[et_pb_section fullwidth="off" specialty="on" background_color="#050505" inner_shadow="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="css"][et_pb_column type="3_4" specialty_columns="3"][et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_column_inner type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left"]
<h1>Markus Mehr</h1>
<img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-10435" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Markus-Mehr-2014-2-300x200.jpg" alt="Markus Mehr" width="300" height="200" /><em>“... prepare for a shuddering, near chaotic, kaleidoscopic </em><em>experience as Mehr challenges our and his own </em><em>preconceptions of what “electronica” is, what it represents </em><em>and of what his instrumentation can achieve.”<strong> – Delusions of Adequacy</strong></em>

Markus Mehr’s debut, <em>Lava</em>, holds true to its title – it is a dense, steaming surge of glue-thick sound. But, after any destructive force there is new growth. Green shoots of melody arc out of the surface and populate the terrain as new possibilities emerge. <span class="_5yl5" data-reactid=".27.$mid=11404191394044=243362f841034556913.2:0.0.0.0.0"><span class="null">His follow-up triptych of works (<em>In</em>, <em>On</em> and <em>Off</em>) brought another level of conceptual and sonic experimentation to the table, advancing his stature in the field of contemporary experimental music.</span></span>

<a title="Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/markus.mehr" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone wp-image-8763 size-full" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Facebook.png" alt="Facebook" width="26" height="20" /></a>  <a title="Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/MarkusMehr" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone wp-image-8766 size-full" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Twitter.png" alt="Twitter" width="26" height="20" /></a>  <a title="SoundCloud" href="http://soundcloud.com/markus-mehr" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone wp-image-8764 size-full" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SoundCloud.png" alt="SoundCloud" width="26" height="20" /></a>  <a title="Website" href="http://www.markusmehr.de/" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone wp-image-8767 size-full" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Website.png" alt="Website" width="26" height="20" /></a>  <a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/binary-rooms/id924187856?at=11lRii&amp;mt=1&amp;app=music"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12412" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/badge_itunes-sm.png" alt="iTunes" width="44" height="15" /></a>

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider admin_label="Divider" color="#ffffff" show_divider="off" /][et_pb_tabs admin_label="Artist Tabs"][et_pb_tab title="Discography"]
<h3>Discography</h3>
&nbsp;
<h4>In The Palm Of Your Hand - The Remix EP</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 307px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4074111254/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-palm-of-your-hand-the-remix-ep">In The Palm Of Your Hand - The Remix EP by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
October 2015

<em>In the Palm of Your Hand – The Remix EP</em> brings together four unique remixes of the track ‘In the Palm of Your Hand’, lifted from Mehr’s latest album, <em>Binary Rooms</em>.

The original album mix of ‘In the Palm of Your Hand’ maps out the dichotomy at the heart of <em>Binary Rooms</em>. While plaintive piano chords suggest openness and possibility, they’re perpetually hemmed in by a claustrophobic industrial throb, creating a tension that aches to be resolved. The first remix, by Hamburg duo <a title="incite/" href="http://www.incite.hamburg/" target="_blank">incite/</a>, ramps up the tension by slicing and dicing the ambient throb into a glitchy tapestry and smothering the piano in sonic gauze. <a title="Conga Fever" href="https://soundcloud.com/congafever" target="_blank">Conga Fever</a> dials back the ambience and juxtaposes the piano against a sun-dappled beatscape. Hidden Shoal labelmate <a title="Erik Nilsson" href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/project/erik-nilsson/" target="_blank">Erik Nilsson</a> makes the piano the focus, bringing in field recordings to create the feeling of a beautiful jazz improvisation taking place on a demolition site. And finally, <a title="David Kochs" href="https://soundcloud.com/davidkochs" target="_blank">David Kochs</a>’ remix filters the haze of the original into sharp yet dreamy minimal techno.
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>Gymnasium​/​Swarms - Live with Orchestra</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 208px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=641842681/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/gymnasium-swarms-live-with-orchestra">Gymnasium/Swarms - Live with Orchestra by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
September 2015
<div></div>
‘Gymnasium/Swarms Live with Orchestra’ is a an amazing re-working of the original track, which appears in its original form on Mehr’s latest album, Binary Rooms. This special performance includes live orchestra and choir along with visuals by Stefanie Sixt.

