ARBEIT SCHICKERT SCHNEIDER – ASS

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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.

The end product is very much more than just the sum of its parts, due not only to the participants' different musical philosophies, but also through the use of instruments not usually associated with this type of music (e.g. balafon, conch, mbira, electronic drums, modular system). Their joint album concocts a kind of musical magic from a myriad of influences (Krautrock, psychedelic, free jazz, punk, industrial, techno, minimal-electronic and so forth) yet simultaneously transcends them to create a new form of music.

Günter Schickert (born 1949) has been an active member of the Berlin music scene since 1964. He released two albums in 1974 and 1979 on two legendary Krautrock labels, Brain and Sky Records. Since then he has played in various projects, such as the band Ziguri, and pursued a solo career.

Jochen Arbeit (born 1961) moved to Berlin in 1980 and joined the "Geniale Dilletanten" art group who mixed punk rock and Dada. In 1983 he began touring the world with his instrumental rock band Die Haut. He has been a member of Einstürzende Neubauten since 1997 and Automat since 2012.

Dirk Dresselhaus (born 1970) has been involved in various musical fields since the late 1980s. Between 1989 and 1997 he played and sang in indie/noise rock and pop bands like Locust Fudge and Hip Young Things, before focussing more on electronic music from 1997 onwards, starting up his project Schneider TM. In 1999 Dresselhaus formed the duo Angel together with Ilpo Väisänen.