Lithops / Queries

Sonig

Is there any point at which artists like Jan St. Werner run out of steam? St. Werner represents a third of Mouse On Mars and should be exhausted from the activities of that band alone. Nevertheless, he also acts as artistic director for the Amsterdam Institute for Electronic Music, the Studio for Electro-instrumental Music, curates unusual musical programs like the Noiseroom (www.noiseroom.org), develops electronic sound generators such as the Meshbox and somehow found the time to write a book — Vorgemischte Welt by St. Werner and Klaus Sander has just been released by the German publisher Suhrkamp Verlag.   Since 1997 St. Werner has also recorded under the alias Lithops. The last Lithops release, 2003’s Scrypt, impressed with its non-linear compositional structures and dense organic sounds, a rare synthesis in electronic music. His latest seems almost carelessly light in comparison. From the first track Queries surprises with subtly bouncing electronica, intuitive rhythms and comical bleeps and clonks — quite a surprise, considering Scrypt managed almost entirely without beats.   Collecting previously unreleased and rare material from the late ’90s, Queries offers an enlightening view of a time when abstract sounds established themselves as significant elements in electronic music.   It’s delightful to discover a ten-year old sound aesthetic that remains as groovy and tangible as ever. It’s a relief to find that any sort of music can remain relevant if it is produced with authenticity and an abundance of ideas.

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