By Azzam Bilal 
HangupsMusic.com – Berlin, Jan St. Werner, the pioneering sonic architect best known as one-half of the influential German electronic duo Mouse on Mars, has announced the release of his latest solo endeavor, Squares Will Fall. Scheduled to arrive on November 13 via the venerable Thrill Jockey Records, the album serves as a testament to Werner’s enduring influence and his penchant for high-concept collaborative experimentation. This new body of work is not merely a collection of songs but a curated assembly of artistic intersections, featuring a prestigious roster of guests including Sufjan Stevens, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Zach Condon of Beirut, and Ben Lanz of The National.
The announcement of Squares Will Fall marks a significant moment in Werner’s prolific solo career, which has long run parallel to his groundbreaking work with Andi Toma in Mouse on Mars. While his previous solo outing, 2023’s Space Synthesis, delved into the architectural possibilities of sound and the physics of frequency, this new project appears to lean into the human element of electronic composition. By bridging the gap between rigid digital structures and the organic warmth of his collaborators’ voices and instruments, Werner continues to push the boundaries of what contemporary electronic music can represent.
The history of the album’s title track, "Squares Will Fall," is as intricate as the composition itself. The genesis of the piece traces back to 2012, when Werner originally composed a thirty-minute version of the track. Far from a standard studio session, the recording was conceived as a highly personal gift—a sonic celebration for a close friend’s 30th birthday. This initial iteration laid the groundwork for a decade of evolution, proving that Werner views his compositions not as static objects, but as living organisms capable of growth and transformation over time.
The track found its next major evolutionary leap during the recording sessions for Mouse on Mars’ 2018 album, Dimensional People. During a residency at Justin Vernon’s April Base studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the 2012 recording became the foundation for an improvisational session between Werner and Vernon. This collaboration saw Vernon contributing both lyrics and his signature emotive vocals, further texturing the piece with a sense of indie-folk vulnerability that contrasts sharply with Werner’s experimental electronic foundations. An excerpt of this title track has been made available, offering a glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between Vernon’s melodic sensibilities and Werner’s avant-garde production.
The journey of "Squares Will Fall" took another fascinating turn in 2021, when Werner reimagined the composition for the Ural Industrial Biennial. In this setting, the music transitioned from a studio recording to a massive, immersive live performance piece. The presentation was a masterclass in spatial audio and physical performance; different stems and components of the track were broadcast through a series of speakers suspended by long ropes from the ceiling of a circus venue. Performers on the ground continuously manipulated and repositioned these swinging speakers, essentially "remixing" the audio in real-time based on the physical movement of the sound sources. This performance highlighted Werner’s fascination with how sound interacts with physical space and the listener’s perspective, a theme that has permeated much of his recent work.
Beyond the title track, the album’s tracklist reveals a concise but dense exploration of collaborative chemistry. The second track, "Swamp Brains," features the vocal talents of singer Rosanne Rubino. While details on the track remain enigmatic, the title suggests a descent into the murky, psychedelic textures that Werner has mastered over the decades—a blend of organic "swampy" rhythms and high-concept "brainy" synthesis.
The album concludes with "Flötotto," a track that boasts an impressive lineup of contributors. Sufjan Stevens, an artist known for his own chameleonic shifts between folk and electronic music, takes on the role of the drum machine operator for this piece. He is joined by Ben Lanz, a multi-instrumentalist associated with The National and Beirut, who contributes both trombone and bass. The inclusion of brass instruments alongside Stevens’ rhythmic programming suggests a fusion of jazz-like improvisation and clinical electronic precision. Zach Condon of Beirut also lends his talents to the project, adding another layer of global-folk influence to Werner’s experimental palette.
The release of Squares Will Fall on Thrill Jockey continues a long-standing partnership between Werner and the Chicago-based independent label. Known for its eclectic and uncompromising roster, Thrill Jockey has provided a fitting home for Werner’s solo ventures, allowing him the creative freedom to explore the outer reaches of sound design. His 2023 release, Space Synthesis, was praised for its rigorous exploration of wave-field synthesis and its ability to turn abstract mathematical concepts into a compelling listening experience. Squares Will Fall seems poised to build upon that technical foundation while re-introducing a more collaborative, vocal-centric approach.
Werner’s career has always been defined by a refusal to stay in one place. Since the mid-1990s, Mouse on Mars has been at the forefront of the IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) movement, blending glitch, techno, and ambient music with a playful, anarchic spirit. As a solo artist, Werner has often used his platform to engage with academic and installation-based art, serving as a professor for interactive media and dynamic acoustic environments. This academic background informs his solo work, where he often treats the recording studio as a laboratory for testing theories on psychoacoustics and spatialization.
The upcoming album also reflects a broader trend in the electronic music world, where the lines between "experimental" and "pop" are increasingly blurred. By collaborating with artists like Vernon and Stevens—who command massive audiences in the indie and alternative spheres—Werner is able to bring his avant-garde sensibilities to a wider demographic. Conversely, these collaborators find in Werner a producer who can deconstruct their voices and instruments, placing them in unfamiliar and challenging new contexts.
As the November 13 release date approaches, anticipation is building for how these disparate elements—the Wisconsin studio sessions, the Russian circus performances, and the decade-old birthday gifts—will coalesce into a singular album. Squares Will Fall promises to be a concise yet expansive journey, consisting of three major movements that encapsulate Werner’s vision of music as a collaborative, evolving, and physical force.
In an era of fleeting digital singles, Jan St. Werner’s approach serves as a reminder of the value of patience and the longevity of an idea. By allowing "Squares Will Fall" to simmer for twelve years before reaching its final form, he has created a work that carries the weight of history while remaining firmly planted in the future of electronic sound. Whether experienced through a pair of headphones or imagined as swinging speakers in a circus tent, the album is set to be one of the most intriguing releases of the year, bridging the gap between the experimental underground of Berlin and the heartland of American indie music.
With Squares Will Fall, Werner invites listeners to witness the falling of the "squares"—perhaps a metaphor for the breaking down of rigid boundaries and the collapse of traditional genre definitions. As the album makes its way to the public via Thrill Jockey, it stands as a testament to the power of artistic longevity and the endless possibilities that arise when master craftsmen from different musical worlds decide to collide.
