die ANGEL “Live In Austin” available as LP / Digital via EROTOTOX DECODINGS
die Angel (previously ‘Angel’) began in 1999 sometime after a tour with Pan Sonic and Schneider TM but consists only of Ilpo Väisänen (Pan Sonic, I-LP-O In Dub, I-LP-ON, Liima, Piiri ) and Dirk Dresselhaus (Schneider TM, Locust Fudge, ASS). With Schneider residing in Berlin, Germany and Ilpo in Kuopio, Finland, the duo has managed to be around for some 22 years. They celebrated their 20th anniversary of being together as a group with a concert at Berlin’s Ballhaus OST with friends performing alongside of them including BJ Nilsen, Lucio Capece, Oren Ambarchi and Anthea Caddy (in place of Hildur Guðnadóttir who could not attend). With Ilpo on electronics (both modular and desktop as well as found objects and other sounds) and Dirk on guitar (not your usual guitar but a very experimental guitar of his own design plus a unique pedigree of effects), the two have toured the globe including a 2019 summer tour with Xambuca of North America plus many amazing bills with others. More or less frequently other die Angel collaborators include the dancer, performance artist and costume designer Tomoko Nakasato and Zappi of Faust. Their live performances are a spectacle that involves the use of visuals and live video in addition to it being one continuous performance without breaks or individual tracks but based on elements of improvisation and more often than not, non-verbal communication but absolutely and totally embedded with its sensibility in the subconscious and the elevated mind.
Schneider TM album “The 8 Of Space” available as LP / CD / Digital via Editions Mego
Schneider TM is the multidimensional music project of Dirk Dresselhaus which has been operating since the mid 90’s. His latest opus is also his first for release for Editions Mego.
With an extensive catalogue under his belt, one may wonder where this one takes us? The 8 of Space orbits the realm of “pop” more overtly than the project has done for 14 years, residing in the line of works that temporarily ended with “Sko- da Mluvit“ from 2006. In the age of scattered streaming listening habits The 8 Of Space champions the classic album format with connected tracks that act like chapters adding up to what could be framed as an ‘audio-movie’. The ‘plot’ revolves around a post-dystopian landscape which posits the make up of reality in the future.
The lyrics are a key component. Holistic, associative poetry acts as interactive trigger points for the mechanisms of exis- tence in times of a paradigm shift that are open to the listeners discretion. Autobiographical elements combine with sci- ence fiction and dreams, protagonists shift where the ‘I’ or ‘me’ is not necessarily the voice of the artist, nor even the same person. Alongside a more naturalised voice another protagonist appears represented by a processed voice. This character, named iBot, evolved around the start of the millennium and has appeared on some previous Schneider TM recordings. It can be seen as a post-human, or even a trans-human character, a combination of human & technology, uncertain of the future, which lends iBot it’s melancholic tone.
In the opening song “Light & Grace“ iBot appears in an advanced form of AI, which managed to hack & hijack a commer- cial space travel program (eg, Virgin Galactic) to invite those rich, who profited most from the destruction of planet earth, for a holiday trip into space to unknowingly fly them directly into the middle of the sun. In this episode it seems to have developed higher ethics than humanity itself with ambition to save the planet with as much of its cooperative life as pos- sible.“Light & Grace“ serves as an intro / opener for this album to be followed by 7 other tracks featuring different win- dows of consciousness represented by diverse characters & protagonists.
All the elements on The 8 of Space, the music, sounds, vocals and artwork fit together as a whole, creating a dazzling electro pop future questioning it’s own certainty. This is experimental electroacoustic pop music featuring glorious melodies dancing along human/machine voices, each track is a small universe that triggers the physical mind and tickles the subconsciousness.
“The 8 Of Space” album, shirts & hoodies (dark silver on black) are available here now next to some selected items from the Schneider TM back catalogue…by buying here you support the beautiful (freelance-) people at Bingo Merch & the artists directly!
die ANGEL “Utopien I” available as 180g LP / DL via Karlrecords
Download now also at MWM bandcamp:
die ANGEL, the improvisational duo project of ILPO VÄISÄNEN (ex-PAN SONIC) & DIRK DRESSELHAUS aka SCHNEIDER TM, starts its 3rd decade of sonic explorations with the release of album #10 which bears the programmatic title “Utopien I”.
die ANGEL (or just ANGEL in the early days) was born in 1999 during a joint European tour of PAN SONIC and SCHNEIDER TM with the aim to use electronics, string instruments and effect loops to develop a sonic world that goes beyond fixed structures and clearly defined genres. Coming from different musical backgrounds proved quite an advantage for the duo as it meant that ANGEL had to find their particular modus operandi: communication through noise and action, instant composition, spirit.
Over the course of over 2 decades now, die ANGEL crafted a catalogue of 10 albums released on labels like EDITIONS MEGO or EDITION TELEMARK that were recordings of either the core duo or featured like-minded artists like cellist HILDUR GUDNASDOTTIR, OREN AMBARCHI, LUCIO CAPECE or BJ NILSEN. die ANGEL delve deep into the microcosms of tones, shaping nuanced layers of abstract sound that integrate elements of Musique Concrète, Minimal Music, Industrial, Noise, Blues and Psychedelia, and yet bear the unmistakable die ANGEL signature.
“Utopien I” is not only the duo’s latest effort (feat. OREN AMBARCHI) but also a clear political call: in a world of a general decline, we need new ideas and approaches to design the future.
Damo Suzuki (ex-CAN) : voice
Dirk Dresselhaus (Schneider TM, die Angel) : electric baritone guitar, effects
Ilpo Väisänen (ex-Pan sonic, die Angel) : electronics, effects
Michael Beckett (Kptmichigan, Super Reverb) : electric guitar, effects
Claas Großzeit (Saal-C) : drums, percussion
Tomoko Nakasato (Mio, JINN) : dance, electric rake
These instant compositions were played & recorded on November 24th 2011 at Marie-Antoinette, Berlin (GER).
“I find it fairly difficult to say something about how the music in this concert came about, cause we didn‘t plan or rehearse anything and hardly were able to hear each other on stage. Wherever it came from, the energy and course of this concert is very much based on group dynamics and an almost telepathic sort of communication, like a swarm of fish. When I mixed the sound later on in the studio I discovered a lot of weird things on the separate tracks: for example Kptmichigan‘s guitar signal is changing level for about +/-30 dB once in a while which is a lot and was probably caused by a broken microphone cable. Luckily the fucked up parts made the sound even heavier and more distorted instead of destroying it.” (Dirk Dresselhaus)
2xLP / concert movie stream available at PlayLoud!
Healing music from members of The Fall, Faust & Schneider TM…ready to stream & download now at MWM bandcamp:
These 3 improvised pieces were recorded on 12th of March 2018 in Berlin by NOHE NOSHE (Elena Poulou of The Fall & Petr Step Kišur), Dirk Dresselhaus aka Schneider TM & Faust drummer Werner ‘Zappi’ Diermaier.
Elena Poulou: synthesizer
Petr Step Kišur: harmonium
Werner ‘Zappi‘ Diermaier: drums, percussion
Dirk Dresselhaus: processed electric guitar, cello bow
