I’ve climbed into them before and almost gotten stuck. How I came to use the name has nothing to do with the place itself though. For some reason, I was recording whistling sounds one day on the computer and slowing them down. The result sounded miraculously like wolves howling. I decided to use these sounds in my songs, and painted a picture in my mind of the album. The concept is of a race of alien wolves that came down to Earth to manipulate the people here – sort of like the TV series V except with canine invaders." It’s certainly an intriguing idea and provides a perfect backdrop to the shimmering, wolf-warbling mosaic of sounds that he has pieced together. It’s also refreshing to see a painted cover on an album of such sophistication. And guess who painted it? His mum. Nice one.

Incidentally, while we’re on the subject, there are a few things I wanted to clear up regarding the cover. For example, that cow that looks as though it’s ‘breakdancing’; is it doing that because it’s had its brain removed for the alien wolves supercomputer? "no, that’s just my mom’s distorted sense of perspective. Actually, she doesn’t use any in her paintings. And yes, she did do psychedelic drugs in the 60s. She doesn’t do them anymore, but some of the effects have obviously lingered. Me, for example. She wrote the story for the album and added her own quirky twists."

I agree. Cow brains are quite an odd twist, not to mention an unusual source of fuel for the computer. I’m sure that the addled minds of our crazed English bovines would be virtually useless, but perhaps the concept is something that microsoft should be looking into? "Actually, Microsoft’s former CEO Bill Gates has discovered cow brains to be a viable source of billatonin. This substance can be synthesized into microchips, which can be then implanted into human embryos. Implantation of the billatonin chip will allow further submission of the human race into oblivion by a corporate entity." I knew that nerdy bloke with glasses was up to some sinister shit. Josh continues. "Having said that, I use PCs with Windows and have no problems. They are cheap and can do a lot of things that other computers in similar price ranges cannot." OK, one last question. If those space-faring wolves were so technologically advanced, how come they got their furry asses kicked? " Well, technology doesn’t always solve problems. Case in point: look where computers got us? Zero social lives!"

It’s ironic, but he’s got a point. I read an article in a newspaper the other day about an experiment that involved a psychological survey on 5,000 people. Over a period of 6 months, a chart was used to plot their sociability rating based on questionnaires about their lives. The graph showed a worrying correlation between the amount of time spent on computers and the state of mind of the participants. Basically, more computer time = less social interaction and increased susceptibility to depression. I can believe it. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer recently and I know I don’t have any friends…

"I can’t relax if I’m near a computer. I always have to work. If I’m not writing music, I work on 3D graphics. I just won a contest for a national 3D magazine. The prize was a $2000 video card. I have a bit of a problem vegging out. A lot of my friends seem to be able to do it, but I must always be working. Right now, I also have a job designing photo frames for the gift market. It’s unbelievably depressing. If things go OK then I’ll hopefully never be involved with this sort of thing again. Before my spirit has passed out of my body, I would like to create something that people will remember. I’m not exactly sure why. I was recently informed of the art of lucid dreaming, where you try to learn how to become conscious while in a dream state. Basically you have to learn how to recognize clues in your dreams that will lead you to believe the dreams are not real. At this time you can become lucid. I’ve only had the experience a few times, and one of those times was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was as if I was in some sort of alternate reality where you could be weightless and conjure up anything you wanted at will. I’d like to do it again sometime, but it’s not easy, you have to do reality checks all day long. Musically, I’d like to create an album that can induce a waking dream and I don’t think that has really been accomplished before.

Josh’s hard work has started to pay off and he’s already made an impression of the New York electronic scene, playing alongside other up and coming talents. Everything is still taking shape though and he feels that the scene there still has a long way to go.

"To be honest, the scene in America is growing in terms of good electronic music, but it is still quite lacking. There aren’t any Aphex Twins over here. Perhaps a lot of people who sound like that, but with a lot less inspiration. I try to associate with people who make music that I enjoy and I’ve gotten to know quite a few electronic musicians in the States that are worth paying attention to. Matmos are in my opinion heading up the onslaught. They’re interesting to watch because of the way in which they use real instruments coupled with their computer. One will be playing the instrument, while the other is changing the way it sounds on the computer. Very original music, and very nice people. Kracfive, Cex, Liliienthal, Casino vs. Japan, and Jake Mandell are also all doing great things. As far as playing live myself is concerned, I’ve done a few good shows in New York. I recently played a night with Shad T. Scott (Isophlux) and Lilienthal. I wore a doctor’s uniform and had LED lights around my body and loads of smoke and lasers. Shad T. Scott melted the dance floor and I had to play after him, but it was good. I plan to do an East Coast tour of the states this summer with Kracfive and I’ve never really toured before, so it will be exciting to meet a lot of new people. It seems that the general public has become aware of my efforts in music and design now. I feel as if my stay on earth will not have been in vain."

