ARTIST: Schneider TM
TITLE: Skoda Mluvit
LABEL: City Slang/V2
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 218kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 58min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-05-08
RIP DATE: 2006-03-21
Track List
----------
01. More Time 4:00
02. Pac Man/Shopping Cart 3:49
03. Peanut 4:54
04. S'Kcorratiug 1:02
05. Caplets 4:59
06. Vodou 6:24
07. Skoda Mluvit 3:31
08. The Blacksmith (Feat. Max 4:01
Turner)
09. Klexx 1:09
10. Cataractact 3:09
11. The Slide 5:44
12. A Ride 3:56
13. The World's A Cup 11:34
Release Notes:
From the outside, Dirk DresselhausÆ apartment is much like any in the Prenzlauerberg
district of Berlin, housed inside a hulking, grey, pockmarked exterior that towers
five tall stories above the cobbled streets. ItÆs different inside, though. In the
room he uses as a studio, but which also doubles as his living space, a drum kit has
been erected, though it sometimes doubles as a keyboard stand. A huge desk is filled
with electronic equipment and guitar pedals linked together, all threaded through an
antique mixing desk. There are guitars lying on the floor and spread across chairs
and sofas. On the floor are a variety of strange wooden objects, elaborate
traditional instruments that resemble wild variations on a xylophone.
This is the room that, for two years, played womb to SKODA MLUVIT, a remarkable
album that sees Dresselhaus û known to friends and fans alike as SCHNEIDER TM û
continue his unusual journey through the netherworld of æindieÆ and æelectronicÆ
music. ItÆs a room that SCHNEIDER, on occasions, didnÆt leave for days at a time,
locking himself away whilst he tinkered with and poked at anything he could find
that made a sound. He calls it Constructionsite Studios û not because it looks like
itÆs currently being renovated, which frankly it does, but because he is constantly
surrounded by the sounds of construction as workmen continue the repairs to the
delapidated buildings of the old East Berlin. You can hear the noise in the dying
moments of SKODA MLUVIT, hidden away as a secret track.
SKODA MLUVIT is an album that encapsulates all the things that have led to SCHNEIDER
TM being one of the most unusual but respected artists out there. He hovers between
pop and avant-garde, as comfortable being compared to Matthew Herbert as to the Pet
Shop Boys. Perhaps thatÆs why Zoomer, his last album, didnÆt achieve quite the
stratospheric commercial success that critics had earmarked for it: people simply
didnÆt know where to place it. SCHNEIDER, after all, is just as likely to discuss
extreme noise bands from Japan as he is West Coast hip-hop.
This still shows on SKODA MLUVIT, but the times have caught up with him: electronic
musicians are integrating acoustic instruments into their music with such fervour
itÆs become almost as much of a clichΘ as when indie rock bands added ôa dance
elementö to their sound in the early æ90s. But the thing here is: SCHNEIDER doesnÆt
actually know what heÆs doing. He just canÆt help himself. So the thoroughly
uncontrived results include the lethargic acoustic funk of ôPeanutö, the distorted
noise of ôSÆKcorratiugö, something that SCHNEIDER describes as Fela Kuti mixing Neil
YoungÆs Greendale with the blues (ôVodouö), the twisted hip hop of ôThe Blacksmithö,
the sweet soul melody of ôCataractactö, the whorl of sound around ôThe Slideö and
the utterly undefinable ôA Rideö.
On the album sleeve, SCHNEIDER lists every single thing that he used as source
material for the sounds that make up his album. But this is misleading. You wouldnÆt
expect sailing trousers, a cigarette lighter, a pool table or paper to have played a
part in this brilliantly playful, if elaborate, collection of warped but brilliant
pop. But then again you wouldnÆt expect Fela Kuti and Neu to collide with such
grace, or Sun Ra and Teenage Fanclub to gel so elegantly. SCHNEIDER is a master of
unusual concoctions û that is no doubt why he originally came to so many peopleÆs
attention when he and long time collaborator Kpt Michi.Gan. covered The SmithsÆ
ôThereÆs A Light That Never Goes Outö to such devastating effect on their sublime
electronic version, ôThe Light 3000ö.
On SKODA MLUVIT he continues a journey he began with Moist in 1998, when he turned
his back û initally temporarily û on his successful indie act, Locust Fudge, and a
developing career as a VJ on German TV. Initially he indulged himself in the
extremities of sound that electronica opened up to him, but slowly he began to
integrate his indie roots into the songs, resulting in2002Æs Zoomer, a masterpiece
of what was dubbed ôindietronicaö, packed with off-kilter pop nous û ôFrogtoiseö,
inspired by animal surgery experiments carried out in DresselhausÆ dreams; ôReality
Checkö, a brilliantly subliminal protest song û and sonic exploration that he
dubbed ôchemical listeningö.
