Mapstation

Mapstation is an experimental electronic solo project of Düsseldorf musician Stefan Schneider founded in 2000 after his departure from Kreidler, an electronic/post-rock band he'd co-founded six years prior. Besides co-founding Kreidler in 1994 alongside Thomas Klein, Andreas Reihse, and Detlef Weinrich, and contributing to the albums Weekend (1996) and Appearance and the Park (1998) before his departure from the group, Schneider also played bass in the post-rock band To Rococo Rot alongside Robert Lippok and Ronald Lippok, with whom he released the albums To Rococo Rot (1996), Veiculo (1997), and The Amateur View (1999). Schneider made his solo debut as Mapstation in 1999 with a self-titled mini-album on the London-based label Soul Static Sound. A series of releases followed on the Staubgold label, including the albums Sleep, Engine Sleep (2000), A Way to Find the Day (2002), and Version Train (2003), as well as the 12" single New Direction (2002), which featured reggae vocalist Ras Donovan and signaled Schneider's turn toward experimental dub-reggae (as explored at length on Version Train). Additionally, Schneider collaborated with former Pale Saints singer/guitarist Meriel Barham (aka Kuchen) for the album Kuchen Meets Mapstation (2003) on the Karaoke Kalk label. After a few years of relative inactivity, Schneider revived his Mapstation project on the Berlin label ~scape with the full-length album Distance Told Me Things to Be Said (2006) and the 7" single In the Loss of Clarity (2006).