It certainly will not. Josh has already managed to produce some of the best electronica on the planet. If you would like to see check out Marumari’s design and graphics or listen to a few of his MP3s, then check out www.marumari.com.

If anyone needs more evidence that American electronic music is in full bloom, they need only take a look at the myriad of labels and artists springing up seemingly out from under every rock and nook in this large, bloated land. Joining the daring ranks of Orange, Fuzzybox, Dropbeat, Vinyl Communications, Schematic, Chocolate Industries, Plug Research - all fiercely independent labels with music worth hearing - is the nascent Carpark Records.

Carpark has kicked things off as all labels should: With an explosion. Aside from putting out an EP by the esteemed Jake Mandell and an LP of abstract/structure dichotomy by So Takahashi, the label has released the outstanding Marumari album, "Ballad Of The Round Ball", a complex bit of laptop electronica that dodges categories in a manner that all music critics must find simultaneously annoying and delightful. "Ballad Of The Round Ball" is some of the most organic electronica I've encountered. Warm and full of oblique passages and plaintive tones - penetrated and shaped by software effects and knowing mouse clicks, the album is one of those rhythm and melody combos that falls outside the crunchy archetypes of Autechre or the DSP overdrive of Kid 606/Hrvatski.

The man behind it all, Josh Presseisen ("pronounced 'Press-ice-in'") began his music career as many do: In a high school rock band. After a brush with success, and being signed to the indie Zero Hour (a label responsible for Space Needle and Varneline), Josh became disillusioned. "[We] had a lot of crappy shows where everything sucked, band members changed, [and it] ended up being a total nightmare so I quit the rock scene entirely.", he relates.

A move to Providence, RI indirectly sparked new interest in music. "I started messing around with music on my girlfriend's laptop. Eventually I got into some Cool Edit Pro, started reversing things and speeding them up, distorting them. All sortsa little effects." While his acumen for software science increased, Josh inevitably stuck with what attracted him to music in the first place. A certain teutonic outfit played a sort of guiding role as well. "I always loved melodies, that is my favorite thing about music. All I can say is that I was big into Mouse on Mars during the time of "Ballad Of The Round Ball", which is now two years ago. Of course, I still love 'em to death".

"I primarily use Audiomulch and Cooledit Pro now, basically taking samples that I get from cds, or making melodies of my own and then twisting them in Cooledit Pro, and looping it in Audiomulch." A lucky few have the Marumari debut "Story Of The Heavens". An ultra-limitedpressing, SOTH was written around the same time as "Ballad", and even share a couple tracks. "Basically "Story Of The Heavens" is a compilation of compilation songs done by Marumari.", Presseisen explains. "It was released by my friend Nick Wrigley in England who has a little label called Cunsanto. Limited to 100 pcs!!!! In fact I dont even own one copy. Just a burned copy. Gave em all away..."

While Carpark was the lucky label to release "Ballad Of The Round Ball", it was actually supposed to come out on the vital but cash strapped label Vinyl Communications. "I was being pulled around for awhile, while they were telling me it was bound to come out sooner or later. It was actually supposed to come out around May last year. I was very upset about it. Kid606 and Persona know the score there. I wont get into any political nonsense. Anyway, I am certain that VC is either headed straight down or [have] run into a meteroid belt of sorts."  

"Now the good part. In steps Lucky Kitchen, who want me to play a show in NYC. I played it, and people were there. [Carpark label boss] Todd Hyman jumps in a few weeks later saying he's starting a label and he wants me on it! I [was] very excited to see that the Ballad was gonna be a reality."

So there's the story. Coming up next for Josh is "The Wolves Hollow" on Carpark (which the author likens to a combination of "sci-folk art with Fleetwood Mac and alot of wolves howling and snarling". Also, look for "Supermogadon", another one to be released on Cunsanto at about the same time. "My new stuff is less crispy, more mellow, and listenable, to most ears. I've been testing it on fellow employees. Hopefully something you can play all the way through without ripping it out of the cd player in disgust."

"By the way, little known fact, the name Marumari means Round Ball. It's japanese and it comes from the game Metroid, my favorite game for NES."

Check out Marumari on Carpark Records (www.carparkrecords.com) and take a gander at http://members.aol.com/marumari/main.html where you can download MP3s and experience Josh's tremendous visual skills which he applies part time as part of Carpark's art department. On the home page there is a clever virtual machine that resembles "a fun squirting mutation."  

"Please, play with it.", he invites.