Best known as one-half of the innovative German electronic duo Mouse on Mars, Jan St. Werner also pursued a solo career as Lithops and under his own name. While MoM's work often combines absurdist humor with abstract yet danceable rhythms, Werner's solo work is generally far more experimental. Shortly after the duo released their first album in 1994, Werner began making glitchy minimalist ambient music as part of the duo Microstoria, with Oval's Markus Popp. He also began releasing solo recordings as Lithops, and while initial releases were similar to MoM, albums like 2003's Scrypt were significantly more abrasive and challenging. During the 2010s, Werner initiated a series of releases titled Fiepblatter, which ranged from ambitious, nearly operatic works like 2015's Miscontinuum Album to the visceral attack of 2017's Spectric Acid. Collaborations with Mark E. Smith (2020's Molocular Meditation) and Kid Millions (2021's Imperium Droop) surfaced in the 2020s.