Split between two worlds in Germany (Dohr, a small village in the west and the urban zone of Leipzig), JEALOUSY MOUNTAIN DUO are a long-running pair that combine the best elements of noise/math rock/free jazz and have played hundreds of DIY shows in the states. I played with JMD in 2011 in my living room in Northampton and we’ve continued doing it in Lowell, Turners Falls, Hamburg and Berlin! Here are some words with drummer Jörg A. Schneider after a recent month in the USA. Boston LISTEN UP!

MR: When did you start playing music together? Did it sound similar to what you are doing now? What led you to forge this unique idiom of free time rock/free jazz?

JS: We started playing music together twelve years ago in a band called Gaffa. The music at the time was more structured and minimalistic, and we always wanted to create a more free feeling kind of rock music and were just bored by the typical kind of rock music.

MR: How many times have Jealousy Mountain Duo toured the states? How is this tour going so far in comparison? Describe the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangements you’ve been provided on a US tour.

JS: JMD has toured the states three times so far, around 150 shows in the US in the last three years. It’s been the best tour so far, but the sleeping place last night was the worst.

MR: All of the JMD releases to date have a unifying visual aesthetic in the art and layout. I’ve noticed labels like NNA, PAN, Night People and Sacred Bones doing this in recent years as well. In what ways to you think this is valuable? Did this direction come more from bluNoise, the label or the band?

JS: We came up with the idea of this unique layout. We wanted a logo from the beginning till the end, that’s why we always leave the logo the same and change only the pictures.

MR: Drumming influences?

JS: Brian Chippendale, Rashied Ali, Paal Nilssen-Love

MR: What guitarist has been influential to Jens (JMD guitarist, aka Berger)?

JS: Derek Bailey

MR: Has Jens always employed alternate sound sources like samplers and pre-recorded loops?

JS: No, Jens never used samples or any other (alternate) sound resources before Jealousy Mountain Duo.

MR: Have you always had such an athletic style of drumming?

JS: My drumming style was always very physical but never has been as complex as in JMD.

MR: What is consistently your favorite US city to perform in? European city?

JS: Favorite American city to play is Fort Worth, Texas; in Europe London, Paris and Berlin.

MR: What do you consider a finer American product: Tostitos Salsa Con Queso, Budwiser or Diet Coke?

JS: Jens’ favorite is Philly cheesesteak I go for Converse and Budweiser,!!!!!!

Jealousy Mountain Duo No_03 is available now from bluNoise Records, listen below!