‘Click Interview’ with T.Raumschmiere: ‘People Who Work On 4 Tracks For Six Months Either Have Too Much Time Or Too Little Ideas’
The story of T.Raumschmiere started with a German drummer aka Marco Haas who played the drums in different punk bands. When he lived in Berlin he started experimenting with other projects and finally set up his solo-project T.Raumschmiere. He worked with some famous artists (like Miss Kittin) and experimented with different influences; from techno to ambient to punk to IDM. The song “Monstertruckdriver” released on the album “Radio Blackout” (2003) became one of his greatest hits. He released an impressive number of EP’s, but still likes from time to time to unleash a full length album. T.Raumschmiere this year released his newest opus entitled “Schaukelstuhl” –on his own label Shitkatapult, revealing pure dreamy-ambient cuts next to more danceable pieces. One thing is for sure, T.Raumschmiere is a real sonic phenomenon!
(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: I’m always interested in the ‘roots’ of musicians and when I listen to your latest works “Heimat” and “Schaukelstuhl” it’s simply impossible to imagine you’ve been ever drummer in a punk band. So how would you analyze this evolution?
Marco: I like (almost) all kinds of music. Even when I was the drummer of punk bands I listened to ambient music. For me that’s a normal thing. When you’re a musician you have to be a bit open-minded to evolve with your own style. “Schaukelstuhl” is just a little part of my personality.
Q: I’ve always experienced your work under the T.Raumschmiere moniker as a very eclectic and open-minded approach and that’s already what I experienced listening to “Schaukelstuhl”. What kind of work did you’d in mind and what has been the click to start composing this work?
Marco: I compose and produce non-stop. I’m not the kind of guy who says ‘ok, now I start working on an album and it has to be finished by day x’. It’s more like collecting ideas constantly and when I have enough I build a frame and a concept around it. During the process of this production I also wrote more harder songs, but I decided to stay in one direction, which I think makes it nicer to listen to the album in one shot.
Q: I get the feeling “Schaukelstuhl” is an album that can make me dance, but still relax and dream away; from dancefloor to cinematic experiences! How do you perceive this work now and can you give us some details about the writing process of this album?
Marco: This was exactly the idea of the album. You can either focus on the beat layers and dance or focus more on the ambient or background layers and trip away. For this album the writing process itself was very quick. Therefore I spent more time on post-production and details.
Q: Are you a perfectionist who’s never satisfied with some little details and for whom a song is never finished and can be always improved? How do you see yourself as musician/producer?
Marco: I wouldn’t say that I’m a perfectionist. I work pretty fast. And when I hear that an idea or a song works I achieve it. If I’m not satisfied with a song or an idea it goes straight into the trash and I start a new one. People who work on 4 tracks for six months either have too much time or too little ideas.
Q: “Schaukelstuhl” has been released again on your own label, Shitkatapult. I heard from different label owners -and of course artists, the Covid 19 pandemic has seriously affected their activities. What’s your perception and experience about it all as label owner and artist? How do you imagine the post-Covid 19 era for the music industry?
Marco: In 2018 we decided to do a sabbatical with Shitkatapult and focus on our publishing company Random Noize Musick. The sabbatical took 2 years 😉 and “Schaukelstuhl” is the first release since 2018. We act very carefully and decided to release the album only digitally. We will see how things develop and the then maybe make a physical version of it. I’m pretty confident that everything will go back to more or less ‘normal’ at some point. But this is a looong way and might take a few years.
Q: Covid 19 or not, physical releases are no longer selling and only interest collectors and some die-hard fans. You grew up with different formats such as cassette, vinyl and CD so what do you think about this (r)evolution? What are the pros and cons and how will things evolve?
Marco: It’s as you said. Physical releases are more or less collector’s items. I don’t like that, but I also can’t change it. We have to use the new technology and work with it in a way that we all are happy at the end of the day. This needs flexibility and an open mind. But as long as there’s vinyl I’ll buy it!
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