As Markus Mehr explains in a new interview with Hidden Shoal’s Matthew Tomich, the live performance of ‘Gymnasium/Swarms’, which opened this year’s Modular Festival in Augsburg, Germany, involved Mehr’s collaboration with conductor Michael Kamm, plus the Modular Orchestra and Chamber Choir of Augsburg University. The live video by Florian Strandl depicts the musicians masterful reinterpretation of the music’s evocative, beatless soundworld via the clever use of clocks and Michael Kamm’s conducting. From rustling paper and shuffling feet, to gorgeous sustained choral tones and vibraphone, ‘Gymnasium/Swarms Live with Orchestra’ is a unique performance of a deeply evocative piece of sound art.
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>To Set The River On Fire</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 274px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1811294613/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://hiddenshoal.bandcamp.com/album/to-set-the-river-on-fire">To Set The River On Fire by Chloe March vs. Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
February 2015
<div></div>
The new EP release To Set The River On Fire opens a window into a new universe of possibilities: Hidden Shoal artists remixing each other’s music. In the first of what we hope will become an ongoing series, English dream-pop artist Chloë March takes on a track from the latest album by German experimentalist Markus Mehr – and vice versa. Listening to ‘Buoy (Chloë March Remix)’ feels like watching Chloë March creep tentatively into Markus Mehr’s shadowy soundworld, casting her radiant voice around the room like torchlight. While on ‘Ember (Markus Mehr Remix)’, the original’s beautifully simple arrangement for voice and piano is trapped within a hall of industrial-sized mirrors, anxiously roving around in search of escape. Each remix complements the other, masterfully re-interpreting the source material while inviting fresh listens to the original.
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>Binary Rooms</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 406px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3445084080/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/binary-rooms">Binary Rooms by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
October 2014
<div></div>
Mehr’s work has seen a subtle shift in scale across his five studio albums. From the widescreen cosmic vistas of <em>Lava</em> to some of the more intimate moments of his 42-minute single-track opus <em>Off</em>, Mehr has now come to examine the most challenging space yet – that of our everyday lives and the spatial narratives that surround us. Mehr’s music has always possessed a keen sense of and negotiation with scale, and on <em>Binary Rooms</em> he challenges notions of personal space, juxtaposing the human against the industrial, the gentle and intimate against the jolting and harsh. Mehr acts as a fragment hunter, meshing machine-like tones with the discarded elements of humanity; narrative with anti-narrative. On <em>Binary Rooms</em> he manages to create a spatial remix – a striking re-design of aural reality filled with a living, digital biology. Experimental filmmaker and Markus Mehr collaborator <a href="https://vimeo.com/sixtsense/videos">Stefanie Sixt</a> has created a stunning new video work for the track 'Gymnasium/Swarms' which can be viewed in full at <a href="https://vimeo.com/105644655" rel="lightbox-video-0">Vimeo.</a>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>Off</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 170px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=398032740/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/off">Off by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
January 2013
<div></div>
<em>Off</em>  by German experimental ambient artist Markus Mehr, is the third and final part of a trilogy that includes the critically acclaimed releases <em>In</em> and <em>On</em>. <em>Off</em>  is not only the culmination of Markus Mehr’s trilogy, but it may also be the culmination of his career’s work thus far. The single-track album begins in silence, as a thrumming loop gradually emerges. From there, a beautiful piano refrain is introduced, noise ebbs and flows, threatening to engulf the piece, while field recordings and swooningly transportive synth patterns drift into focus. During its 42-minute runtime, the piece immerses the listener in a dizzyingly beautiful soundworld that’s ever-shifting. Certain passages allude to other sequences and samples in the preceding albums, linking the three albums into a kaleidoscopic mobius strip.
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>On</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 406px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2332510059/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/on">On by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
July 2012
<div></div>
The new album <em>On</em> by German experimental ambient artist Markus Mehr, forms the second part of a triptych that also includes recent release <em>In</em> and the forthcoming <em>Off</em>. <em>On</em> is a continuation of the experimental direction of Markus Mehr’s previous releases, with eight diverse tracks employing samples, field recordings and slathers of Mehr’s trademark distorted drones. This approach is apparent right from opener ‘Gonna Make You Mine’, as scything slashes of sound leap from the speakers. Single ‘Flaming Youth’ counterbalances fragments of static against a gorgeous sleepy-eyed loop of mangled lounge-jazz. A track as expansive and moving as ‘Duck Became Swan’ is followed by brief rhythmic piece ‘Olympia’. This tightrope walk between dizzying samples and exacting digital manipulation is walked with aplomb throughout <em>On</em>’s adventurous and thrilling 45-minute runtime. <em>On</em> is preceded by <em>In</em>, the first part of the triptych, which comprises two monumental tracks, ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’, each of which clocks in at around 25 minutes, circling around and building upon hypnotic instrumental motifs. The final part of the triptych, Off, released on 24 January 2013, includes the most epic piece yet, ‘Transit’, which clocks in at 49 minutes and will be performed live in collaboration with video artist Stefanie Sixt, who created the video to Mehr’s single ‘Cousteau’.
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>In</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 210px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4000928914/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/in">In by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
January 2012
<div></div>
Markus Mehr follows up his stunning debut album <em>Lava</em> with three new releases released over a 12 month period. In is the first part of the triptych, comprising two monumental tracks, ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’, each of which clocks in at around 25 minutes, circling around and building upon hypnotic instrumental motifs. ‘Komo’ gradually emerges from silence, its distant, filtered throb reluctantly revealing its source material – a heartbreaking string part whose emotional impact intensifies as the loop clarifies. ‘Ostinato’ is an altogether darker, gnarlier experience, its string loops chewed into distorted knots which are highlighted by treated guitars and crafted electronics. The second part, <em>On</em>, released on 21 June 2012, takes a more experimental direction, with eight diverse tracks employing samples, field recordings and slathers of Mehr’s trademark distorted drones. And finally, <em>Off</em>, released on 24 January 2013, includes the most epic piece yet, ‘Transit’, which clocks in at 49 minutes and will be performed live in collaboration with video artist Stefanie Sixt, who created the video to Mehr’s single ‘Cousteau’.
<div></div>
<div></div>
<h4>Lava</h4>
<div></div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 439px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=634202850/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=ffffff/artwork=small/transparent=true/" width="300" height="150" seamless=""><a href="http://markusmehr.bandcamp.com/album/lava">Lava by Markus Mehr</a></iframe>
August 2010
<div></div>
<em>Lava</em> holds true to its title – it is a dense surge of glue-think sound, making new paths as it pushes through the landscape. But, after any destructive force there is new growth. Green shoots of melody arc out of the surface and populate the terrain as new possibilities emerge. A new master of heartbreaking ambient drone has arrived. These tracks evoke time spent transfixed, gazing through a giant looking glass, waiting wide-eyed as new discoveries are revealed in the album’s textured contours. On epic opener ‘Agenda’, layers of gorgeous synth gradually accumulate into a gloriously massive chord. On single ‘Hubble’, a bedrock of fuzzed drone is decorated with glistening counter-melodies, tracing shards of light across the coal-black skies. ‘Softwar’ builds and then falls away, only to return with a spine-tingling theme that crumbles under its own majesty. <em>Lava</em>’s ability to both suspend the listener in its abstracted liquid vapours and at the same time imprint its affecting narrative is a special thing. It is one of those albums whose emotional impact stays with you long after you feel its last touch.

