Schneider FM and Gunter Schickert at Roter Salon / Sunday, 07.02.2016

Otherwise known as Schneider TM, under the Schneider FM moniker Dirk Dresselhaus presents a more singer-songwriter style set with acoustic versions of his songs played on guitar and harmonica. Of course he’s never averse to some some experimentalism so you can expect the song arrangements to veer off in moments of improvised distortion. Also performing on the night will be Günter Schickert, which makes for an excellent double bill.

Schneider TM is a multidimensional music project of Dirk Dresselhaus, named after his nickname Schneider. Since the late 80’s, Dirk has been active in different musical fields. From 1989 until 1997 he played and sang in adventurous rock and pop bands like Hip Young Things and Locust Fudge (both on Glitterhouse Records) before he became more active in electronic music around 1996. Schneider TM is responsible for a couple of experimental electro-freak-pop albums (on City Slang / Mute) including underground-hits like ‘Reality Check’, ‘Frogtoise’ and a cover version of a song by The Smiths called ‘The Light 3000’, a collaboration with Kptmichigan that was hugely acclaimed by the alternative media like John Peel, The Wire etc.

httpv://https://youtu.be/Jgr1pA25LF0

For a while now, Dirk has also been moving Schneider TM in the direction of instantly composed freeform music, employing varying instruments including guitar, electronics, balafon, effect loops as well as field recordings. Sometimes he works solo and at other times together with artists like Jochen Arbeit (of Einstürzende Neubauten, Automat), Damo Suzuki (ex-Can), Australian performance artist Joanna Dudley, video artists like Lillevan, pani K and Takehito Koganezawa or Japanese dancer Tomoko Nakasato.

httpv://https://youtu.be/hG0nFihXZDU

The first results of this open & soundscape-y direction are the Schneider TM albums ‘Guitar Sounds’ (2014) and ‘Construction Sounds’: Based on field recordings of Berlin construction sites combined with electronics, it was released in September 2012 on Bureau B & MirrorWorldMusic, an online-platform / label started in 2007 by Dirk Dresselhaus and Michael Beckett (aka Kptmichigan) to present past, present & future of their works.

httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=UUyit-AbWqA

Though his name barely registers among most of the Krautrock intelligentsia, Günter Schickert was both prolific in the back scenes as well as being an important artist. Along with the better-known Achim Reichel, Schickert pioneered the echo guitar,on his first record SAMTVOGEL where the repeated guitar tones create unique multi-layered textures that take the instrument quite beyond the ordinary. Though his recordings are few and hard to track down, especially the debut Samtvogel, Schickert is an innovative music creator who deserves more notice.

Presented by Digital in Berlin. Check out our Facebook page to win tickets.