Günter Schickert, Jochen Arbeit and Dirk Dresselhaus are three renowned Berlin guitarists. They epitomize three generations of experimental musicians: Schickert personifies the Krautrock of the 1970s, Arbeit 1980s post-punk and Dresselhaus the neo-electronica of the late 1990s/2000s period. Their artist approaches may differ on account of their diverse musical backgrounds, yet what they do have in common is a fundamental interest in developing the guitar as a sound object, seeking out unusual structures and harmonies. They now present the results of their explorations and ideas on a joint album. A S S Trio will perform at our Kiezsalon on March 28th 2018.
FACTS:
1: A S S also means Acetylsalicylsäure, which is curing head- and other aches.
2: The video clip for Salicyl is based on a short movie by Arata Mori and featuring a female Japanese scientist who is researching traces of A S S in edamame beans in order to save the world. https://youtu.be/aPh-fPT4884
3: In 2018 A S S will be alltogether 174 years old, which doesn’t mean anything.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
Schneider TM: Good sound & the music itself.
Arbeit: Life as it is.
Schickert: THE SOUND OF the TRUMPET BROUGHT ME TO START.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
Schneider TM: When i was 7 years old listening to Revolution No. 9 by The Beatles for the first time and thinking how stretched out and cool it would be to do that kind of job in contrast to other professions.
Arbeit: As a child we had music lessons in our family, we had to go the cousin of my mother to learn instruments. I did organ, guitar and as this became pretty boring after a while, I started with drums. Later in school we had a fantastic music teacher who bought equipment for his own kids which we could use and start a school band.
Schickert: Soon after paying trumpet I started playing in church and other location because soon I got into freejazz.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Schneider TM: Talk Talk – Laughing Stock, Pan Sonic – Aaltopiiri, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Aphex Twin – Richard D James, Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Live Rust.
Arbeit: Talking Heads- Remain in Light Miles Davis- In a silent Way John Coltrane- A Love Supreme Brian Eno- Taking Tiger Mountain Can- Tago Mago Matching Mole- First Album
Schickert: Beatles – Sergearnt Pepper and of course Kinks – Loving Spoonful
Beegees in the beginng. Miles Davis Chet Baker Kenny wheeler
Concerts for Two Viola da Gamba, Orlando di lasso and there is nothing I reject.
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Arbeit: Shitty weather and long winters.
Schneider TM: Home; great & interesting people to work with; changing all the time; high oscillation between negativity & positivtiy; TV Tower; slowly becoming a proper food place if you know the right spots; Einstürzende Neubauten; Berlin Alexanderplatz (Döblin’s movie & Fassbinder’s series); alcohol & drugs; bike riding.
Schickert: It is my hometown. It was much more comfortable when I was young.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Schneider TM: A particular beach at Tegeler See.
Arbeit: Pfaueninsel.
Schickert: Grunewaldsee Fernsehturm.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Schneider TM: Cooking, painting, gardening, movies.
Arbeit: Cooking, gardening, travelling.
Schickert: Nothingl. I would not live.
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
Schneider TM: Roland Kayn – A Little Electronic Milky Way Of Sound (22 CD – box set)
Alice Coltrane- Ptah the EL Daoud
Schickert: I am very ignorant and meanwhile I don’t buy records. The last was In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Schneider TM: Pauline Oliveros
Arbeit: Goldfrapp
Schickert: Jimi, John, Miles, Chet Janis
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
Schickert: Jimi The Who
Schneider TM: Zeitkratzer & Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music, Maerz Musik 2002, Berlin (spectator).
Schneider TM at Astropolis Festival 2001, Brest w/ Suicide and others.. (performer).
Arbeit: As a teenager watching concerts with Art Blakey, Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie
Schickert: …and a girl fom Norway at Shiphorst festival.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Schneider TM: 50 %
Arbeit: same
Schickert: I know that a lot music is coming from new technologies such as Sequnzers, new Delay possibilities.
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
Schneider TM: My sister probably doesn’t understand 100 % of what i am doing there, but she already attended a lot of my concerts, enjoys the weird undertakings of her slightly odd brother and is happy when i am happy.
Arbeit: my brother, when he was still alive, was very fond of what I was doing over the years. so it makes me very happy in retrospection that I was able to share my music with him.
To Listen: https://youtu.be/aPh-fPT4884