SKODA MLUVIT sees him combine all the different elements of his musical interest to
even greater effect. But itÆs not just about how he recorded, or what he recorded
with, so much as why he recorded, that lies at the heart of SKODA MLUVITÆs genius.
Following the release of Zoomer, SCHNEIDER TM û accompanied by his trusty cohorts
in the SCHNEIDER TM EXPERIENCE, KPT Michi.Gan and Mek OÆBaam û made his way around
the world. They criss-crossed across the whole of Europe, taking in unusual dates
on a Goethe Institute sponsored tour through southern and eastern Europe; they
traversed America, including a lengthy tour with The Faint and Les Savy Fav; they
performed in Japan; they played in Brazil. They broke down at midday in non-air
conditioned vans in the desert whilst tripping. They stayed up all night so as not
to waste money on feculent hotel rooms. And they partied hard. This had its upside,
like the night their van was broken into, something far more bearable under the
soothing effects of ecstasy. But it had its downside. The downside was that it had
to end. And when it did they were incapable of dealing with the sudden stillness.
And that, says Dresselhaus, is when things started going wrong.
What happened is irrelevant. As SCHNEIDERÆs Czech grandmother would say, ôSkoda
mluvitö, her way of dismissing a painful but tired subject. ôItÆs not worth
mentioningö, it means, ômove on.ö The phrase became a motto as SCHNEIDER struggled
to deal with the stuff that was going on in his life û standard post-tour tedium,
relationship problems, a bad motorcycle accident - and he used the music as ôa kind
of voodooö, he laughs. It clearly worked, given his good humour now the album is
completed.
Life on the road had exposed to him to so many new things that he has no idea where
SKODA MLUVIT came from, so if you ask him what his influences were heÆll shrug. He
stated that Zoomer had been influenced by old soul records, especially Shuggie
OtisÆ Information Inspiration. SKODA MLUVIT, though, is the result of exploring
even further the roots of music with which he had fallen in love. Especially evident
is a love of dub and afrobeat, but as SCHNEIDER says, ôI had no intentions û it just
came from inside. But you never forget your roots. And,ö he adds, ôapart from
Panasonic I donÆt listen to electronic music at all.ö
For the first time he wrote lyrics before he wrote music, articulating things that
he had to get out his system. That might be hard to believe when you hear a song
like ôCapletsö, which riffs on the Instructions For Use from a packet of Aspirin, or
the shroom-inspired madness of ôPac Man / Shopping Kartö, but thereÆs a magic to the
lyrics, a logic in the nonsense. ôTo be honest,ö SCHNEIDER explains, ôtheir real
meaning often lies between the lines.ö He started to obsess over the sound of wood,
purchasing, amongst other things, a Ghanian Bellafon, and then became increasingly
fascinated by the noises he could make with the everyday objects that he found
around him. Rather than sample and process them, however, he simply integrated these
as he heard them, like trousers being rubbed to make the sound of a shaker. At other
times he allowed unscheduled interruptions to remain part of the mix û the telephone
ringing during ôThe Blacksmithö, for example, was completely unplanned.
SCHNEIDER tried to maintain a sense of childish innocence throughout the recording,
and much of the album is made up of first takes. ôI tried to keep it minimal,ö he
explains, ô to find the essence of the music, and to find a balance in the chaos.ö
But whilst the music emerged from a bleak time in his life, that post-Zoomer
comedown, he didnÆt want it to sound morose. Like the albumÆs artwork, a simple
beauty emerges from a sombre background. ôItÆs dark,ö he believes, ôbut itÆs
delivered in a light hearted fashion. ItÆs not intellectual. But it is spiritual.ö
A number of guests grace the album: Edith Kuss, the grandmother who inspired the
albumÆs title, is charmingly integrated into the title track; Max Turner, the
Berlin based poet and rapper joins her on the title track and also steps up on ôThe
Blacksmithö, whilst cellist Hildur Gudnadottir (who has previously collaborated
with Icelandic act Mum and PanasonicÆs Ilpo Vaisanen) plays a valuable role on a
number of tracks. Plus, of course, regular collaborator Kpt. Michi.Gan plays a
vital part on tunes like the hypnotic opener ôMore Timeö, which employs
mathematical tricks in much the same way as My Bloody ValentineÆs ôFeed Me With
Your Kissö as it rushes to its final, inevitable conclusion.
ôItÆs indie rock ragga,ö SCHNEIDER jokes of the finished album. Like everything on
SKODA MLUVIT, that concept is much easier to embrace than you might think.