Although these North London alchemists can't promise to turn metal into gold or provide the universal remedy for illness, they will certainly send you on trip through their wonderfully weird world with this debut longplayer of sonic tonics.The lads who are influenced by everything from martian fossils through to The Wu Tang Clan (no link intended) touch down with a debut album certainly setting their stall out. Taking in a galaxy of influences, the boys have fused twisted cinematic soundscapes and the love of all things weird with proper smokin' beats, haunting melodies and far-out sampling. Like a journalist said of their last release "this'll send shivers right down to your rizlas"

PHOBOS is the larger of the two natural satellites of MARS

Part 1: Steve and Richard

Steve Jones and Richard Pushong spent the mid-eighties attending well over 1000 gigs in and around London. After all this musical exposure, they formed a band in 1991. Their aim was to combine the intensity of USMF, the repetition and hypnotism of Loop and Spacemen 3 with the psychedelic madness of Revolving Paint Dream. It took over a year of deafening rehearsals and countless drummers to perfect this blend. Feeling ready, they took to the stages of London, supporting and headlining to anyone who could face the brain damaging volume, blinding strobes and clouds of smoke. They recorded 3 strong demos which to this day are unreleased and unheard. But, on the verge of some label interest, the band mysteriously and suddenly self- destructed. After a year off to recover physically and mentally, Steve and Richard re-emerged with a collection of lo-fi guitar, bass and drum machine efforts on their 4 track.

Part 2: Martin

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Martin Stovey was busy with several musical projects. Never content to stick with one type of music, these different collaborations reflected his wide ranging taste from jazz to hip hop through to drum'n'bass. Taking in influences as diverses as Leroy Vinegar, Steady B, Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk, KRS1 and Miles Davis. A large part of this time was spent as the brain and music behind a North London hip hop crew called "Uncle Cheeba" whose blend of different styles incorporated in the hip hop framework earned them much praise in the hip hop fraternity.

Not happy to involved in jst that, he teamed up with Helen T in 1994 to co-produce a number of drum'n'bass releases on the Zulu label. Around the start of 1995, Martin started another musical project producing jazzy instrumental hip hop material.

Part 3: Steve, Richard and Martin - Elixir

Knowing each other for years but put off because of musical differences, Martin, Richard and Steve, with only a common base of Mantronix, Schooly D, Public Enemy and all things hip hop, decided to pool their musical resources. From a list of musical influences as diverse as Wu Tang, Burt Bacharach, Jesus and Mary Chain, Mozart, The Wolfhounds, Herb Alpert, My Bloody Valentine, Gary Numan and Andy Williams, came a hydrid monster af all things unusual and incompatible known as Elixir.