ithops is the solo project of Jan St.Werner, better known as a member of Mouse On Mars and one half of Microstoria, the group he shares with Oval’s Markus Popp. Scrypt arrives many years after Uni Umit whose tracks were produced between 1994 and 1997. In short, the large interval separating Lithops recordings incites curiosity as to what Scrypt will sound like. Adding to its mystique is the absence of new Mouse On Mars material. Admittedly, Glam and Rost Pocks were released recently, but both contained music that was recorded years ago. The group’s last full-length of new music, Idiology, was released in 2001.


Scrypt was recorded in Texas, Budapest and Cologne and subsequently mastered in Düsseldorf. While St.Werner plays the majority of instruments, he’s joined by numerous guests. Free jazz drummer Jeffrey Bouck made his contributions in Austin, Texas, while Andi Toma’s drums and F.X. Randomiz’s processing were recorded in Germany. Horns and woodwinds are provided by Pete Meinwald and Sam Moore. Consistent with the variety of its instrumentation and personnel, Scrypt encompasses a potpourri of musical styles and genres, including feedback-driven thrash, Oval textures, Mouse On Mars rhythms, Microstoria explorativeness, and processing treatments reminiscent of Ekkehard Ehlers’ style. In general, Scrypt is far removed from the relatively accessible beat-based songs that appeared on Uni Umit. Instead, St.Werner immerses himself more fully into experimental Microstoria territory, resulting in an uncompromising style that is at times melodic but more often abrasive. Listening to Scrypt’s first half is a challenging and not always pleasant experience, given the thrashing noise splinters and grinding feedback distortions that infest its tracks. In the second half, the level of abrasiveness diminishes as St.Werner explores experimental textures in a less aggressive manner.


‘Generator’ starts things off auspiciously, with massive shards of feedback noise and drum splatter generating a cacophonous racket. When the noise subsides, gentle Microstoria-like streams of chords and tones remain until caustic eruptions again appear, this time including dental drilling sounds. Anyone expecting Scrypt to be an easy, melodic ride will know by now that that notion should be retired. The ‘easiest’ pieces are ‘Play Through’ and ‘Attached’ which call to mind Mouse On Mars with their bouncy rhythms and relatively conventional song structures. As mentioned, a heavy Microstoria influence is present too. ‘Self-Stencil’ is fully in the Microstoria vein, with its meandering processing treatments subtly enhanced by the warm tones of Meinwald’s horns. ‘T O’ also revisits Microstoria territory, although loud feedback blasts and squawls move it into a noisier realm. ‘Folio Final’ is heavily indebted to Oval, as it appropriates Markus Popp’s penchant for combining affecting melodies with severe treatments. Beginning with field recordings of audience chatter and bird chirpings, ‘Insections’ moves into cut-up treatments of strings and woodwinds that obviously evoke Ekkehard Ehlers’ explorative style captured on Plays and Politik braucht keinen Feind. Aptly titled, ‘Thrash Application’ uses thrashing sounds to generate a repeating rhythm, at least until it’s overwhelmed by the dense storm of noise that’s dropped on top of it. Closing out the recording provocatively is ‘Arcart’ whose drums and guitar establish a noirish mood until the track mutates into some demented version of a bass-heavy, Scottish jig.


Interestingly, Jan St.Werner has chosen to adopt a more challenging and abstract style on Scrypt, retreating from Mouse On Mars’ comparatively accessible style, while, conversely, Markus Popp, St.Werner’s Microstoria partner, is pursuing a more listenable take on his Oval sound with the new recording So. To call Scrypt uncommercial is definitely an understatement, given that St.Werner appears to willfully, perhaps even perversely, present music that will likely alienate many less dedicated listeners. He deserves respect for producing work that is uncompromising and challenging, when presumably it would have been easy for him to release an entire recording of more listenable, Mouse On Mars-style songs. Having said that, respecting the integrity of his approach is a separate issue from whether Scrypt offers an enjoyable listening experience. Ultimately, one appreciates it, which doesn’t mean that one derives unqualified pleasure in listening to it.