Jan St. Werner Announces EP 'Squares Will Fall' With Justin

Jan St. Werner of Mouse On Mars has announced a new solo EP titled Squares Will Fall, set for release on November 13 via the Thrill Jockey label. The project is a highly collaborative affair featuring contributions from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and Zach Condon of Beirut, among others.

According to the artist's Bandcamp biography, the title track has a long and evolving history. It began in 2012 as a 30-minute electronic composition created for a friend's birthday. The piece later formed the basis for an improvisation between St. Werner and Justin Vernon during Mouse On Mars's Dimensional People sessions at Vernon's Wisconsin studio.

A Composition in Motion

In 2021, "Squares Will Fall" was reconceived as a spatial audio installation for the Ural Industrial Biennial. Three independent layers of the composition were played through loudspeakers suspended from a circus ceiling on long ropes. Performers continuously repositioned these speakers, making them active participants in the mixing process. The audience was encouraged to move freely through the venue, creating personal recordings of a piece that sounded unique to every listener.

The Collaborators

The EP's A-side is the title track, "Squares Will Fall." It features Justin Vernon on lead vocals. The track also includes drums from prior St. Werner collaborator Kid Millions, trumpet from Beirut's Zach Condon, and trombone from Ben Lanz of The National and Beirut. Andi Toma, St. Werner's partner in Mouse On Mars, assisted with the mix. A report from Stereogum notes the result is reminiscent of Bon Iver's 2019 album i,i, but "just a little bit further out there."

The EP contains two B-side tracks. "Swamp Brains" features vocalist Rosanne Rubino as St. Werner's sole collaborator. "Flötotto" assembles another notable group, with Sufjan Stevens on drum machine, Kid Millions again on drums, and Ben Lanz on trombone and bass.

Release Details

Thrill Jockey has shared an abridged edit of the title track ahead of the EP's full release. The complete tracklist for the Squares Will Fall EP is as follows:

Jan St. Werner has a long history in electronic music, primarily with Mouse On Mars and the project Microstoria. His last solo release under his own name was 2023's Space Synthesis; he has also released music under the alias Lithops. The new EP continues his pattern of exploratory, collaborative work.