[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Bio"]
<h3>Biography</h3>
Based in Augsburg, south Germany, Markus Mehr’s musical journey began with the guitar. He grew up listening to bands like Black Sabbath and AC/DC, before turning his ears to darker sounds and the ethereal, experimental pop of David Sylvian. After recording and touring with several bands, he struck out on his own with home studio project Aroma.

Now working under his own name, Mehr wrote and recorded his debut album <em>Lava</em> at his home studio using guitars and synths, plus any noise-making accoutrements at hand – electric shavers, ventilators, electric tooth brushes and field recordings –all processed and distorted to create a gorgeous wall of sound, akin to the classic ’70s Kosmische music of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, but also the contemporary masters of textured luminosity, Fennesz and Tim Hecker. His follow up albums, <em>In</em>, <em>On</em> and <em>Off </em> pushed the sonic and structural envelope even further and created a triptych of works that stands amongst the most engaging contemporary experimental music of our days.

Mehr’s extensive live performances across Europe include collaborations with visual artist Stefanie Sixt and performances in churches, galleries and large disused gas tanks amongst the more traditional festival shows.

[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="News"]

&nbsp;
<h3>News</h3>
[catlist name=markus-mehr content=yes pagination=no title_tag=h4 title_class=lcp_title]
[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Reviews"]
<h2>Reviews</h2>
[catlist name=markus-mehr-reviews content=yes pagination=no title_tag=h4 title_class=lcp_title]
<p style="text-align: right;"><a title="Slow Dancing Society Reviews" href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/category/reviews/markus-mehr-reviews/"><strong>More Reviews</strong></a></p>
[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Press Releases"]
<h3>Press Releases</h3>
<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr-Live_In_Bari.pdf"><em>Live in Bari</em> Album Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr-Off.pdf"><em>Off</em> Album Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr-Duck_Became_Swan.pdf">‘Duck Became Swan’ Single Release and Music Video</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr-Flaming_Youth.pdf">‘Flaming Youth’ Single Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr-In.pdf"><em>In</em> Album Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr_Cousteau.pdf">‘Cousteau’ Single Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr_Lava_Digital_Release.pdf"><em>Lava</em> Album Digital Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr_Hubble_Single.pdf">‘Hubble’ Single Release</a>

<a href="../../publicity/press-releases/HSR_Press_Release-Markus_Mehr_Signing.pdf">Markus Mehr Signs to Hidden Shoal</a>

[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Gallery"]
<h3>Artist Photos</h3>
&nbsp;

[gallery ids="10433,10435,9020,9021,9022,9023,9024,9025,9019"]

[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Video"]
<h3>Music Videos</h3>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NNOsYOGPyik?rel=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ghve0iRVjOI?rel=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dGRCY37hMm4?rel=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PcfMLHZZomw?rel=0" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1jIYi486n0c?rel=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Licensing"]
<h3>Licensing</h3>
Markus Mehr's music is  available for licensing (master &amp; sync cleared) through Hidden Shoal. Please <a title="Contact Us" href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/contact-us/">contact us</a> with some basic details about your project and the track(s) you wish to use and we’ll be sure to get back to you straight away.

[/et_pb_tab][/et_pb_tabs][/et_pb_column_inner][/et_pb_row_inner][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_4"][et_pb_sidebar admin_label="Sidebar" orientation="left" area="sidebar-1" background_layout="light" module_id="shoalsidebar" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_section]